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Michelle Renee and her seven-year-old daughter Breea were held hostage during an armed home invasion and kidnapping incident more than two decades ago, in November 2000. Three masked men reportedly broke into their house that night, duct-taped the two along with their roommate, and forced Michelle to rob the bank the next morning, where she worked as a manager.
Three out of the four perpetrators were convicted in the case and sentenced to multiple life terms in prison. However, the consequences of the incident ran deeper. The mother-daughter duo went through trauma therapy following the kidnapping and hostage ordeal and now reside in Southern California with their dogs Gypsy and Spike.
CBS 48 Hours will now narrate the traumatic story of Michelle Renee and her daughter, detailed in her book titled Extreme Resiliency, which was also turned into a Lifetime movie called Held Hostage. The all-new episode titled The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee will premiere on Saturday, February 11, at 10 pm ET.
Perpetrators arrested for home invasion and kidnapping incident claimed Michelle Renee was involved in the plan
Three masked and armed men broke into Michelle Renee's Vista, California, home in November 2000 and took her and her 7-year-old daughter hostage along with their roommate. After a long, horrific night of being tied up with duct tape and having pistols held at their heads and with explosives strapped to their bodies, Renee was forced to rob the Vista bank where she worked to save her daughter.
According to Michelle's version of the incident, the intruders had a ringleader whom she was able to recognize because of his eye. The man allegedly visited the bank a few hours prior to the incident and even left behind his business card which revealed him to be Christopher Butler. He was with his fiance Lisa Ramirez, who was one of his accomplices.
Following the revelation, all four perpetrators were arrested, starting with the arrest of Butler and Ramirez at a traffic stop. They were found in the possession of loads of damning evidence at home and inside their car.
Butler, however, adamantly denied it all and insisted that his fiance was innocent. Ramirez, on the other hand, lied about Renee's involvement in the scheme while openly admitting to being a part of it and even taking credit for the idea of using fake dynamite and kidnapping the bank manager.
The defense tried to discredit Michelle Renee's account during joint trial of Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez
When Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez were collectively tried in June 2002, the defense attempted to undermine Michelle Renee's credibility and even imply that she was involved in the bank robbery, following a strategy to "beat the hell out of the victim and point out all the inconsistencies the victim is saying." Michelle claimed that,
"I was treated like I was the criminal."
The defense also questioned Michelle's parenting instincts, criticized her for every step she took on the day of the home invasion-kidnapping incident, scrutinized her financial background, and raised concerns about her s*x life.
Christopher Butler, in the meantime, concocted a fresh, intricate plot in which Renee was the mastermind behind the bank robbery and the two were previously engaged in an affair. He said that Renee had enlisted him for the robbery after they had first met at a grocery store.
Butler was found guilty in connection with the robbery and kidnapping of Michelle, her daughter Breea, and their roommate, but Lisa Ramirez walked away after a jury found her not guilty on all charges. The truth, however, was only revealed two decades later, in 2020, when he became eligible for parole and changed his whole story, claiming that he never had a relationship with Michelle.
Where is Michelle Renee now?
Throughout the years, Michelle Renee has shared the decades-old survival story of a horrifying home invasion and kidnapping, turned into an activist, and come up with an organization called Rock to Stop Violence that brings communities together to stand up against violence and abuse.
Michelle has also made appearances on television and radio on OWN, E!, FBI Criminal Pursuit, DiscoVery, Good Morning America, CBS 48 Hours, Fuji TV (Japan), W Network (Canada), Lifetime, A & E, BIO, Fox, CBS, NBC, and KPBS.
She recently wrote for the New York Times and the Washington Post and is also a featured blogger for the Huffington Post, a contributor to More Magazine, and a finalist for the Women Changing the World Award.
According to reports, the mother-of-one now resides in Southern California with her daughter Breea and dogs Gypsy and Spike.
