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[Music] she was incredibly Charming she was attractive I don't even want to entertain why she did what she
00:00:20
did you had a beautiful home you didn't work you had cleaning ladies you pool people you had cars money you had it all
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Monica seen Tilly homicide investigators say she conspired to murder her husband they said when they talked to
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her she lied and lied I was hearing about break-ins at the time in that particular area there
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were a lot of what they call knock knock burglaries I was hearing about home invasion it was assumed that it was a
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couple guys that had jumped to the fence and it was a robbery what happened on the day of the
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murder at night at about 5 something I got a text saying come to my house I need you I get the phone and and I'm in
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disbelief saying what what what cuz I can't believe it and it was uh Monica she was crying and distro brought
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and she was saying they killed Fabio Fabio's F Tilly Fabio was an executive in the
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beauty business was a former hairdresser my queen he called her he would come home drop his bags sweep her
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off her feet and dance with her he was the love of her life and he loved his kids it looked like a textbook
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breaking a robbery gone wrong there was immense suspicion as to the explanation of a robbery from my
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perspective didn't sound right didn't sound right we're here to announce the arrest
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of two individuals in connection with the murder of Fab centi over the past several months
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investigators have developed information and identified Robert Baker and Monica cimenti who is the wife of our homicide
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victim as responsible for his murder detectives say Monica simonelli had been having an affair her boyfriend
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was arrested and charged with murder but so was she I'm like you sure there's no effing
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way now the boyfriend has been convicted he has been sentenced to life without parole and Monica seanell is about to go
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on trial for murder according to the prosecutor she was the one with all the information and intelligence and she fed
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it to him and he was the Executioner the daughters she shared with Fabio are standing by her we want
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to clearly state that we will continue to stand by our mother as we have done for the last 6 years and we will fight
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for her innocence the defense is going to say there is no hard evidence by by the way
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there's no evidence that Monica sementelli conspired to kill her husband [Music]
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[Music] in 2017 Monica simonelli had an enviable life a luxurious house with a pool and a
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Porsche in the driveway in a posh area of Los Angeles but after spending almost 7
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years behind bars waiting through legal delays and Co Monica cimenti is scheduled to go on
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trial for the murder of her husband celebrity hairdresser and Beauty executive Fabio
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simeni it's a tangled story her Defenders say Monica simeni is an innocent victim but if you believe
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prosecutors she's a criminal authorities describe a case of lust greed and murder
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whichever it is the drama unfolded on January 23rd 2017 [Music] there were fire tracks outside of her
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house and I was like oh gosh there was no police yet it was just the First Responders Elise bluel was a friend of
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Monica simen Tilly's we spoke with her in 2018 she says Monica texted her to come over the night Fabio was killed it
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was her and her daughters she just kept saying that he's gone that I'm not a wife anymore I just held her I just held
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her it was so painful just the Weeping the not being able to breathe she was beyond
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devastated Beyond devastated Monica's husband Fabio was slumped over his chair by the pool had
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you seen the body had you seen didn't I just wanted to be the best possible comfort
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I didn't know how to comfort that she couldn't speak in complete sentences until like the fourth day
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detectives quickly learned the victim Fabio cimeni had been a superstar in the beauty business Welcome to
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Hollywood you're on he was a happy man whoa we spoke with those who knew him best in
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2017 Bobo's sister aota and he wanted everybody around him happy all right and now it'll go backwards you say the best
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way to describe my dad oh my god really is like a cup of coffee in the morning Luigi cimenti Bobo's son from an earlier
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marriage he gets you going he lifts your spirits he gets you determined to charge
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the mountain of Life did your friends say hey Luigi is that your dad absolutely yeah it was kind of a fun
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thing you know uh it's hard to to avoid him when you type in seilly on on Google
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it's very hard in fact when you type in my name Luigi SEI the first thing that comes up is his profile yeah Fabio and
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his sister Morel began cutting hair in Toronto Canada good that's beautiful I love it that's where Fabio met Monica a
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customer and makeup artist he married in 1997 the wedding was incredible restaurant tour Joe Mercurio grew up
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with Fabio he was best man at Fabio's wedding to Monica we were dancing right to the very end we saw their
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relationship as a love story Fabio was also in love with his career he and his sister Mela were
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getting famous hey welcome FB look at this in 2008 Fabio was promoted to an executive job at the beauty giant Wella
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I'd love to recommend something new and moved his family to La Pete castios was Fabio's colleague what happened was this
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was the opportunity to really allow the things that he wanted for his family to come to life by taking in a bigger role
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he and Monica settled into a life most of us can only dream about well there won be snow in Africa this
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Christmas he's r a Porsche yeah what man doesn't want a Porsche in Los Angeles you're absolutely right they were living
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the life and raising their two teenage daughters Jessica and Isabella my own family unit is uh the most most dear to
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me then came that January day it was late afternoon as he sat by the pool Fabio was stabbed to death his then
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16-year-old daughter Isabella discovered his body to investigators the Simmon Tilly
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case started out a mystery but from early on they had at least one intriguing clue from a neighbor's security camera
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they could see two figures and hoodies running close to Simon Tilly's House at the time of the murder a little while
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later Fabio's porch being driven away back then investigators didn't suspect Monica had anything to do with Fabio's
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death she wasn't even home at the time he was killed instead they looked at those two hooded figures and thought
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they seemed a lot like these guys what do you call these guys well we call them the knock knock burglars at the time of
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Fabio's murder in 2017 La was plagued with break-ins from notorious teams of criminals so this is
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LAPD footage yeah they know what they're doing and they know what they want I mean they're running wild yeah they were
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hitting homes of celebrities all over Los Angeles police say this may have been a case of him being in the
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wrong place at the wrong [Music] time at least seven celebrities had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
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of jewelry taken it was 27 17 and for years the homes of La celebrities were targeted high-profile victims include
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$300,000 from former Laker star Derek fiser $175,000 for Nicki Minaj and 2 million
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from Alanis Mor sets Brentwood home they're moving just as quick as they can in and out in about 3 minutes
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they ransack a bedroom find some jewelry and get out William Dunn a Los Angeles Police
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Department detective at the time had hours of videotape of the knocknock burglars in action all over wealthy Los
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Angeles neighborhoods this one comes from a home just a few miles from Fabio's months after his murder they
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seem to know what to look for right they're looking for jewelry they're looking for cash look at him yeah he's
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checking clothes he's feeling the clothes to see if somebody's put jewelry or cash in some of the pockets see now
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he's seeing that safe ah see and now he gets he tells his buddy hey look at what
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we found now look at how many seconds and this is a a real heavy safe but they're very determined they put a lot
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of effort into it and it's so heavy he can't he can't lift the thing but look at how he's just going to slide that
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thing out so they got the safe that's Pay Dirt they go g yep you see they're gone
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to detectives those two hooded figures recorded on a neighbor surveillance camera near Fabio's house right around
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the time of his murder looked a lot like the knocknock burglars and the Simon Tilly home had
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its own cameras detectives hoped they would find even more video of those hooded figures on those tapes there were
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four cameras outside the Simmon Tilly house but when police came to look for the video it was gone a DVR like this
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was in the garage it stored all the surveillance whoever broke in must have taken it strangely besides taking
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Fabio's Porsche that black box was one of the only things stolen from the house say investigators Monica told them she
