HASTINGS, Minn. - The jury is now deliberating the case of a Lakeville mother who is accused of hiding her two teenage daughters at a ranch, away from their father, for more than two years.
The case, which went to the jury just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, looks at the reasons behind why Sandra Grazzini-Rucki took her two children, then ages 13 and 14, to a secluded horse ranch in western Minnesota in 2013 and left them there for two and a half years before they were found by police.
Grazzini-Rucki is now charged with eight felony counts of deprivation of custodial rights.
In the closing arguments, the defense argued Grazzini-Rucki developed this plan out of fear from her ex-husband David Rucki. The two were going through a nasty divorce at the time of the girls' disappearance and during that time, a judge granted full custody to Rucki.
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After the girls were found late last year, they were returned to their father.
Grazzini-Rucki’s attorney Stephen Grigsby told the court she was under emotional distress and felt this was her only option to keep her girls safe.
"Your verdict isn't a custody decision," he said. "A person isn't guilty if they believe in the necessity of their decision."
The prosecution, however, argued this was all done out of spite. The two were ending a tumultuous marriage and Grazzini-Rucki conspired with some friends to hide the girls from their father so he couldn't get custody, said Kathryn Keena, assistant Dakota County attorney.
She argued against the defense's argument that this had anything to do with fear.
"If they were really afraid of their dad, why aren't they running now?" Keena said.