One of two suspects in a 2010 Yucca Valley murder pleaded guilty in a Joshua Tree Superior Court yesterday. Heidi McDermott, 32, of Twentynine Palms, accepted a plea bargain of voluntary manslaughter in the December 2010 murder of Lauren McLane, 22, of Yucca Valley. Also charged in the murder is Diana Jordan, 38, of Yucca Valley. McLane was reported missing after she didn’t come home from work at the Dollar Tree in Yucca Valley. Her body was later found in a plastic container in Jordan’s garage. McLane’s father told Z107.7 News that the murder was the result of a love triangle, as both McLane and Jordan were pregnant by the same man. Heidi McDermott also pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, being an accessory to murder, burglary, mayhem, intent to commit mayhem, grand theft, and possession of a controlled substance. Her sentencing is set for December 6. Jury selection for Diana Jordan’s trial is this week.