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thought some inexpensive jewelry and $11,000 in cash was possibly missing but she wasn't sure detectives say the home
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safe hadn't been touched the only thing I thought that was unusual is why didn't
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they take more why didn't they take his watch the suspected burglars left behind
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an $88,000 Rolex on Simmon Tilly's [Music] wrist but within months the knock knock
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burglars began to fade as police suspects because the police were hanging on to a big secret nobody
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except investigators knew it at the time but they discovered blood at the crime scene that did not belong to Fabio cimen
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Tilly that meant detectives had DNA to work with DNA that eventually led to a suspect we were able to develop forensic
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evidence some of that was DNA which identified Robert Baker Robert Baker he had been a
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racketball League director at a Los Angeles gym not far from Fabio's house and Monica's friend Elise knew him we
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spoke to her about him in 2018 how would you describe Rob Baker he was cool we all really liked him he was
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one of those gy guys you know Elise played in his League he was very Alpha he was a very alpha male there was also
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kind of a sexually thing about him there was something sexual about him you know how
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some guys just have this sexual kind of I don't know he's very manly he was in shape and he was kind of
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you know kept everything he was in charge he was also Tangled Up in the porn industry even doing some acting
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Elise didn't know much about Baker's background but she did hear about his movie career from a friend who happened
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to spot him in an adult film that's like the kind of Gossip you just need to tell
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someone who did you tell I told Monica Monica was also in Robert Baker's racket ball league what was her reaction
00:15:43
well it was pretty anticlimactic I'll tell you really yeah cuz a lot of times when we would have girl talk she' get a
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little prudy like a little prude what Elise didn't know was that Robert Baker was also a registered sex offender
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Robert Baker has a 1993 conviction out of a Long Beach case it's for luden lascivious acts with a minor police say
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baker serve time for that offense against a teenage girl for months police watched Baker and
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they discovered two things first he was definitely not one of the knock knock burglers and second he made thousands of
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calls and texts to EV all people people Monica cimenti in fact just days after Fabio's
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death Monica held a wake in her backyard and Robert Baker actually showed up you
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did meet him I did morela says she saw Monica hanging out with Baker I saw her back outside again the drink smoking and
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talking to this guy I found out that that was his name Rob and um she introduced me to him Luigi noticed him
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too Robert and Monica were in the corner talking to each other sort of away from
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the party and there was something else Luigi noticed about Baker he had uh bandages on his hands one guest even
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snapped these pictures of Monica and Robert Baker together if you look closely you can just make out a bandage
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on Baker's finger police would later conclude Baker cut that finger when he killed Fabio and that's how his blood
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was at the scene detectives visited Monica at home using what they called aruse telling her they
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were investigating the knock knock burglar when in fact they were investigating her and secretly following
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Monica and Robert Baker and according to authorities it paid off they say they found evidence that Monica and Baker
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were having an affair and conspired to kill Fabio over the past several months months investigators have developed
00:18:00
information and identified Robert Baker 55 years old of Koga Park and Monica cimenti 45 years old of
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Woodland Hills who was the wife of our homicide victim as responsible for his murder he said uh we arrested Monica for
00:18:21
the murder of your brother and Robert Baker for the murder of your brother and I was in shock I'm like they
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you sure you know I I was in shock according to the prosecution these two were plotting and planning to kill Fabio so
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they could live their life together Mary fulan is a former Federal prosecutor and a 48 Hours consultant it
00:18:53
was a very complicated investigation as author hustled Robert Baker and Monica simonelli into court
00:19:03
they each pleaded not guilty people versus Robert Baker but almost 6 years later Robert Baker
00:19:12
changed everything when he came to court that day people were stunned [Music] Monica simonelli was being accused of
00:19:42
cheating on Fabio with that racket ball coach Robert Baker and then along with Baker planning fao's murder my instant
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and thorough and complete reaction was there's no effing way I was there she was
00:20:01
decimated after months of crying and grieving alongside Monica Bobo's family couldn't believe it either 20 some years
00:20:10
in my life she like a sister she was a cool aunt to my kids she was lovable whole family felt that way about her
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then in 2023 Baker skipped trial all together and pleaded no contest Robert Baker pleads no contest and that's in
00:20:30
essence accepting responsibility for the murders he's ultimately sentenced to life without
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parole the maximum sentence in this case is life in prison without the possibility of parole plus one year you
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understand this yes sir but while Baker was accepting responsibility for Fabio's
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death Monica wasn't what he and Monica did to my brother Fabio is unfor forgivable but Monica's own daughters
00:21:01
Isabella and Jessica supported their mom we will continue to stand by our mother
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as we have done for the last 6 years and we will fight for her innocence as Monica prepared to go to
00:21:14
tribe her defense attorney Leonard Lavine made a statement we are confident that Robert Baker's guilty pleas and his
00:21:23
truthful testimony will finally establish once and for all that Monica simonelli had nothing to do with the
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planning or the murder of Fabio simonelli her husband Monica's defense team wasn't
00:21:40
answering questions before trial so we asked New York based defense attorney Julie rendelman to review Monica's
00:21:48
defense team's pre-trial motions there's no witnesses that we know of so far that
00:21:54
are going to come forward and testify that she planned this Murder She says Monica's relationship with Baker doesn't
00:22:03
prove anything it seems to strengthen the DA's case that not only did she have an affair but the person she was having
00:22:09
the affair with is the killer I hear you but the problem is is that simply because an individual is having an
00:22:17
affair the you cannot take the leap to get to um an individual being responsible um for the death of their
00:22:27
loved one certainly not Beyond Reasonable Doubt but the prosecution says the affair is key to establishing a
00:22:34
conspiracy between Monica and Robert Baker an alleged conspiracy detective spent months
00:22:45
tracking how long was that investigation 5 months 5 to 6 months while the da also declined an interview
00:22:52
before going to trial former prosecutor Mary fulan reviewed the case against Monica so this is the scene of the crime
00:23:02
yeah you this is where the two joggers you know came according to the video from a neighbor uh running up here
00:23:12
toward the house prosecutors say that first hooded figure in the green sweatshirt is Robert Baker so what about
00:23:20
that accomplice we don't know who that person is it's a mystery what does this indictment say about Monica centilli
00:23:30
yeah this indictment is a very detailed outline and timeline of the plot to kill
00:23:36
fabios selli the motive here is simple I mean this is love and money this is one of
00:23:41
the oldest crimes in the book where you know two lovers desperately wanting to be together and they try to get rid of
00:23:48
one of the spouses so they can be together for what for financial benefit and that would mean the 3/4 of a million
00:23:54
life insurance policy the house 401ks police say the plan was to Stage the scene to make it look like the work of
00:24:03
the knocknock burglars and throw police off their Trail and they believe Monica was deeply involved they believe she was
00:24:13
one the coordinated everything the one that showed him you know where the house was where the DVR was so that he knew
00:24:20
where to go to rip it out of the walls how to get into the house and that's not all the prosecutor says 6 months before
00:24:28
before the murder Monica forwarded this email sharing details of her home security system with Baker she provided
00:24:37
the password the username the logging credentials as well as the user manual to Robert Baker the same day that she
00:24:45
received it from the surveillance company and then there's the day of the murder prosecutors say Monica's behavior
00:24:54
that day is a key element of her role in The Conspiracy to kill faia according to
00:25:01
prosecutors this surveillance video shows Monica left home at 326 p.m. driving the family's black Ford F-150
00:25:14
pickup this is where she came according to prosecutors to establish her Alibi so that happens in
00:25:22
this parking lot she pulls in here in her Ford 150 pickup truck right in front of this store stops for just a few
00:25:30
minutes prosecutors say they have video where it appears an individual gets into
00:25:35
Monica's truck they say that person was Robert Baker Monica then goes alone into the
00:25:44
Target store and begins shopping but as she leaves prosecutors say this surveillance photo shows her fixated on
00:25:54
her phone they would tell a grand jury it appear years she was streaming video from her home a lot of it but what was
00:26:04
Monica watching how do you think Robert Baker's plea will affect Monica cen's trial for
00:26:13
a look at a timeline of the case go to 48 hours.com [Music] so what was Monica simonelli watching on
00:26:35
her phone that afternoon at about the time her husband was being murdered the phone records and data show
00:26:43
that she's connecting to a unique IP address it happens to be the IP address of the house and there's a large amount
00:26:49
of data that's being consumed and that large amount of data is consistent with video streaming I.E the surveillance
00:26:59
video that surveillance video according to the DA it might have been video from her
00:27:06
home security cameras but could Monica have been watching the actual murder no the surveillance cameras on
00:27:16
the house are are facing outside but they're not facing in the pool area which was where Fabio was located at the
00:27:22
time so they didn't actually capture the murder but they would capture obviously
00:27:26
who was coming and going Monica could have been watching everything else prosecutors say they're
00:27:34
