The Dateline episode “The Ultimatum” investigates the 2017 death of Michele Neurater, a 46-year-old divorcee and mother of three girls, who was found dead inside her home in Corning, New York. After the divorce, her eldest went to live with her father Lloyd Neurater in New Jersey, while the middle child Karrie and the youngest girl stayed with their mother in Corning. Karrie was a sophomore at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) when her mother was found dead. At first it appeared to be a suicide, but investigators unveiled an evil plot by her ex-husband Lloyd and her 19-year-old daughter Karrie. (Lloyd had strangled Michele upstairs while Karrie distracted her little sister downstairs.) When Karrie pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, she told authorities that her father told her if she didn’t help him kill her mother (and free him from the financial burden of child support and alimony) he would kill himself. Two weeks prior to his trial, Lloyd pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Both await sentencing. Karrie faces 15 to 25 years in prison; her father faces life in prison.
According to the Democrat & Chronicle, the youngest child is in foster care. Steuben County District Attorney Brooks Baker says Family Court will determine the girl’s eventual placement. Baker said in his 26 years in the D.A.’s office, this was his first case where a child was involved in the homicide of a parent, and said, “I hope it’s my last.” Dateline airs Fridays at 10 pm on NBC.
