The Maid's Diary(100)
Ben says, “So where does that leave our missing maid, who staged a false murder scene in order to trip up the Olympic skier who sexually assaulted her eighteen years ago? Retired RCMP investigator Sergeant Leon Tosi and retired criminal defense lawyer Renata Rollins are here to help us solve this mystery that has riveted viewers across North America and even hit media in the UK and Australia.”
Leon leans forward and says, “Ben, a word of caution—while Jon Rittenberg has in fact been charged, he has yet to stand trial, so for now we’ll still refer to it as the ‘alleged’ sexual assault. As to where Kit is, all we know so far is that records show she used her passport to board a flight from YVR to Wattay International Airport in Laos the morning after the staged murder. And financial records obtained by the police show that Jon and Daisy Rittenberg transferred nine hundred thousand dollars US into Kit’s account, which Kit promptly moved into an offshore account in the Caymans.”
“So she tried to fake her own death and fled with the money,” Judy says provocatively and with a smile.
Renata says, “It’s unclear to me whether Kit thought she’d actually get away with it, or if her purpose was to dramatically toss the Rittenbergs into a media and legal hot seat.”
Judy says, “Will police chase her down to Laos? Will she be charged? That’s the question everyone is asking on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. Kit Darling has become a celebrity. An underdog’s hero. Everyone is rooting for her.”
“Charge her with what?” asks Ben. “Fraud? Extortion? Obstruction of justice? Staging a false scene—isn’t that a criminal offense?”
Renata says, “Usually a false scene relates to falsifying evidence in order to obscure or obfuscate a real homicide investigation. The scene Kit staged—she never claimed it was murder. No one was actually physically hurt.”
“I see her as the victim here,” Judy interjects. “The system let her down. Her community let her down. Her parents let her down. Her friends, too. She was denied justice all those years ago.”
“What about extortion?” asks Ben. “She took the Rittenbergs’ money.”
Leon says, “Daisy Rittenberg has stated on the record that the money was gifted to Kit. Jon Rittenberg is not denying this, either. Daisy claims that when she learned who Kit was, she felt terrible, and wanted to offer compensation.”
“It’s probably less than the Rittenbergs would have to fork out in legal costs if Kit filed a civil suit and won,” says Renata. “And Jon Rittenberg is mum on everything else. He’s facing a big trial. If convicted, it could put him away for a while. The other accused from that night also face serious charges. They’ll try to strike deals. Some might testify against Jon.”
“Plus there are the new claims of assault that more women have come forward with,” says Leon.
“Rittenberg is in grave legal jeopardy,” agrees Renata. “As for the police hunting Kit down across the globe, she’s smart. She chose Laos, and Laos has no extradition treaty with Canada.”
“But the government can still request extradition,” Ben says.
“Well, this kind of diplomatic effort would be weighed against costs, the severity of the criminal offense—a murder, for example—and the likelihood of conviction. My wager is on nothing happening. Kit is going free. Jon is going to prison. And his wife is facing obstruction of justice charges, too.”
“What about Kit’s friend who helped her?”
Leon says, “My understanding from a source close to the investigation is that Boon-mee Saelim has been offered a deal in exchange for his full cooperation and the identification of all the other participants in the drugging and sexual assault of Kit, or Katarina Popovich, as she was known then.”
“He’ll also testify at Jon Rittenberg’s trial,” Renata says. The retired lawyer smiles and shrugs. “As for the ‘murder’—it never happened. Just like the old newspaper headlines.”
An image of the old newspaper flashes across the screen. The black headline blares:
“It Never Happened”
World-class skier “JonJon” Rittenberg says claims of sexual assault are “all lies” and “it never happened.”
The camera pans back to Ben. “I’d call that ironic justice.”
“Or karma,” Judy says with a smile.
Kat’s mind wheels back to the night she posed as Mia and lured Jon up to the Airbnb she cleaned. She’d kissed him and been repulsed by it. But anger kept her going. After Jon passed out, Boon—using gloves—coated Jon’s penis with a sticky substance he had brought with him, and he rubbed Icy Hot medicated muscle pain-relief cream around Jon’s anal area. That stuff burns like all hell when it touches private parts. Kat wanted the psychological—gaslighting—effects. She wanted to sow doubt in Jon’s head. She wanted him to fret about what really happened on a deeply personal and sexual level. She wanted Jon to feel violated, to know firsthand what the women he abused might experience.
Boon also brought a friend of his, and they did their theatrical thing, posing with Jon while he lay drugged and naked on the bed. Kat took photos. They all left. Boon went to wait in his car across the street until Jon woke and came stumbling out of the building.
Kat doesn’t feel good about that night. But Jon and other men like him do this sort of thing to women on a daily basis. Always have and probably always will. And they brush it off with She Wanted It. She’s Lying. She Was Drunk.