going to argue she's watching the scene the scene of the crime to see the comings and going of when Baker and the
00:27:40
accomplice are going into the house when are they leaving the house so that she knows when she can leave here and go
00:27:47
home prosecutors say while she's watching the feed Baker and his accomplice were on the simen Tilly
00:27:54
property stalking Fabio according to the prosecution quote it was a very targeted attack that was
00:28:02
done with the intent to kill they also go on to say that quote he was stabbed in the
00:28:08
neck it cut his jugular vein cut the carded artery and there's more evidence of the
00:28:19
plot to kill Fabio prosecutors say baker was planning a future with Monica the da said say that about 2
00:28:28
months before the murder uh Baker told a friend that he'd been dating this woman
00:28:33
for about a year uh and that he sent a picture of that woman and that woman was Monica and then two months later Fabio
00:28:40
was killed authorities also say Monica's Behavior after the murder is suspect she
00:28:51
didn't move her teenage daughters out of the [Music] house or have her security system
00:28:58
repair and the prosecutors argue that the reason why she had no concern because she knew who the killer was and
00:29:04
she was with them this is a woman who is pretending to be a grieving Widow and making all
00:29:10
these posts on social [Music] media who at the same time is carrying on a Tor love affair with the man who
00:29:24
actually killed her husband prosecutors made explicit photos public in court filings some we can't show you
00:29:34
they say it's evidence the secretive romance continued after Fabio's death I mean that's a double life the da
00:29:43
presented a photograph of Monica and and Baker to the grand jury and it was a photograph of Monica actually grabbing
00:29:50
his crotch and this was one uh that was taken in Vegas there was also this this photo of
00:29:58
a mirror right and it was a photo of the back of Monica with Mrs Baker uh written
00:30:04
a lipstick on the mirror the lipstick and the mirror what does that tell them again this all goes
00:30:12
to motive I mean Mrs Baker she wanted to be Mrs Baker but when detectives asked Monica
00:30:20
about Robert Baker prosecutors say she told them she wasn't even sure of his last name they say she also told them
00:30:29
she wasn't sure how to work the home security cameras to quote the prosecution here they say quote she's a
00:30:36
liar she's a manipulator she's a cheater and everything that comes out of her mouth has to be taken with a large grain
00:30:42
of salt large enough so that you could choke on it if they can show that Monica lied about her lifestyle about the
00:30:49
affair about a variety of other things that they'll convince the jury that she's also lying about her involvement
00:30:54
in this conspiracy to kill Fabio and they say when she was later confronted about why Baker's blood was
00:31:02
found in her house she continued to lot she comes up with some cockin story about you know playing rocketball with
00:31:12
Baker and hitting him in the finger and that it was bleeding and there was a bloody towel and she had to bring it
00:31:18
home and and that's why his blood was at the house but full Jan says one of the biggest his pieces of evidence against
00:31:29
Monica is what happened when police came up with a plan to secretly record the couple it began when they pulled them
00:31:37
over as they were driving it's a ruse by the police they say that they think the
00:31:42
car that they're in is stolen and they wanted to you know just check it out and you know probably isn't and they
00:31:49
handcuff them per protocol put them into the police vehicle but what they don't know is that vehicle's wired and that
00:31:54
there's a van up the street with police in it listening to the every word and it's at that point Monica says and I'm
00:32:02
going to quote here somebody must have talked somebody is doing this to us and then she said they must have something
00:32:10
they must have something that's pretty damning evidence as a former prosecutor that is close to
00:32:21
an Omission to being involved in this conspiracy according to detectives Monica was also recorded telling her
00:32:28
cellmate he's not just my lover he's my Confidant he's my everything detectives also intercepted
00:32:37
letters Monica wrote to Baker from behind bars saying I'm always amazed how we both know what the other is thinking
00:32:47
destined and I miss you so much my love when you look at these pieces in the totality it's going to put together a
00:32:55
pretty perfect puzzle here and the puzzle will paint this picture that Monica conspired with Baker that he did
00:33:02
not do it alone that they did it together but Monica's Defenders say the case against her is flimsy and they say
00:33:13
baker did it without her Robert Baker may have killed him because he wanted him out of the way
00:33:21
maybe he did it because he hoped that by killing him he would get Monica Tim himself himself that in and of itself
00:33:29
does not establish that Monica was in on the [Music] murder Monica simen Till's defense is
00:33:55
adamant she had absolutely nothing to do with Fabio's murder the defense's position is that there is no hard
00:34:02
evidence actually no evidence that establishes Monica citelli participated in a conspiracy and if you can't prove a
00:34:11
conspiracy you can't prove Monica's guilt says rendelman the sheer number of circumstances that seem to weave
00:34:21
together the parking lot meeting the walking into the store and watching video that is streamed live from the
00:34:30
home the password being given to the killer all of those things the sum of them wouldn't a jury believe is just too
00:34:41
much of a coincidence obviously I can't answer for what a jury's going to say um
00:34:45
the defense I can promise you is going to attempt to poke holes holes in every single piece of evidence you just spoke
00:34:53
about so let's go step by step the sharing of that password for the surveillance video so there is no
00:35:02
question that she shared the password let me says there's no connection between sharing that password and a
00:35:10
murder plot there's absolutely no evidence between the 6 months that she shared it and the day he was killed that
00:35:17
establishes there was any plan in place between them whatsoever to have her husband killed not a text not an email
00:35:25
not a conversation with her best friend saying she's over her relationship the second issue is there's absolutely no
00:35:34
evidence that Robert Baker downloaded the app or ever even used the app let's talk about the actions in the
00:35:46
parking lot the day of the markers someone appears to be getting into the car keep a couple things in mind one is
00:35:53
from the defenses perspective the video footage is so grainy that you can't make
00:35:58
out who if anybody is getting into Monica Celli's car and what about the allegation that she was watching video
00:36:07
of the house as the murder took place once she went inside the target there was a point in time where she
00:36:16
seemed fascinated fixated on her phone well I'll tell you one thing the prosecution doesn't know what she was
00:36:22
watching on her phone they cannot articulate nor will they ever be able to articulate what was going on on in that
00:36:28
phone but it was being streamed from her home she could be watching a show just like any one of us watched a show while
00:36:34
we're walking along the prosecution really digs in on Monica's character fact that she's
00:36:44
having an affair well let me quote what the defense says in regards to that quote the prosecutor's evidence of M
00:36:51
Simon tell's Affair and specifically the sexist and Lord manner in which it was presented was irrelevant improper and
00:37:00
unfairly prejudicial to M simentelli they go on and say the sexual and romantic details of their Affair were
00:37:09
simply irrelevant to the question whether they conspired to murder Fabio Celli but then why lie to investigators
00:37:19
allegedly saying she was unsure of Robert Baker's last name the question becomes why is she lying is she lying
00:37:28
because she committed a murder or is she lying because she has been in a trist with someone for quite a while and
00:37:35
doesn't want the world to know particularly law enforcement prosecutors did find it
00:37:41
suspicious that on the night Fabio died Monica was already inquiring about his life insurance but rendelman says it's
00:37:50
not odd I understand um how it could look insensitive to start asking about a life insurance
00:38:00
policy so soon after but if you're uh an individual that is not financially sound
00:38:07
you have two girls at home you have potentially a mortgage to pay you have bills to pay you are going to be worried
00:38:16
about the Financial Security of your family and come trial says rendleman what may really help Monica is that she
00:38:24
won't be tried with Baker the jury will not see the man who committed the actual
00:38:30
murder at the defense table next to Monica and that could make the case harder for prosecutors says Mary fan and
00:38:39
the fact that he's her lover and the killer the one that the DNA is around the house I mean that there is a
00:38:45
spillover effect and that all would have you know potentially impacted I think the jury in this case and he's no longer
00:38:51
there would you say it was his last gift to Monica yeah I would cuz there's absolutely no other reason for him
00:38:57
actually to plead straight up without any real plea bargain here to life without the possibility of parole except
00:39:06
I guess his last murderous chivalrous act but it seems Baker may have an even bigger impact on Monica's case 48 Hours
00:39:18
went to see him in jail and he told us Monica had nothing to do with the murder of Fabio and she never knew that he was
00:39:27
Fabio's killer Baker also told us that he's no longer in touch with Monica and he has not decided if he will
00:39:37
testify another factor that could help Monica says rendleman the daughters Monica shared with Fabio are standing
00:39:45
behind their mother and so there's an argument to be made that the jury's looking at the daughter saying if they
00:39:51
believe her after all this shouldn't we as for Monica herself she's never spoken publicly except at a
00:40:01
memorial for her deceased husband how lucky am I to have lived the greatest love story of all
00:40:07
time the story that people only read about the story that movies are made of thank you so much
00:40:18
[Music] [Music] need more time with 48 Hours go deep behind every True Crime episode with
00:40:33
firsthand accounts from 48 Hours investigations were you at all prepared for what happened in this case shock is
00:40:40
the word that comes to mind get inside the twists and turns and get in on the case listen to postmortem from 48 hours
00:40:46
now available wherever you get your [Music] podcasts real people real crimes real
00:41:01
life drama Brian Binger was a typical Marine that kind of an All-American kind of
00:41:14
persona he was assigned to a color guard in Washington DC there's pictures of him in the white
00:41:23
house with President George W bush from the out looking in it seemed like Brian brimager
00:41:30
had everything going for him in 2011 after having served s years in the Marine Corps Brian brimager
00:41:37
leaves the Marines and he decides to go uh to Panama and his plan is to decompress uh
00:41:45
take some time off my sister was deeply in love with the man named Brian brimager all she
00:41:56
wanted was to be with him and love him they were so madly in love I think she was very proud of him because he was a
00:42:01
marine she used to say things like I'm with a marine Ivonne went down to Panama with
00:42:08
Bryan to start a new life that's where Ivonne wanted to be it was perfect I am Michelle Valenzuela and
00:42:16
my sister is Ivon baldelli she likes a karaoke she likes to dance did Ivon like it here she love it here just love it
00:42:25
here places with cheap beers and happy hour it's beautiful she's got the water right
00:42:32
in front of her house where are we right now okay we're on Isla Carino in baselo
00:42:38
this is the the house they were renting in uh Brian bager and Ivan belli Ivon told her family members that
00:42:47
everything was good she painted a very happy picture through email she made it seem like everything was fine and well
00:42:55
the reality of it was that her and buringer were fighting constantly after I'd heard stories of
00:43:02
the fights I could understand why she would want to leave she fell off the radar screen she just went away one day
00:43:09
her emails stopped her communication stopped everybody lost contact with her there's no immigration records that
00:43:16
indicates that she left Panama there's no book for this there no book for dummies on what to do when your sister
00:43:21
