Target of alleged murder plot hits national talk shows

ST. LOUIS -- At first Lynnda Gebel wanted to hide her 13-year-old daughter's identity.

But Gebel, of Barnhart, said she changed her mind after two suspects in an alleged murder plot against Tiffany Van Nostrand were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The two girls -- Tiffany's classmates in the Affton school district -- are being held in the St. Louis County Juvenile Detention Center. A third person may be involved as well.

Tiffany, her father Jerry Van Nostrand and her mother are planning a trip to New York to share their story with Maury Povich and other talk shows in the next few weeks. They appeared on two national shows Friday.

"We want the judge to know that the nation is watching. I don't want these girls getting a slap on the wrist and one year probation," Gebel said.

Police began investigating the alleged plot at the Merrill J. Rogers Middle School last week, after Tiffany heard rumors that her life was threatened. Officials say the girls planned to lure her to secluded creek bed near her father's home and stab her to death Aug. 29.

One of the girls was taken into custody that day, after her father reported her as a runaway.

Tiffany had recently transferred back to the school district and befriended the suspects, when the trouble began.

"Some guy told his friend he thought I was cute, and the whole thing got blown out of proportion," she said.

That adolescent girls had allegedly considered such violent behavior is not surprising, said Dan Flannery, director of the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University. He said research shows the rate of violent behavior among girls is rising faster than similar behavior among boys.

St. Louis County Police spokesman Mason Keller said that initially, the alleged plan was to beat up the victim but it changed to a more serious threat.