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How "48 Hours" discovered the case of an American teacher murdered abroad

March 10, 2019 / 01:26

This episode covers the story of Yvonne Baldelli's murder, the prosecution of Brian Premature, and the federal statute concerning foreign murder of a US national.

Chris O'Connell, a producer at 48 Hours, discusses how he became interested in the case of Yvonne Baldelli, an American woman murdered in Panama by her boyfriend, Brian Premature. After Premature fled to the United States, federal prosecutors utilized a federal statute to pursue justice.

O'Connell explains his fascination with the law, which was established in 1994, and how it relates to a previous murder case in Korea from 1988. His research into congressional testimony led him to uncover the story behind this law.

TLDR

Chris O'Connell discusses Yvonne Baldelli's murder and the federal law used to prosecute her killer.

Episode

1:26

00:00:00

my name's Chris O'Connell and I'm a producer at 48 hours I found the Carolyn Abel story when I

00:00:06

was finishing up working on the story of Yvonne Baldelli an American woman who was murdered in a small island off the

00:00:14

coast of Panama she was murdered by her boyfriend at the time Brian premature left Panama and came back to the United

00:00:22

States and for a while it appeared that he would escape prosecution both in Panama and in the United States that's

00:00:32

when federal prosecutors in San Diego dusted off a rarely used federal statute called foreign murder of a US national

00:00:43

and they were able to prosecute Brian perimeter for the murder of Yvonne Baldelli so I was fascinated by the law

00:00:51

I thought it could have been you know 100 200 years old but when I looked it up it turned out it was just came into

00:00:59

being in 1994 so I was curious if there was a story behind this law so I began to look through congressional testimony

00:01:08

and I saw found a sentence or two mentioning a young lady who was brutally murdered in Korea in 1988 and that sort

00:01:15

of was the genesis of the story

Episode Highlights

The Murder of Yvonne Baldelli
Yvonne Baldelli was murdered by her boyfriend in Panama, leading to a complex legal case.
“He would escape prosecution...”
@ 00m 19s
March 10, 2019
The Law Behind the Case
Chris O'Connell uncovers a rarely used federal statute that allowed prosecution in a foreign murder case.
“I was curious if there was a story behind this law.”
@ 01m 04s
March 10, 2019

Episode Quotes

I was fascinated by the law.
How "48 Hours" discovered the case of an American teacher murdered abroad
It turned out it was just came into being in 1994.
How "48 Hours" discovered the case of an American teacher murdered abroad

Key Moments

Murder in Panama00:14
Federal Prosecution00:32
Discovery of the Law00:59
Genesis of the Story01:15