has gone missing kiner from the outside appears to be a Tropical Paradise but it's a swampy
00:43:29
Hill I call it Devil's Island because some Terrible Things took place on that island Brian brimager has done nothing
00:43:40
zero to help with the search Ron we are in Central America in some jungle in some swamp looking for ION that to the
00:43:52
middle is really deep this is unbelievable what no one knew is that Brian Binger
00:44:00
had a secret he was living a double life Brian Binger moved to California hooked
00:44:06
up with christien woven and they got married christien worked at the White House and that's where she and Brian
00:44:15
met and his life is going on like normal and her life will never be the same what did you do to her
00:44:24
Brian we knew that there had been Foul Play we knew he was the last one to see her alive Brian's coming out with his
00:44:30
golf clubs let's go let's go guys and this is what I know okay you're rolling let's go my sister went down to Panama
00:44:37
with Brian Brian returned and my sister didn't Brian brimage was exceptionally arrogant but what he didn't account for
00:44:44
was this family's fervor to find what happened to their daughter and their sister Brian Peter vanent with CBS News
00:44:51
we'd like to ask a couple questions it's an easy thing to tell the truth he told a lot of
00:45:04
lies that's what led to his demise I'm Peter vanand tonight on 48 Hours Devil's Island
00:45:20
[Music] [Applause] [Music] 48 hours we'll be back in 90 [Music] seconds in the spring of 2012 Brian
00:45:54
Bremer was living the high life in southern Califoria California just months removed from a decorated Marine
00:46:00
Corps career brimager was happily married and living in the suburbs when I look at the pictures of
00:46:07
Brian and Kristen I just see a couple in love and and super sincerely happy and just
00:46:15
enjoying the day at the beach in La Hoya these joyful newlywed photos of Brian and Christen brimager were a shock to
00:46:23
Ivonne bald deli's family they expected her to be in the picture it wasn't their
00:46:29
wedding day but they came in their wedding attire in a limousine and champagne flowing photographer Jack
00:46:35
English had no idea of the Intrigue Behind These happy images that Brian had proposed to Kristen just days after
00:46:44
Ivonne disappeared in Panama she looked very happy very in love as if she found her prince
00:46:51
charming Prince Charming a man who had just left Ivon baldelli in Panama 2 weeks earlier how could this happen we
00:47:01
traveled to the remote islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama to find out up ahead is the island of kinero
00:47:11
where Ivonne and Brian who the locals called brim came to live in September 2011 it's a place where they could chase
00:47:19
their [Music] dream why did they decide to go to Panama she liked the fact that they
00:47:29
could live on the beach you know pretty pretty reasonably priced down there ivonne's sister Michelle Valenzuela says
00:47:36
Brian wanted to become a singer performing in bars and clubs with her beloved dog Georgia May
00:47:44
in hand Ivonne brought two sewing machines in hopes of starting a clothing business stepmother Lillian fost she was
00:47:53
going to make bathing suits and sell them to tourists I knew she was excited and she she didn't have any reservations
00:48:00
it sounded like she had a real plan for the future she did and she thought that she found her Paradise her Perfect Place
00:48:10
Michelle recalls how her younger sister Ivonne recently divorced was smitten with Brian when they first started
00:48:17
dating in 2009 in Southern California do think she was physically attracted to him that was a big part of it and while
00:48:25
Ivon seemed be falling in love with Brian big sister Michelle wasn't so sure as far as emotionally from my sister yon
00:48:36
would put 100% into you and she would expect that back and I didn't get that impression that she was receiving that
00:48:43
that concerned me she deserved that after Ivonne was laid off from her management job with Proctor and Gamble
00:48:50
and Brian ended his career in the Marines the two decided to make a fresh start and re invent themselves in Panama
00:48:59
settling in this house they quickly fell in with the local expats did you think they were in
00:49:07
love apparently it seems so Joan and Steven Crabtree own the cosmic crab a funky Resort and Waterfront Bar where
00:49:16
Brian would sing for his supper he played here at the cosmic crab um couple of nights a week and they were frequent
00:49:24
visitors here they were very nice people people Penny Tom owner of another Waterfront Bar also let Brian play for
00:49:32
food and free booze lots of booze they used to drink a lot so they were always happy what's a lot a
00:49:42
lot and Jim Merton says Brian's drinking may have gotten in the way of his singing he played the guitar good but
00:49:50
when he started to sing that's when it went away what was it like M like a hound dog on
00:49:57
porch she looked very happy in the pictures and she was really enjoying herself there and I I knew it would be a
00:50:03
place that she would like for ivonne's Father Jim fa the constant stream of Joyful phone calls and emails describing
00:50:11
the couple's Panama Adventures was reassuring yvon's emails were stories of exactly what her life was like down
00:50:18
there and I could picture it and I could close my eyes and it it was like I was there I couldn't imagine the whole thing
00:50:23
emails like this one she says hi sis Brian already working at local restaurants and bars we love it we wake
00:50:32
up and go running then swim in the ocean every morning and so yvon's family thought all
00:50:38
was well in paradise and that Brian might be the one for Avon I believed that they were going to get married
00:50:45
that's what I thought was going to happen when they got down there but then right around Thanksgiving
00:50:53
2011 3 months after they arrived in Panama the happy emails and calls from Ivonne
00:51:00
started to drop off for Michelle a sisterly Instinct started to kick in that's what set me off was the fact that
00:51:09
um they were becoming less frequent the emails from her and then they stopped completely two weeks passed then on
00:51:18
December 14th Michelle finally got a text but it wasn't from Ivon there was a number I didn't recognize and a text
00:51:27
message on there said this is Brian May I make arrangements to pick up my truck Michelle was shocked Brian was back in
00:51:35
the US I sat up called that number for only thing out of my mouth was where's my sister he says didn't you get my
00:51:43
email I said I haven't received any emails from anybody it's been a few weeks I said I'll call you back so I
00:51:50
went to my computer Michelle discovered an email she had overlooked it was from Brian who had never written before the
00:51:59
one from him stated I'm sure you've heard by now that Vonnie and I are no longer together I called him right back
00:52:04
so I asked him point blank what happened and he said they had got in a fight because she had found out that he had a
00:52:11
child from somebody else that's somebody else Kristen work Hoven the two had a baby girl in
00:52:19
2010 since Evon was unable to have a child because of a medical condition the discovery must have been Earth
00:52:26
shattering Brian then said Ivonne just up and left I said do she leave a note no has she tried to call you since no do
00:52:35
you know where she's at no and I said I haven't heard from her Brian and he said well I'm sure she's
00:52:43
fine but Michelle had her doubts about that story and 10 days later when Brian called and still wanted to pick up his
00:52:51
truck Michelle said she had another plan I said when you come to pick up the truck I'll be here that's no problem and
00:52:59
I think it's a good idea that you go with me to the police department since you're the last one to see her and we
00:53:04
can fill out a missing person's report cuz now we're already the mid December and I haven't heard anything from her
00:53:10
and that's not right something's wrong in December of 2011 Michelle Valenzuela was still worried about her missing
00:53:34
sister so she went back to her computer where she found another overlooked message this one from Ivon hi sis just
00:53:43
an update Brian and I are no longer together I should have trusted my instincts that he is a lying cheating
00:53:49
I'm headed to Costa Rica with a man I met when we first got to bcus what' you think when you read this email
00:53:55
I just wasn't sure there's some things in there that didn't feel right to me her head was spinning could Ivonne
00:54:01
really have run off with another man after learning that Brian had a l child all yvon ever wanted to do was be a
00:54:08
mother that's all she ever wanted to do was be a mother to find out that Brian had a child you know she sold everything
00:54:15
she had to go to the other ends of the world to be with his man and he didn't tell her about that I'm questioning what
00:54:19
her mental state is right now she's heartbroken in Upstate New York Jim and Lillian fa also felt the turn of events
00:54:28
was just so out of character for their daughter for her life to change so abruptly and she's like oh well I'm
00:54:35
going with this guy and to Costa Rica Costa Rica that made absolutely positively no sense to me also making no
00:54:44
sense 3 weeks had passed since Ivonne had emailed from Panama but then out of the blue she sent a new email it was
00:54:53
strange miss you and everyone at home I'm starting to get a little homesick I'm working on plans to get home as
00:54:58
early as the second week of January I've been living with Cliffhangers for a while love you sis Ivon while strange
00:55:06
the email was also reassuring for her family who is happy to learn Ivonne would soon return to California so I
00:55:14
stopped worrying I figured okay she knows that in January we're having a family get together she's going to be
00:55:20
there do you feel she's safe at this at this point I was still worried but I was
00:55:25
satisfied with it for the the moment on the same day that email arrived so too did Brian brimager knocking on the front
00:55:33
door of Michelle's La home to pick up his truck what did you see on his face what was his demeanor like he was just
00:55:41
in a hurry he was calm it was very brief all business yes get his stuff get his truck and
00:55:48
leave after Brian got his pickup truck yvon's emails stopped 16 long days p pass until on January 6th 2012 Michelle
00:56:01
wrote her sister the subject worried I just want to make sure you weren't kidnapped or someone pretending to be
00:56:08
you haha there's my paranoid Suspicious Mind or maybe too many 48 hours did you ever hear back from your
00:56:16
sister again no that's the last email Michelle was still hopeful that she would appear at that family reunion
00:56:24
but avonne never showed up well at that point when we met up with my dad and I told him we haven't heard from her he
00:56:32
said oh no something's wrong something's wrong and I told my dad she did not leave Panama that's just my
00:56:39
Feeling by now Michelle was convinced her sister never ran off to Costa Rica with another man so her Instinct was to
00:56:48
learn where ivonne's emails were really coming from so I went to my cousin and asked him to please check check it out
00:56:56
cuz like I said I haven't had I haven't got a clue the cousin a technology whiz said tracking ivonne's emails would be
00:57:03
easy all he needed was their IP addresses so we searched the emails Ivonne had supposedly sent from Panama
00:57:11
and Costa Rica as well as that email Brian had sent from near Dana Point California the cousin made a startling
00:57:20
Discovery the ones from Panama came from Panama and then the one that was supposed to be with her being in Co Rica
00:57:26
came from the United States where in the United States one of them looked like they were coming from Dana Point that
00:57:33
email Michelle says originated from where Brian was now living near Dana Point California it was the evidence
00:57:41
Michelle had been looking for they were sharing the same IP address so ivonne's email is coming from Brian's computer
00:57:51
yes the family's worst fear had come true it appeared Brian had had hacked into ivonne's email account and was
00:57:59
impersonating her but why that's when I knew that he did something to her and it's not missing person it's murder now
00:58:08
it's murder I said my sister's dead and I'm never going to see her again but Michelle had no time to mourn she took
00:58:17
that new evidence down to the FBI where she met with special agent Andrew Masters Michelle Val's way she was a
00:58:25
Spitfire when they brought that to us we knew that there was absolutely Foul Play
00:58:30
involved the FBI immediately launched an investigation into ivonne's disappearance with Masters taking charge
00:58:39
