Yvonne Baldelli // 455

Summary

Summary of "Going West: True Crime" Episode 455 – Yvonne Baldelli

Introduction

In Episode 455 of Going West: True Crime, hosts Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman delve into the haunting disappearance and murder of Yvonne Baldelli. Released on November 20, 2024, this episode meticulously unpacks the tragic events leading up to Yvonne’s untimely death, the subsequent investigation, and the quest for justice by her grieving family.

Background of Yvonne Baldelli

Yvonne Lee Faust, who later became Yvonne Baldelli, was born on March 4, 1970, in Los Angeles, California, to parents James and Emma Foust. Growing up alongside her siblings Lorraine, Michelle, and James Jr., Yvonne led a fulfilling life in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas. Professionally, she thrived as a regional sales representative for Procter & Gamble, specifically managing Sebastian Hair and Cosmetics. Her career involved frequent visits to salons to ensure adequate product stock, prompting her relocation to the San Diego area.

In 2009, at 39 years old, Yvonne met Brian Carl Brimager, a 34-year-old decorated Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Their relationship blossomed quickly after meeting at Hennessy's Tavern in Dana Point, California. Despite initial family reservations about Brian’s rapid integration into Yvonne’s life—especially following her recent divorce—her family eventually warmed to him as Yvonne appeared genuinely happy.

The Move to Panama: An Idyllic Beginning

After two years of dating, unforeseen circumstances struck when Yvonne’s sister, Michelle, was laid off from Procter & Gamble. Seizing the opportunity to escape the pressures of corporate life, Yvonne and Brian made a bold decision to sell their belongings and relocate to Caranero Island, Panama. Their plan was to start anew, with Brian pursuing his passion for music by performing in local bars and Yvonne planning to sew and sell bikinis to tourists. Accompanied by Yvonne’s dog, Georgia May, they moved into a waterfront house known as Casa del Sapa.

Heath summarizes: “At least they have somewhat of a business plan of how they're going to support themselves” (09:21).

Initially, their island life seemed perfect. Yvonne’s family received detailed and joyful emails, painting a picture of a harmonious and idyllic existence. Yvonne described their daily routines—morning runs, ocean swims, and the happiness of Georgia May in their new environment.

Signs of Trouble: Family’s Growing Concerns

However, the facade began to crumble rapidly. Yvonne’s communication dwindled; emails became infrequent, and calls ceased altogether by Thanksgiving of 2011. On December 14, 2011, Michelle received a cryptic text from Brian discussing truck arrangements, which seemed suspicious given the lack of recent contact from Yvonne. Confronting Brian yielded conflicting stories about their breakup and Yvonne's supposed move to Costa Rica with another man, Tony Gonzalez.

Daphne reflects: “And Brian would play at the Cosmic Crab a couple nights a week. And on the other nights, he'd play at all these surrounding bars, most of the time getting paid in food and free drinks” (10:07), highlighting Brian’s lackluster commitment to their new life.

Investigation Unfolds: Unmasking the Truth

Michelle’s intuition led her to suspect deceit. Collaborating with a tech-savvy cousin, they discovered that emails purportedly from Yvonne were actually sent from Dana Point, California—the very place where Yvonne and Brian met. This revelation pointed directly to Brian’s involvement in the deceit.

Heath quotes Michelle’s determination: “But he seems pretty excited and pretty happy considering what just happened and what, as you guys will see, he just did” (42:24).

Enlisting FBI Special Agent Andrew Masters, Michelle pressed for a thorough investigation. Concurrently, the family flew to Panama, enlisting the help of Don Winner, a seasoned American expat detective. Their efforts unearthed testimonies from locals indicating Brian’s abusive behavior toward Yvonne, including sightings of her with physical injuries.

Arrest and Trial: Bringing Brian to Justice

The investigation hit a pivotal moment when a machete, sold online by Brian under a suspicious comment, was found with Yvonne’s blood samples. This grim discovery solidified Brian as the prime suspect. In 2015, after legal negotiations ensured the trial would occur in the U.S., Brian was charged with obstruction of justice and falsifying records.

Daphne adds: “Brian stuck to the same story he told Michelle when the FBI asked him about the situation” (31:45), emphasizing his consistent attempts to manipulate the narrative.

In May 2016, crucial evidence emerged when forensic analysis linked the machete to Yvonne’s murder, prompting Brian to finally plead guilty. He was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison, acknowledging his heinous acts but leaving the family yearning for greater accountability.

Closure and Aftermath

The sentencing provided Yvonne’s family with a semblance of closure. Yvonne’s remains were repatriated, cremated, and respectfully laid to rest at sea. However, the tragedy was compounded by the loss of Michelle, who succumbed to an aggressive cancer shortly after deposing against Brian. Her unwavering dedication was instrumental in uncovering the truth and securing justice for Yvonne.

Heath poignantly states: “had she not put in all of that work, it's possible that we may have never known what happened to Yvonne” (52:23).

Daphne echoes the sentiment: “This is clearly a very violent individual, and he doesn't deserve to be out, in my opinion” (52:41), reflecting the family's enduring pain and quest for justice.

