Worst Roommate Ever: What happened to Rachel in the end? 

The second season of Netflix's true crime documentary series, Worst Roommate Ever, dropped on June 26, 2024. The first episode of the season titled, My BFF Tried to Kill Me, explored the story of Rachel, a recently divorced woman desperate to leave her parent's house, who moved in with her best friend Janie Ridd. The two women lived together for years until it was revealed that Rachel's best friend had been plotting to kill her using a deadly bacteria.

Racheal and Janie Lynn Ridd had been friends for almost 25 years. Apart from being the roommate, Jaine was also considered a second mother to Rachel's son. However, it was this obsession over her best friend's son, that led Janie to formulate the devious plot to get rid of her friend.

Worst Roommate Ever, produced by Blumhouse Television, is structured as an anthology, with each episode focusing on a different case. It features interviews with survivors, family members, law enforcement officials and other members connected to the cases.

Rachel, whose last name is not revealed, tells her harrowing and heartbreaking story in detail during the episode.

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Why was Janie trying to kill Rachel in Worst Roommate Ever?

Still from the episode (Image via Netflix)

Rachel was living with her best friend Janie Lynn Ridd for 15 years, and they had been friends for almost 25 years since they first met in 1995. Due to a herniated disc, Rachel had lost her ability to work as a paramedic.

Rachel had become almost completely dependent on her friend after getting pregnant. Janie slowly gained control over every aspect of her life, from finances to personal choices, and she even became a second mother to her son Ryder.

With time, the relationship between the friends deteriorated and became hostile with "power issues and control-type domestic violence dynamics," according to a police indictment.

Janie became possessive over Rachel's son and with time developed an unhealthy obsession. She used Bitcoin and purchased a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could cause severe staph infection, from the dark web. She planned to infect her friend with the deadly bacteria, who was already dealing with her health conditions.

Janie was caught before she could execute her evil plan, though. Rachel was shocked and heartbroken after finding out about her roommate's intention. She shared her feelings of betrayal and devastation in Worst Roommate Ever.

“I really have a hard time believing that the person I’ve known for 25 years, my best friend and roommate, could do what she did,” Rachel said in the Netflix show. “But it was diabolical. It was evil. It was plotted and planned so perfectly.”

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How was Janie caught in Worst Roommate Ever?

Janie used the dark web and claimed to be a biology teacher to purchase Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which can cause various illnesses, from skin infections to serious invasive diseases.

On Dec. 17, 2019, FBI agents delivered a package with fake VRSA to Ridd at her mailbox. Janie picked up the package, while being monitored by agents, and drove off to work. A special agent contacted her at work and interviewed her about the package.

Initially, she claimed to have a special type of coffee in the package but later changed her statement and admitted to buying a 'biological' from the dark web but for her personal curiosity and simple experiments.

The authorities arrested Janie and talked to Rachel, who told them about their personal dynamics and the mysterious nature of her health deterioration. The investigators found hypodermic needles at their house and Janie's dark web account, where they found a purchase of insulin that was used on Rachel.

Janie was charged with three serious felonies, attempted possession of a biological agent, aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and attempted abuse of a vulnerable adult.

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Final Thoughts on Worst Roommate Ever

It's said that we can't choose our family but we can choose our friends. This particular case depicted in Worst Roommate Ever, shows that one needs to follow utmost caution in their selection of friends.

Even if someone has been in our lives for decades, we can't truly know their intentions. Rachel was lucky to get out of her toxic friendship with Janie alive.

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Worst Roommate Ever is available on Netflix for streaming.