ivonne's family then contacted the state department I call the Embassy and the embassy tells us there is no record of
00:58:46
her ever leaving Panama and no record of her ever entering Costa Rica ivonne's family couldn't wait any longer they
00:58:55
traveled to pan to find answers the FBI made a move as well targeting Brian brimager as a
00:59:03
person of interest Brian didn't realize what exactly the FBI is capable of with the FBI investigation underway
00:59:27
in the states ivonne's family met up with legendary investigator Don winter in Panama City why is it when something
00:59:37
goes bad with an American citizen in Panama you get the phone call I've already put away or helped to put away
00:59:43
three serial killers so when bad things happen they know that to come to me when
00:59:49
when they don't know what else to do winter is an ex us intelligence officer with an uncanny ability to solve murders
00:59:57
Jim and Lillian tell Dawn the story of their daughter's disappearance and Brian's claim that she's run off with
01:00:05
another man I think the chances that she's running around in Costa Rica somewhere with some other dude are damn
01:00:11
near zero here's the deal this is what happened this is what we think is going on it's not the first time winter a CBS
01:00:17
News consultant has worked on a case with 48 hours all right we're going to go take a look at this uh yellow traran
01:00:25
the intrep investigator helped solve the murder of American sailor Don North as 48 Hours reported in 2011 just on a
01:00:34
personal side in all of this can you believe you and I are doing this again no absolutely not I tell you what uh
01:00:41
it's it's it's it's amazing winter is convinced Brian Binger is involved his strategy put pressure on
01:00:51
the Panamanian government to act when Don winter speaks the people listen yeah Winner's game plan also called for Jim
01:01:00
and Michelle to give blood for DNA tests should any remains be found and when ivonne's family travels
01:01:09
hundreds of miles from Panama City to the tropical island where she disappeared the Panamanian police are
01:01:18
persuaded to hold a press conference to plead for information the family has been experiencing a living nightmare for
01:01:26
quite a few months and we continue to appeal to anyone who knows absolutely anything about Ivan's disappearance to
01:01:33
come forward Panamanian police announced for the first time that Ivonne is the victim of Foul Play and named Brian
01:01:42
brimager as the suspect this news conference reverberated around the world police say
01:01:50
within weeks of her disappearance brimager returned to the US got engaged and married another woman
01:01:56
tonight the FBI is calling him a person of interest writing the momentum of the press conference they printed
01:02:05
Flyers fanned out to neighborhoods and the village searching for their own Clues
01:02:17
own it's a Bittersweet search for Avon's niece Lauren berer in a place that is no
01:02:24
longer a paradise there's nothing here for us until we find her that's why we're
01:02:33
here but the family's Quest is starting to get results Witnesses who knew the couple come out of the woodwork
01:02:40
describing Brian's verbal and physical abuse to me he was a scary person he was uh not the kind of person I wanted to be
01:02:49
around local bar owner Jeff solsman saw it firsthand on ivonne's face as I recall it was black eyes and and
01:02:59
Blackness around the face and and bruises was she self-conscious about it she was trying to hide it and and not
01:03:06
speak of it it was very painful to learn that he had hid her that she had bruises
01:03:12
that she had black eyes those things were very difficult to learn the realization that Ivonne may have been
01:03:19
murdered is setting in where could ivonne's body have been dumped well just feed in front of that house you've got
01:03:26
thousands of square miles of water while if you just go not 20 yards from the shoreline this impenetrable
01:03:34
swamp try to find something in there but that's exactly what ivonne's family investigators and volunteers set out to
01:03:52
do entering what could be EV 's swampy graveyard describe this area that has to be searched just how difficult a place
01:04:04
is it okay it's jungle it's tropical so you have every kind of bug and Critter that you can think of spiders and snakes
01:04:10
and you know it's not a place to go slogging around through struggling through the mck the
01:04:20
spiders and the rancid water the smallest Discovery raises hope a purse a medicine bottle a mysterious
01:04:36
sinkhole I kept asking myself I want to find Ivon but do I want to find Ivonne I mean
01:04:43
I want to know where she is but do I want to see her in these swampy areas then they find a passport yeah we
01:04:53
find a US passport uh the P here none of it is yvon's but back in the United States the FBI confronted
01:05:05
Brian brimager we went and knocked on his door he answered and invited us in said
01:05:12
that he was expecting us FBI special agent Andrew Masters questioned Brian brimager for more than
01:05:20
4 hours while he babysat his young daughter this is special agent Andrew Masters along with special agent Gabriel
01:05:28
Ramirez approaching apartment m in an attempt to have a consensual monitored interview with Brian biter we weren't
01:05:37
sure if he was going to break down and confess to having a part in her disappearance and murder or if he was
01:05:42
going to become angry if he was going to kick us out Brian stuck to his story Ivonne left him for another man I come
01:05:51
back home and there was a note that said and I quote um going to Costa Rico with a man I've
01:05:58
been talking to um a few but when confronted with Michelle's email evidence Brian began to stumble
01:06:09
Brian I'm just going to kind of laid it out there man um the IP addresses are not coming back from Costa Rica or
01:06:14
Panama okay they're coming back from look here look okay so here mm okay so if if she's not hanging out around here
01:06:23
then somebody sent those emails right how did those emails get sent do you know anybody that would have her email
01:06:31
account hacked into her account no then something caught Master's eye as soon as I walk in I see a white son Vio
01:06:42
which is a computer a laptop computer exactly and we knew that Yvonne owned a white Sony VIO laptop that she had taken
01:06:48
with her to Panama what do you thinking I'm thinking we may very well have yon computer right
01:06:53
here Master's hunch was spot on it was ivonne's computer but why was it in Brian's condo and would it help unravel
01:07:03
the mystery of yvon's disappearance take the journey with Avon's family as they search the jungles
01:07:14
of Panama now at 48 hours.com even though he was under the FBI's microscope Brian Bremer remained a free
01:07:34
man living with his family on the outskirts of San Diego Kristen worked for a defense contractor while Brian
01:07:43
unemployed spent much of his time golfing recognize that man yes I do that's Brian in the summer of 2012 we
01:07:53
showed yvon's sister Michelle this video of Brian's New Life what goes through your mind when you see
01:08:02
him well honestly it's not surprising now that I know what he's capable of he thinks he got away with murder so what
01:08:10
you have here is a person killed my sister and can walk away Scott free get ready come out with
01:08:19
this golf club let's go guys okay roll just a few months after that FBI interview we came face to face
01:08:29
with the suspected killer Brian Peter vanent with CBS News we'd like to ask a couple
01:08:36
questions would you please talk to us did you murder Ivon baldelli you can speak to us you can
01:08:44
answer that question ran why why won't you speak with us did you have anything to do with her
01:08:51
disappearance well Brian heads off to enjoy another careful free day on the greens the FBI was turning his life
01:09:01
upside down interviewing everyone he knew including his wife Kristen what had Brian told her about why he was living
01:09:10
in Panama uh he told Kristen that he is going down to Panama to decompress from after leaving the Marine Corps and that
01:09:16
he was going with some Marine Corps friends did Christen urg Brian to leave Ivonne no Kristen didn't even know Ivon
01:09:23
existed so he lied to Kristen absolutely apparently all those lies didn't matter
01:09:30
to Kristen according to her Brian was the greatest thing to ever happen to anybody but that's something she didn't
01:09:38
want to share with us when 48 Hours knocked on her door hi Christian Christen I'm Ryan with CBS
01:09:54
News is there any way we can [Music] talk meanwhile as special agent Masters took several investigative trips to
01:10:05
Panama a different portrait of Brian Bremer emerged we talked to uh many people that would socialize with him at
01:10:12
bars uh and we learned about all the domestic violence uh that uh that he brought upon her uh the choking the the
01:10:20
the dragging uh the Bering after speaking with friends and neighbors of Ivonne and Brian special
01:10:27
agent Masters became certain the couple had a violent fight on November 26 2011 after Ivonne learned that Brian had
01:10:39
fathered a child with Kristen the argument probably escalated and at some point Brian decided he was done with her
01:10:46
and he was going to kill her crucial evidence was also discovered on yvon's laptop the very computer Master saw when
01:10:53
he first questioned Brian about 2 weeks before her murder Ivonne took this disturbing selfie that photo shows a
01:11:03
massive black eye on her left eye and swelling in her left cheek in a way from the grave Ivonne helped you in this
01:11:12
investigation Ivon helped us tell the story yes absolutely and there was more chilling evidence we found the Yahoo
01:11:20
searches in which he searches how to uh remove blood from a mattress uh when did
01:11:25
he do that he did that about 10:30 in the morning the night after Ivonne was murdered Masters discovered even more
01:11:34
evidence in Costa Rica where Brian is seen withdrawing cash from yvon's account we were able to obtain those ATM
01:11:42
photos so we have Brian using Ivan's debit card to extract money from her account and master says there is no
01:11:50
doubt that Brian used ivonne's laptop to send those emails to were family so we went looking for Brian bemer again to
01:12:00
get answers hey Brian I need to talk to you how do you explain the fact that ivonne's email
01:12:07
that said she was in Costa Rica that she sent to people was actually sent by you
01:12:13
from here in California can you answer that you knew she was dead when you sent that email didn't
01:12:21
you Bri we really want you to talk to us answer some questions he's never said a word never said a word
01:12:34
to us he will not answer any questions and what about ivonne's dog Georgia May which had not been seen
01:12:43
since she disappeared Don winter has a theory he knew that she loved that dog and that if the dog was running around
01:12:52
he knew that anything she said about her taking off with some guy to Costa Rica everybody would immediately know it was
01:12:56
crap so he had to get rid of the dog too in his investigation Don witer unwittingly found a key piece of
01:13:05
evidence on Brian's Facebook page where he had sold this machete after Ivon disappeared imager made a comment about
01:13:13
that knife he's like yeah that used to be mine I brought it down with me when I came down from the states and the
01:13:18
chilling part is he made a comment that said I've only used it to chop up one stripper that's just chilling
01:13:25
special agent Andrew Masters needs to get his hands on the machete to see if it was used in ivonne's
01:13:34
Murder incredibly he was able to track down the person who bought it from Brian in Panama this is the machete that Brian
01:13:43
bought in the United States and took down with him uh to Panama can you pick it up for me sure it's very heavy uh
01:13:49
it's it's weighted and uh it would inflict a lot of damage investigators had the machete they had
01:13:58
the email and they had caught Brian in multiple lies soon someone would stumble upon the most important evidence of
01:14:10
all Don winter shares some of the details of his investigation now at 48 hours.com
01:14:22
[Music] we seek answers Justice and help summer 2013 nearly 2 years have passed since
01:14:39
Ivon bald deli's disappearance you feel like you're reading a book a terrible mystery or murder mystery and there's no
01:14:47
end to it on June 26th 2013 the final chapter of this mystery began to unfold a former Marine who
01:14:57
family members say murdered his girlfriend before FBI special agent Andrew Masters slapped the cuffs on
01:15:04
Brian Bremer what did you say to him you're under arrest he said turn around put
01:15:10
your hands behind your back he needed the answer for his crime how did you learn that Brian had been arrested truth
01:15:17
