LAKEPORT – A young woman who allegedly told investigators she didn't intend to stab a classmate was in court Monday afternoon for arraignment on a murder charge.

Gabrielle Rachel Varney, who turned 18 last month, was in Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport on charges in connection with the Thursday death of 17-year-old Heather Valdez.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said he charged Varney with murder and a special allegation of use of a deadly weapon, a knife.

Attorney Stephen Carter, who took Varney's case on Monday, said his client entered no plea.

Instead, a plea entry is scheduled to take place on June 20 in Clearlake, which will give Carter a chance to study the case documents.

“We haven't received any police reports of any kind,” he said.

Lt. Mike Hermann of Clearlake Police said the agency's investigation into Valdez's death is complete at this point, with the entire report going to the District Attorney's Office Monday.

An autopsy completed on Valdez Monday found that the cause of death was a stab wound to the neck, said Hermann.

He said the wound is consistent with a folding pocket knife with a 4-inch blade which police recovered on Thursday, and which allegedly belonged to Varney.

Varney allegedly had the knife on her when she and Valdez became involved in a confrontation as they arrived home in Clearlake from Carlé High School around 2 p.m. Thursday, according to Hermann.

Hermann told Lake County News last week that police believe the girls had been in a feud for some time before Valdez's death.

The confrontation allegedly took place after the girls got off the bus near Austin Drive and Mullen Avenue, in the vicinity of their homes. Hermann said Varney told police that they hadn't argued on the bus but that Valdez had made some “innuendo statements” to her.

Varney allegedly told police she had the pocket knife in her purse and put it in her back pocket while still on the bus, Hermann said.

When Varney got off the bus, Valdez reportedly pushed her and then turned to walk away, said Hermann. Varney said she was talking to herself and Valdez turned around and came back toward her and began hitting her. At that point Varney allegedly already had the knife out of her pocket and had opened the blade.

“She denied intentionally stabbing her,” said Hermann, adding that Varney initially told police she didn't think she had stabbed Valdez at all.

After the confrontation, Varney reportedly went to Valdez's nearby home to get help, but no one answered when she knocked on the door, said Hermann.

She then made her way down the street, allegedly covered in blood. Hermann said two women spotted her, and thought she had been in a traffic accident. They invited her inside a residence, where she called police.

It was there that she allegedly left the knife on a coffee table, said Hermann, which is where police found it when they contacted her.

Hinchcliff said the case will be prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney John DeChaine.

Varney remained in Lake County Jail on Monday, with bail set at $500,000.

Carlé Principal Bill MacDougall has described both Valdez and Varney as talented artists who were a part of the tight-knit Carlé family.

Varney's arrest June 5 was the second time in a month a teen was arrested on a murder charge locally.

On May 9, authorities charged 18-year-old Erik Michael McPherson with murder for allegedly stabbing 40-year-old Nicolai Chukreeff to death on May 4. McPherson is due back in court this Friday, said Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said it's uncommon for Lake County to have such young murder suspects in its legal system.

While their cases are handled the same as if they were older, Hinchcliff said the District Attorney's Office can take their youth into consideration when looking at what kinds of sentences to seek.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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