SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 For the first time, messages prosecutors say two Lake Brantley High School students exchanged as detectives began closing in are coming to light \u2014 offering a new window into the investigation that uncovered an alleged murder plot. <\/p>\n
News 6 obtained the screenshots through a public records request to the State Attorney\u2019s Office. Prosecutors believe the messages were likely sent after investigators began questioning Isabelle Valdez and asked to search her phone during a separate swatting investigation.<\/p>\n
The messages<\/p>\n
Screenshots show the name \u201cJimmy\u201d \u2014 who prosecutors believe is Valdez \u2014 in what appear to be exchanges between her and co-defendant Lois Lippert. The messages suggest the pair was aware police were zeroing in.<\/p>\n
One message reads: \u201cThere is a chance they shut down ur account for suspicious behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reply: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t freak out, u have proof and evidence that u didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another exchange, one of the teens wrote, \u201cA detective is on their way,\u201d followed later by, \u201cThey asked for my TikTok. AND MY DISCORD.\u201d<\/p>\n
The response: \u201clike the login or just the profile lmfao.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another message added: \u201cWell that\u2019s not that bad I think – as long as u dont have any like insane insane messages in there where u admit to a crime or planning somethin, which u probably do not lmfao.\u201d<\/p>\n
How the investigation began<\/p>\n
Before the arrests, detectives with Altamonte Springs Police, the Seminole County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the FBI were already investigating Valdez in connection with swatting calls made to Lake Brantley High School on Jan. 8, Jan. 20 and Jan. 22, 2026. News 6 first reported on a code red at the school that turned out to be a hoax<\/a> on Jan. 8.<\/p>\n The investigation took a critical turn late on the night of Jan. 22, when an anonymous tip came in through GetFortifyFL \u2014 Florida\u2019s anonymous tip reporting system \u2014 warning that a student planned to kill a classmate the following day. <\/p>\n The tip also noted that the student \u201calready been recently involved with police officers at school about threats we\u2019ve been getting towards our school.\u201d Through the ongoing swatting investigation, detectives identified \u201cJimmy\u201d as Isabelle Valdez.<\/p>\n The morning of the planned attack<\/p>\n Detectives mobilized early on the morning of Jan. 23. According to the arrest affidavit, a school resource officer was notified of the tip at approximately 5:10 a.m. and alerted the Altamonte Springs Police Department investigations unit. By 6:33 a.m., detectives were briefed on the planned attack.<\/p>\n When a school official interviewed Valdez that morning as part of a threat assessment, Valdez reportedly paused when asked whether she was thinking about hurting herself or someone else \u2014 and said yes. According to the affidavit, she then opened her backpack and handed over a white trash bag containing a silver kitchen knife approximately 10 to 12 inches long, Clorox wipes, a yellow microfiber towel, trash bags and a pair of gloves.<\/p>\n An affidavit for Valdez also states she had sharpened the knife twice \u2014 once at home and again that morning at school, in the girls\u2019 bathroom in building eight. Lippert allegedly helped her run the blade back and forth along a metal pipe near a toilet and then tested the knife\u2019s sharpness by attempting to cut her own stomach.<\/p>\n What Valdez told investigators<\/p>\n According to the arrest affidavit, Valdez told detectives in an interview that she planned to wait for the victim outside the boys\u2019 bathroom in building six, grab him and push him into a large stall \u2014 where she intended to stab him in the stomach or cut his throat.<\/p>\n Valdez reportedly told investigators she had been planning the attack for approximately three months. She said she stated the victim reminded her of Adam Lanza \u2014 the gunman responsible for the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre \u2014 and that she believed killing the victim would create a \u201cblood bond\u201d with Lanza and resurrect him.<\/p>\n \u201cLanza wanted her to kill (the victim) so they could be reunited,\u201d Valdez told a school mental health official, according to the affidavit. She also said she sometimes heard voices telling her to hurt others and that she had become fascinated with school shooters in middle school \u2014 particularly Lanza.<\/p>\n The affidavit also reveals Valdez had been secretly photographing the victim at school since September, memorizing his class schedule so she knew exactly where to wait for him. She shared those photos on a TikTok page called \u201cI love Sandy Hook,\u201d according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n Arrests, patrol car conversation<\/p>\n Both teens were taken into custody at Lake Brantley High School and transported to the Seminole County Juvenile Assessment Center for processing. Body camera footage obtained by News 6<\/a> captured the moment Valdez and Lippert were both placed under arrest in January. <\/p>\n