be told I received a text from my dad said they got the S so and I sat down and a sense of relief because now they
01:15:25
believed us Brian briter was charged with 13 felonies relating to the coverup of ivonne's death but not murder
01:15:35
assistant us attorneys Shane herrian and Mark Conover were lead prosecutors at that point without having found the body
01:15:43
we didn't have quite enough to bring in the murder charge but that would soon change human
01:15:51
remains have been found on a Panamanian Island local worker clearing some brush on the island where Brian and Ivonne
01:15:58
lived Came Upon This duffel bag and when he unbuckled the clasp he found ivonne's
01:16:06
skeletonized Remains by the time she was found two years later she it was only bones a DNA test confirmed it was Ivonne
01:16:16
her remains were found just a few hundred yards from where the family had spent days searching I wanted to tell
01:16:23
Michelle personally when I I first heard the possibility that they found Ivonne my first reaction was for me it's good
01:16:29
news because I just feel good we can nail this bastard while the family's prayers had been answered an autopsy
01:16:36
confirmed the hellish fact that Ivon had been dismembered this is the actual device that was
01:16:44
used to dismember Ivonne the most likely cause of death was being stabbed in the
01:16:51
back at least twice despite overwhelming evidence and proof that bature had repeatedly lied his wife
01:17:04
Kristen continued to stand by him Kristen may I ask do you still believe in your husband's innocence can you just
01:17:11
tell us that don't touch the camera then for ivonne's family another cruel tragedy struck in the spring of
01:17:24
2004 14 Michelle who had dedicated her life to finding Justice for her sister now faced another deadly enemy she was
01:17:35
diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer I'm still alive to fight for my life and I'm still alive to fight for my
01:17:43
sister this was Michelle in June of 2014 and this was her just 3 months later today uh we're
01:17:57
going I'm going to be giving a deposition weakened by cancer and given just weeks to live do you saw me swear
01:18:06
or AFF Michelle a crucial witness agreed to tell her story while she still could
01:18:14
Brian Bremer would sit directly across from her try to ignore him best I can and who was Brian Bri
01:18:24
major the defendant do you see him in the courtroom here today yes I do would you please point to him and describe
01:18:32
where he is seated for the record he's sitting at the end te outfit the end Michelle passed out after the exhausting
01:18:43
testimony it was a courageous Act of love for her sister this might be the last thing I
01:18:51
get to do for her over and over and over again because it'll be on camera forever days later
01:19:00
she [Music] died it took years of diplomatic and legal wrangling but in early 2015 the government of Panama finally
01:19:15
agreed to let Brian be tried for murder on American soil we came to the conclusion that the only way that Brian
01:19:22
brimager would face Justice for his murderous Act is if he was charged and convicted here in the United States
01:19:28
Brian pleaded not guilty the case was heading for trial in 2016 when investigators made another
01:19:37
dramatic Discovery yvon's blood and DNA were found under the machete handle so these
01:19:47
three screws were undone mhm the handle opens up and inside they find blood right they removed these three and just
01:19:54
pulled it out here and conducted the testing on the blade and the imperior portion of the handle and uh found blood
01:20:01
whose's blood ions Ivon baldelli Ivon baldelli this now is a slam dunk you know that this is the tool used to
01:20:09
dismember her it was that that made Brian finally realize he was not going to get out of the he was not going to
01:20:15
lie his way out it's over it's done he had cleaned the blade but he hadn't cleaned underneath the handle and it was
01:20:21
that additional evidence that I believe eventually LED Mr brimager to plead guilty within a week brimager pleaded
01:20:30
guilty to Second deegree murder while the other charges were dropped and later at his sentencing finally admitted after
01:20:39
nearly 5 years of lies to killing Ivon baldelli and I think if you look up on the dictionary evil and you see Brian's
01:20:47
picture in there he's the ultimate carnate of evil in my mind in open court brimager apologized to V's family but
01:20:56
his words rang Hollow Brian brimager is a con artist he had our daughter con he had his new wife con he had her family
01:21:06
con he was able to live a double life sometimes a triple life and people buy what he says but his actions show that
01:21:15
he's not the person he says that he is Brian was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison
01:21:26
[Music] with the case over ivonne's remains were returned to her family and laid to rest at
01:21:43
[Music] Sea to get her remains back and be able to give her a dignified resting place I
01:21:54
can sleep better at night knowing that she's not rotting in some jungle or deep in the ocean somewhere knowing that she
01:22:00
loved the ocean knowing that we're able to put her in a place that she loved we brought her home and I know that that
01:22:07
was thanks to a lot of work of a lot of unsung heroes I know in a way two people were honored
01:22:23
this day e V and her beloved sister Michelle who battled a marine to the end and
01:22:32
won she's definitely a hero she never gave up to her dying day she gave all she [Music]
01:22:42
had Kristen and Brian brimager are still married she continues to support and visit him in federal prison Brier's
01:22:51
prison term ends in February 2037 [Music] help us solve this crime it was a Savage
01:23:10
murder a stunning model she was quite the trophy married to a multi-millionaire this is where the
01:23:19
asent got her from behind knocked her to the ground they slid her throat 8 years no arrest and there no
01:23:29
fingerprints no nothing at all there are Clues the sketch who is this is this the
01:23:34
guy that murdered my sister the letter and now that was a shock cut out in little bitty individual different
01:23:41
letters I mean why are you talking to me I want to find out who murdered my sister cbsn CBS News always on
01:24:04
now approaching the entrance way via the front door in the family dining room area we
01:24:11
see what appears to be a large pool of blood I learned never let anyone's emotions Cloud your vision when you're
01:24:23
investigating a crime a hammer covered with what appears to be blood and never jumped to any conclusion
01:24:31
semi-automatic handgun until you've had plenty of time to think about it I had seen many crime scenes where
01:24:41
there was a lot of U blood and gruesome sites but none that bad I was at the uh Springfield Police
01:24:50
Department in the major case office and I heard the radio call emergency emergency emergency emergency
01:25:00
this man my wife I shot him please help me detective Cox who was my partner at the time
01:25:10
drove dispatch advises that the second victim that was at the scene was actually believed to be the Intruder and
01:25:17
that the husband had shot the Intruder help me what's the problem I just shot this man in my house he's
01:25:26
inside your house my he beat my wife he had the hammer in his hand and he was standing over
01:25:34
her and I was like oh my God Donna oh my God are you Mark Winger yes I am yes I am and your wife is Donna yes she is I
01:25:45
got to get to my wife please just let me get to my wife [Music] Springfield is a beautiful little town
01:26:02
it's Midwestern it's small the people are sweet it's just a lovely place it's a very friendly and clean City with very
01:26:11
sensitive and compassionate people my name is Sarah Jane drer and I am Donna Winger's
01:26:18
mother Mark and Donna were just so happy we don't know where she's sleeping tonight
01:26:25
I mean she was just so enthused I mean that's all there was to it to be a mommy I mean that was the best for her she's
01:26:31
beautiful my name is Ira dresser and I am down Winger's stepfather Mark told the police
01:26:39
basically what had transpired here he was 31 years old with a 3-month-old child and he had to shoot
01:26:49
a man my gosh our hearts bled for him I don't think there was ever anyone who met her who couldn't love her say hi who
01:27:00
would want to hurt such a beautiful person where's the man at he's laying on the
01:27:09
floor from every case you learn something and this one taught me you never take anything at face value
01:27:16
nothing he was killing my wife invitation to a murder tonight's 48 Hours mystery
01:27:38
[Music] emergency emergency emergency emergency please help me my God my wife's just
01:28:13
breathing okay you need an ambulance I need everything I need everything Mark Winger was calling from
01:28:21
his own home after his wife Donna was attacked on a Hot August afternoon in 1995 who is this man I don't I don't
01:28:30
know who he is so many of the good things have been Stripped Away From [Music] Me almost everyone who knew Mark and
01:28:44
Donna Winger they were terrific together adorable she was crazy about him thought
01:28:49
they were perfect together they were absolutely an adorable model couple they were both respected and
01:28:57
successful members of their Community Mark was a nuclear engineer for the state of Illinois Donna was an operating
01:29:04
room technician I would like to just say hello to Donna and Mark and both sets of
01:29:09
in-laws were delighted when the couple got married in 1989 Donna Mark we love you so
01:29:17
much the Wingers were eager to start a family okay but there was a problem [Music]
01:29:25
they learned Donna could not bear children she's so excited she hasn't slept for days so when Donna and Mark
01:29:36
adopted a baby girl in June 1995 they were elated I mean my heart was just pounding I just couldn't
01:29:44
believe it here's grandma dresser called in our little baby Mark and Donna doted
01:29:51
on their daughter are we on Daddy and here's Dean there's de a de and they showed her off to everyone especially
01:30:00
Donna's best friend Dean Schultz Donna was really special very friendly real exuberant full of
01:30:09
life but just 3 months later the good times ended abruptly it all began when Donna
01:30:17
returned from a visit to her mother and stepfather in Florida when I kiss them goodbye the last thing I always say is
01:30:24
is tell the pilot to drive carefully and I kissed her and off she went Donna Winger and her baby arrived
01:30:35
here at the St Louis airport and got into a shuttle van for the hour and a half long ride back home to
01:30:41
Springfield it was an unusual drive with an unusual driver a man named Roger Harrington who'd been working for the
01:30:51
van company for 6 months the guy scared her she said that he was very frightening he said things about killing
01:31:00
people setting car bombs mutilating people Harrington was also speeding he was telling Donna that
01:31:10
sometimes while he drives this Godlike character would come to him pull him out of his body and he would be flying above
01:31:17
the trees she and the baby made it home but Donna was very rattled she's scared enough to tell me that she was uh very
01:31:26
uneasy and scared to be alone Mark Winger complained to Roger Harrington's boss I blew up at him told him about you
01:31:34
know his van driver speeding you know with my my wife and my baby the inappropriate things he was saying then
01:31:40
less than a week after Donna's Wild Ride Winger says he was on his treadmill in the basement when he heard a
01:31:48
thumb you come up the stairs and it's very dark in that stairwell I'm just starting to hear crying from
01:31:57
sounded like the bedroom the baby he says was alone in the master bedroom and there were strange sounds coming from
01:32:04
the dining room instantly I knew that that wasn't right at all I just grabbed my gun and uh started
01:32:14
going down the hall Winger says when he came down this hallway he saw one of the most
01:32:22
horrifying things any any husband could see his wife was on the floor here in the dining room there was a stranger
01:32:30
over her bludgeoning her with a [Music] hammer you can't imagine it you can't when I came down the hallway I had my
01:32:42
weapon pointed at him and I went to pull the trigger and that's when Winger says
01:32:46
he shot the man in the head when police got to Winger's house the victims were in terrible shape but
01:32:54
alive the male was taking real deep labored breaths and I thought his time was uh limited as paramedics went to
01:33:03
work officer Dave baringer got his Polaroid camera so I thought if we're going to have pictures with the showing
01:33:10
where the bodies were located I'm going to have to take these pictures now because they're going to be gone within
01:33:14
a matter of a few minutes he showed us how quickly he took pictures three pictures I only had three
01:33:24
pictures left in my camera within minutes both Donna and the man were rushed to the hospital I just
01:33:31
knew that she was in Dire Straits and Mark Winger began telling police what happened that day and I was like oh my
01:33:40
God you know I was like Donna oh my God [Music] I've been in criming work a long time
01:34:01
and there's been very few as severe and bloody as this one was homicide detective Charlie Cox knew there was
01:34:08
little hope that either Donna Winger or the man lying near her on the floor would survive their wounds I said a
01:34:16
prayer I do that at all my homicides I stand over the body and say a little prayer yeah Fox grabbed the man's ID
01:34:25
from his wallet and then he got Right to Work questioning Mark Winger in the bedroom I was in shock I was in shock
01:34:32
the whole time they were questioning me I did my best and he's uh more or less rocking back and forth as he's talking
01:34:38
to us and he you can tell he's nervous and upset so I'm trying to be as delicate as I can with my questions
01:34:45
Winger told the detectives the hammer was his left out by Donna as a reminder to hang a hat rack and he had a question
01:34:54
of his own he said who is that guy out there is his name Roger at that point I felt compelled to let him know the truth
01:35:01
and I said yes that's Roger Harrington he says oh my God that's the guy that's been harassing my wife and
01:35:09
me oh my God and I fell over on my side and just cried Harington was the van driver who
01:35:19
drove Donna home from the airport 6 days before Winger told Cox about that harrowing ride he also told Cox about
01:35:28
two Anonymous phone calls that Winger believed were from Harrington I thought I was going to jail cuz I just shot a
01:35:36
man in the head but Winger could not have been more wrong I tried to console him the police had all but cleared him
01:35:44
they didn't consider him a killer they considered him a victim at least here in my mind you're somewhat of a hero I say
01:35:52
you've killed the person who was killing your wife I said uh you said he was a hero yes Cox's partner Doug Williamson
01:36:02
helped to calm Winger I was trying to let him know what we were going to do how the police were going to help him
01:36:08
after Donna and Harrington were taken away Winger managed to give the detectives a detailed statement he told
01:36:15
them that Donna was on her knees when he took aim at Harington Harrington looks up at him yes and he shoots and he
01:36:22
shoots him cuz he's getting ready to go down and hit her again and then Harrington from what the position he was
01:36:29
in he said at that point he fell off of her his wife and rolled back like that Cox's investigation of the crime scene
01:36:39
backed up Mark's story basic evidence in here where the crime occurred matched up with what he was
01:36:46
saying everything everything matched up there was blood where Donna was uh killed there was blood where
01:36:52
Harrington's head landed and and gun was on the table as he said it was from when he called
01:36:58
911 what's more Harrington had been a psychiatric patient with a history of delusions and Cox knew him he once broke
01:37:07
up a fight between Harrington and his wife he had her bent over the couch getting ready to hit her again when I
01:37:13
grabbed him Harrington seems to fit the profile of a murder suspect pretty well very
01:37:21
well Harrington died shortly after arriving at the hospital and Donna died minutes later she never regained
01:37:31
Consciousness oh my [Music] God I felt deeply for him I'm a very religious person he seemed to be that as
01:37:45
well Donna's mother and stepfather Sarah Jane and Ira drer were inconsolable when
01:37:52
they heard about her murder I had to hold her because she was wailing howling wailing they were shocked to hear that
01:38:01
Donna's ride from the airport had escalated into a homicide she's a good girl was she scared by this driver she
01:38:10
wasn't scared no she wasn't scared she was just Disturbed Disturbed in a way you know that this was such a crazy
01:38:17
conversation IRA and Sarah Jane rushed to their son-in-law's side we F Terri for him he's lost his wife also and then
01:38:25
he had to turn around and shoot a man he was crying and I said Mark I know you did the best you could and I love you
01:38:34
very [Music] much it was an open and shut case one day after Winger shot Roger Harrington
01:38:45
the prosecutor announced his conclusions Mr Winger acted in self-defense uh when he shot Mr
01:38:52
Harrington and therefore at this time uh no charges will be filed against him and
01:38:58
I anticipate that there will never be any charges filed against Mr Winger yeah I was fine with that case
01:39:08
closed case was closed before then there was an outpouring of support for Mark here in Springfield almost everyone
01:39:16
believed he was a good family man whose life had been Shattered by a Madman but one family wasn't buying that story at
01:39:25
all Roger Harrington's family what were you trying to tell the police I was trying to tell him there is
01:39:33
no way you guys are so wrong I knew he was not capable Harrington's Sister Barbara Howell pleaded with Detective
01:39:41
Cox he was very rude very very rude oh very rude he said ma'am any time you want to know how your kid brother walked
01:39:50
in that home snapped and killed that woman come to my office and I'll show you step by step Roger's mother Helen
01:39:56
felt the shame of a city that believed she had raised a psychotic killer just felt branded
01:40:04
like who are we you know you felt branded how would anybody feel if their son was called a
01:40:16
murderer the harringtons bore their grief quietly believing they were alone they didn't realize that someone else
01:40:23
doubted Winger's story someone close to the investigation how convincing was Mark Winger that night and the night
01:40:32
after it was very convincing detective Doug Williamson were you convinced no Williamson had a lot of questions why
01:40:42
would Donna leave her baby alone on her bed and open the door to Harrington a man she supposedly feared Roger
01:40:50
Harrington was allowed into the house there was no forced somebody let him in and Harrington
01:40:56
parked right in front of the Winger home leaving behind a piece of paper with a puzzling message I saw that there was a
01:41:04
note on the front seat and it had Mark Winger's name his address in 4:30 p.m. he says he doesn't know Roger Harrington
01:41:12
has never met him and he does not indicate any appointment when I have already seen the note which indicates an
01:41:20
appointment there's always things in every house HDE that don't fit so what did you do with those things that
01:41:26
bothered you just let them bother me like they always do Cox saw no reason to doubt that the nuclear engineer
01:41:33
justifiably shot a disturbed Intruder but Williamson wanted to investigate further his bosses turned him down flat
01:41:42
they discounted everything I said how did they discount it they just said the case is going to be closed
01:41:48
that's it and that's the way it stayed for for 3 and 1/2 years until you didn't know what she
01:41:57
wanted to say no but you knew it was going to be big yes a surprise witness came
01:42:07
[Music] forward everyone in Springfield Illinois knew knew Mark Winger's story it was heroic and
01:42:31
heartbreaking but detective Doug Williamson had never believed one word of it I was
01:42:38
argumentative I pointed out what we call red flags pieces that don't seem to fit
01:42:44
at first Williamson couldn't even convince his own partner Charlie Cox that Winger was a murderer but Cox says
01:42:51
he started getting susp supicious when Winger kept showing up here at the police station a few months after the
01:42:58
murder Winger came by to ask for his gun back I released the gun back to Mark and
01:43:04
we sat and talked for about a half hour what did you talk to him about just things in general he was want to know
01:43:11
how how the case was going and as far as I was concerned he should have just accepted it was closed Winger denies it
01:43:17
but Cox remembers him dropping by a second time this time to say he was getting remarried to his daughter's new
01:43:25
nanny whom he had hired just 5 months after Donna's murder and he kept coming in I kept feeling like he
01:43:33
was trying to find out if we were checking into anything and I went back to Doug and said something's wrong here
01:43:40
big time Winger's Behavior was making Cox believe that his partner had been right all along he thought about the
01:43:48
problems in the case like that note in Harrington's car and now Cox also wanted the case reopened fearing that Mark
01:43:57
Winger had duped the police and the boss has said no way we're not going to open
01:44:02
a case of this magnitude with your gut feeling and embarrass the department and embarrass
01:44:09
Mr Winger as the years passed Mark's new wife adopted his child and they had two
01:44:18
other children and then all of a sudden the whole case got turned on its head we got a lucky break what was that
01:44:30
Dean Schultz deian Schultz was Donna's best friend here a Dean there's de and she was deeply troubled I was
01:44:40
hospitalized um I started drinking I um tried to overdose um I I wanted to die for 3 and 1/2 years deian had kept a
01:44:54
secret and what she was finally ready to say would change everything I know the police think that he didn't do it but
01:45:02
they maybe if you know if they knew a little you know just a little bit that I knew um there could be an
01:45:09
investigation so she said that uh her and Mark had been having an affair it was a shock to everyone
01:45:18
especially Cox who right after Donna's murder had written it it was very apparent that he and his wife were very
01:45:25
much in love and that this should have never happened and now Dean Schulz just like that says we we were having an
01:45:33
affair yes what did you make of that detective I said we got the evidence we need Dean told them the affair began a
01:45:41
month before Donna's murder and continued a few months after she died until Winger ended it it was an enormous
01:45:48
burden you sort of wanted to unload this information yes and she dropped an even bigger
01:45:58
bombshell she told police Mark wanted out of his marriage so badly he had talked about killing Donna he mentioned
01:46:06
that it would be um easier if if Donna just died deian said Winger suggested that she could play a role Daddy's
01:46:16
feeding you he had said that he would be out of town and he mentioned me coming and and finding Donna that was the the
01:46:24
gist of the the conversation yes and and I said you're crazy and deian said Winger even talked about the van driver
01:46:33
Roger Harrington according to Dean Schultz he told her he had to figure out a way to get him into the house my my
01:46:40
impression was that he was going to give him a hard time and make sure he never messed with with his family again Winger
01:46:47
admits he had an affair with deian I was a good husband to Donna I made him mistake I'm human it was stupid and it
01:46:55
was wrong but he denies everything else she said you said to her you wish Donna was dead that that's a horrible horrible
01:47:03
lie did you ever say that to her no you never said that it would be easier if Donna would just
01:47:09
die at the time deian says she didn't take Winger's comments seriously but as the years passed she felt mounting
01:47:17
pressure from her own conscience I wish that she would have lived and I would have died I would Tred places why did
01:47:24
you feel that because she didn't deserve to die she she shouldn't have she shouldn't have
01:47:30
died with Dean's dramatic Revelation the case was finally reopened looking at the
01:47:38
detectives went straight to the old files and found yet another surprise those three Polaroids taken by
01:47:46
Officer baringer well didn't did you look at them in '95 no why not didn't know they
01:47:53
existed the Polaroids were taken before Donna and Harrington were moved to the hospital but were never shown to
01:48:01
investigators when the detectives finally saw these photos they were flabbergasted it didn't take but 10
01:48:08
seconds it was a Smoking Gun it was The Smoking Gun why Roger Harrington's body the placement of that body in that photo
01:48:17
blew Mark story out of the water it was over Roger Harrington's head and feet were in the opposite
01:48:23
way of what Mark told us happen help me in the chaos detectives did not have time to note for themselves where Donna
01:48:32
and Harrington lay before paramedics rushed them to the ambulance to understand why the police now thought
01:48:38
Winger had to be lying requires a little forensic fancy footwork Charlie Cox went
01:48:45
with us to the Winger's old house to demonstrate the story that Winger told us Mr Harrington would have been lying
01:48:54
basically like this because he would have fallen backwards when shot and landed that remember police said Winger
01:49:01
told them when he shot Harrington Harrington fell backwards off of Donna so how was he found he was actually
01:49:10
completely 180 180° the different direction police believe it could not have happened as Winger said he would
01:49:20
have had to completely do a flip and land over here land how land like this and it's physically
01:49:30
impossible with a 45 caliber round to have done that flip barringer's three Polaroids were becoming the centerpiece
01:49:37
of the case how could nobody tell you that there were polaroid pictures of the crime scenes I mean we're talking about
01:49:44
the only three pictures of the bodies as they lay I agree how does that get lost
01:49:50
got overlooked and in a case where it was as closed as fast as this one was it was never
01:49:58
thought of again this thing was closed by the 10:30 news that night for all practical purposes four years after the
01:50:08
crime the detectives had no doubt that they had botched the original investigation they had allowed Mark
01:50:14
Winger to Get Away with Murder By pinning the crime on the obvious suspect Roger Harrington Roger Harington was a
01:50:23
perfect py to set up for for this crime police believe Mark Winger began methodically plotting the double murder
01:50:31
immediately after Donna's bizarre ride with Harrington on the way home from St Louis it's a perfect guy to seiz on to
01:50:38
make it look like an intruder had come in and killed his wife he fits Winger's purposes perfectly correct front door
01:50:47
the detectives could not afford any more errors after Dean Schulz came forward forward it took them two more years to
01:50:55
cover every detail and put together a murder case against Mark Winger finally 6 years after his wife Donna was killed
01:51:05
Winger was arrested and put in jail awaiting trial being a religious man like I am I haven't gloated on that at
01:51:15
I'm just glad that we've got the right guy in jail that he didn't get away with you haven't gloated not even the teeny
01:51:23
I'm not a perfect Christian I'm not a perfect Christian detective Charlie Cox who once called Winger a hero is Now
01:51:30
intent on proving him a cold-blooded murderer and vindicating the innocent man who was killed I hurt the Harrington
01:51:38
family a lot they buried him as a murderer and yeah that bothered me a lot but Mark Winger is just as
01:51:47
determined to prove that the police got it right the first time Roger and killed
01:51:53
my wife saw with my own eyes I am just so sad how could a normal human being do something like
01:52:27
this nearly 7 years after Donna's death Sarah Jane and Ira dresser came to Mark Winger's trial knowing the evidence
01:52:36
against him was strong but still clinging to the hope that something would exonerate
01:52:43
him why were you so eager for him to prove that he didn't do it because we loved him because he was part of our
01:52:51
family because Donna loved him because they they appeared to have such an incredibly wonderful marriage did you
01:53:00
kill Donna no with that hammer no I did not Mark Winger is a coldblooded calculated uh deceitful person that
01:53:09
planned and staged this event the prosecution team led by John Schmidt said Winger lied from the beginning even
01:53:18
during his 911 call sheld pleas I just saw this man in house who is this man I don't I don't know who he is it is a lie
01:53:26
they say Winger knew very well who that man was he invited him to his house and that was the Crux of their
01:53:34
case the question of the case in a lot of ways is very simple what's Roger Harrington doing in the house the
01:53:41
evidence was very clear that uh it was a meeting that was set to lure Harrington
01:53:45
into the home if it's a meeting it's a murder Ray Duffy who owned the airport Van Company provided the crucial link
01:53:55
for the prosecution it was obvious that he wanted to talk to the driver direct Duffy testified that Winger called to
01:54:02
complain about Harrington's behavior during the ride and afterwards he just wanted to talk to this driver and tell
01:54:10
him to leave his family alone Winger claimed Harrington was making Anonymous phone calls to Winger's house so he
01:54:19
wanted to talk to Roger Harrington yes was that unusual yes it is usually uh when people
01:54:27
have a complaint they just call the office and Duffy said Harrington was eager to work things out I explained to
01:54:34
him that Mr Winger wanted to talk to him and he said that's fine give him my number and have him call me Mark called
01:54:41
Roger Harrington set up an appointment for 4:30 but police believe there's one thing Winger didn't planned for when he
01:54:47
lured Harrington to his house that note detective Williamson found found in Harrington's car if Mark would have told
01:54:56
us there was a meeting and the guy went berserk in the house this case probably would still be closed it would be done
01:55:02
but he didn't when Harrington went in the house police say Not only was he unarmed Mr Harrington had a coffee mug
01:55:10
and a pack of cigarettes he left a far more deadly object behind Roger Harrington had a tire iron fashion as a
01:55:17
weapon in his car if he was going there to bludgeon someone he had a weapon weapon in his car yet he chose a weapon
01:55:24
from inside the house that he would have no idea was there what do you think happened I think that Roger Harrington
01:55:31
showed up they were seated at the table in the dining room and he held a conversation at some point Mr Winger
01:55:39
shoots Roger Harrington in the head I believe that Donna was in the bedroom because she didn't want to be
01:55:46
around Roger she comes running out of the bedroom to see what had happened Mark Winger picks up a hammer
01:55:52
he strikes her several times untangling the evidence in this 7-year-old case was a huge job for the
01:56:02
jurors you wanted to believe he was innocent the timeline of everything going on I just got chills thinking
01:56:08
about it three of them sat down to talk to us the defense told them that unlike Winger who was successful and a
01:56:15
respected member of the community Roger Harrington had a troubled violent past here is testimony that really does make
01:56:24
Roger look guilty I mean Roger was weird Roger showed up at their house you know
01:56:28
there were some phone calls it could have been him the defense also pointed out that at the time of the murder in
01:56:35
1995 detectives had the Polaroids they had the note in the car in fact they had all the same evidence that they now
01:56:43
found so incriminating against Winger trained professionals saw this same scene we saw and they closed the case
01:56:50
the next day Dean Schulz who was given immunity provided the only new evidence testimony
01:56:58
that Winger had talked about killing his wife but she had attempted suicide four
01:57:05
times and had undergone electros shock therapy the defense called her unreliable Roger Harrington killed my
01:57:15
wife the jurors knew what was at stake by now Winger and his new wife had four children and including the baby he and
01:57:23
Donna adopted to tear him away from his family I had a hard time with that but Roger Harrington's family was looking
01:57:31
for justice were you sure that your son didn't do it oh I know he didn't do it no matter what the decision was one
01:57:40
family would feel more pain were you leaning one way or another no no [Music] after nearly two weeks of testimony
01:58:03
Sarah Jane and Ira drer are overwhelmed by the evidence against Mark Winger and what is so hard to understand is that
01:58:13
the way he murdered Donna was so vicious and so violent Roger Harrington's family
01:58:21
h hopes to clear his name I was praying I kept going Raj if you're up there you hear me bring us something good bring us
01:58:29
something so that you know Mom and Dad can sleep good tonight the jury deliberated for 13
01:58:37
hours before reaching its verdict I knew the moment they walked out the door I remember seeing the jury coming in I
01:58:44
remember my heart feeling as though it was going to come out of my chest I can hear judge Zappa's voice we the jury
01:58:50
find the defendant mark Winger [Music] guilty it is the verdict that the dressers both hoped for and
01:59:06
dreaded and papa Ira getting a look now confirmation that they'd been betrayed and deceived Daddy's feeding you by a
01:59:16
man who had been part of their family smile for the camera sweetie I have no idea why he did it and I think I will
01:59:24
never understand why he did it and I think it's a question that will never be answered in my mind Winger's parents who
01:59:32
had spent a small fortune defending their son were stunned by the verdict we believe in the absolute innocence of our
01:59:40
son we got the best help we could inside we're dying by inches the jurors say the case against Mark Winger
01:59:48
was clear and they believe Dean Schulz she was very emotional up there she loved Mark at the time I think she was
01:59:59
sincerely um telling us the truth I feel free I didn't realize just how Powerful
02:00:08
Secrets can be but ultimately the jurors say the state's best evidence was the first evidence police ever
02:00:18
collected those three Polaroids did the defense offer any acceptable explanation to you about how
02:00:27
the bodies ended up in the position that they were no there was no explanation mark Winger didn't offer any
02:00:37
explanations because he didn't testify but 5 months after the verdict he spoke with 48 hours at a prison in
02:00:44
Pontiac Illinois he now claims that he personally saw the paramedics move Harrington although they all denied that
02:00:53
at trial the bodies have been moved before the Polaroids were taken absolutely why should we believe you why
02:00:59
should you not believe me because a jury didn't what's the best evidence of your
02:01:04
innocence the fact that I had a wonderful marriage everybody knows I had a wonderful marriage with
02:01:11
Donna but Winger cannot explain the note in Harrington's car the thing is I I can't offer you any any answers to you
02:01:21
know why why Roger Harrington had 430 written on a note Harrington's family says the
02:01:30
meaning of that note has always been clear Roger went to Winger's home because Mark Winger invited him did you
02:01:39
feel Vindicated yeah yeah how are you doing now pretty good I guess I don't does it still hurt sure it hurts
02:01:52
[Music] are you embarrassed oh yes are you very much so former lead detective Charlie
02:02:03
Cox says he learned a valuable lesson how close did he come to getting away with murder very
02:02:12
close instead Mark Winger was sentenced to life in prison which could have been the end of this
02:02:20
story except it was [Music] wasn't in Spring 2005 an inmate at the prison in Pontiac came forward and said
02:02:33
that Winger tried to involve him in a murder for high plot I knew in my head that he was a murderer but my heart had
02:02:43
a hard time believing it still the intended victim was Dian Schultz and Winger's plot was so
02:02:55
complicated you might say twisted that it took 19 handwritten pages and hours of secretly recorded conversations to
02:03:04
spell it out Dean would be kidnapped and forced to write and record lengthy statements
02:03:11
all scripted by Winger saying that she lied made everything up and believes Winger is innocent then she'd be killed
02:03:21
Winger's notes covered everything only Dean's fingerprints can be on the tape cassette letters and envelopes her
02:03:30
saliva must be found on the stamps and Winger asked for one more victim if possible oh by the way if there's any
02:03:38
money left over kill irod dresser also because he's the son of a gun of a father-in-law that I
02:03:44
dislike in June 2007 Winger stood trial in a Pontiac Illinois courthouse he told
02:03:51
jurors the whole thing was a fantasy he never planned to carry out Ira dresser was there he was chained by his hands
02:03:59
and he was chained by his feet and I looked at him straight in the eye and I said Mark your miserable life is
02:04:05
over this time the jury took less than 3 hours including lunch Mark Winger was convicted of soliciting murder and
02:04:14
sentenced to another 35 years I've always been afraid that he would get out on some Technic Al ity now I know that
02:04:23
he will never be free with Winger locked up for good Sarah Jane and Ira drer are dedicated to
02:04:40
keeping Donna's memory alive Donna really was the ultimate victim of spousal abuse I had to find a way to
02:04:50
keep her Spirit going and they do that by helping other Abused Women raising money for a charity named for Donna we
02:05:01
established a fund at women in distress and not only do we help the women we help the children smile and that is all
02:05:11
in Donna's spirit [Music]