Conclusion

The case of Yvonne Baldelli is a heartbreaking tale of love, betrayal, and relentless pursuit of truth. Through the unwavering efforts of her family and the diligent work of law enforcement, justice was finally served, albeit leaving behind a trail of profound grief. Going West: True Crime Episode 455 stands as a testament to the importance of intuition, perseverance, and the unyielding human spirit in seeking closure amidst unspeakable loss.

Notable Quotes from the Episode

• Heath at [05:03]: “When I was a little girl and when I would be afraid of monsters and she would say monsters don't exist. But you know, today I saw a monster come into the room chained like an animal and that is a monster.”

• Daphne at [47:32]: “Obvious wasn't the case because Kristen didn't seem to give a shit.”

• Heath at [52:23]: “I can't believe the amazing work that Yvonne's sister Michelle did to solve this case.”

• Daphne at [52:41]: “This is clearly a very violent individual, and he doesn't deserve to be out, in my opinion.”

These quotes encapsulate the emotional depth and critical moments discussed throughout the episode, highlighting the transformation from hope to horror in Yvonne’s story.

Transcript

[Heath]

Foreign what is going on? True crime fans?

[Daphne]

I'm your host T. And I'm your host Daphne.

[Heath]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Hope you're having a great day. I stumbled on this case while I was doing my usual online digging for stories and I just could not believe. Leave the details and the callous acts committed in this case. A lot of it takes place in Panama and it has such a positive and hopeful start with this like exciting move to Panama from California. But when you guys learn what is actually going on and then you hear the details of exactly what unfolded, you are going to be shocked. So thank you so much everybody for tuning in to this one.

[Heath]

And also if you want to see photos from this case and all the other cases that we've covered, as I always say, go check out our socials. We're on Instagram oingwestpodcast. We're also on Facebook. Give us a follow. And remember, if you guys have any recommendations for cases that you want to hear on this show, send us an [e-mail] that is where we're going to see all of your recommendations and that is where we're going to put them on the list.

[Daphne]

Absolutely. And big thank you in advance and everybody who already does that and who has in the past, we are getting to each and every one of them. So appreciate your patience. But yeah, without further ado.

[Heath]

Alright guys, this is episode 455 of Going West. So let's get into it.

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[Daphne]

A family brought to tears after seeing the former Marine that they say murdered their loved one.

[Sponsor]

When Yvonne disappeared in November 2011 in Panama, they went themselves to search the swamp around Bocas del Toro where she had gone to live with her retired Marine boyfriend.

[Daphne]

On the ground, though it seems there's no trace.

[Heath]

She even brought a dog with her.

[Daphne]

And the dog has disappeared.

[Sponsor]

Now federal prosecutors say they found an Internet search on her laptop for washing mattress bloodstained that he had generated false emails and ATM withdrawals to make it appear that she'd run off with another man. Months later, Baldelli's remains were discovered in a green military style duffel bag.

Forensic experts in Panama have identified a human skull found in the Central American country as that of missing American woman Yvonne Baldelli, who went missing two years ago. A backpack was discovered in the Panama jungle by a local resident. Authorities in Pan Emma found the bag contained skeletal remains and some clothing.

[Heath]

When I was a little girl and when I would be afraid of monsters and she would say monsters don't exist. But you know, today I saw a monster come into the room chained like an animal and that is a monster.

[Daphne]

Yvonne Lee Faust, who became Yvonne Baldelli, was born on March 4, 1970 to parents James and Emma Foust in Los Angeles, California. She was one of four kids growing up with her sisters Lorraine and Michelle and her brother James Jr. Yvonne spent the majority of her life in the Los Angeles and Orange county areas working for Procter and Gamble, also known as PG, as a regional sales representative in her 30s and under, Procter and Gamble was Sebastian Hair and Cosmetics or Sebastian Professional. So her specific job was basically for them, mostly visiting salons to make sure that they had product inside stock. And because of her job she ended up moving to the San Diego area And there in 2009, 39 year old Yvonne met a 34 year old Marine named Brian Carl Brimager. Brian was a decorated Marine serving over seven years in the Marine Corps while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, which is about 40 miles away from San Diego. The Two of them met at an Irish pub called Hennessy's Tavern in Dana Point. Spring still there to this day. And this is just north of San Diego. And according to Yvonne's family, she was immediately head over heels in love with him. He was this very, like, buff, kind of brawny Marine man, and she always said she wanted to date a Marine. So meeting him and him seeming like this really great guy, you know, she was super happy. Now, even though her family was very happy for her and her new relationship, they were still a little bit unsure about Brian because it seemed like everything was moving so fast. Cause, by the way, Yvonne was recently divorced. That's where the last name Baldelli comes from. Like, she officially got divorced the same year she met Brian. So her family didn't want to see her get into another relationship only to get her heart broken again. But they continued to see each other, and their relationship continued to progress. But after two years of dating, Michelle and Brian got some pretty devastating news. Michelle was laid off from P and G. Even though this was not good news, especially since they lived in a coveted, expensive area. Being in the Orange county and San Diego areas, as they did not live together yet, the couple decided to use it as an opportunity to kind of shake things up in their lives and start fresh. So they decided to drop everything, sell their belongings, and move to a small island in Panama, just the two of them, to really get away from the American rat race. You know, this is like Cocktail, the movie.

[Heath]

Yeah, exactly. A lot of people do this.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And obviously this is such an idyllic idea and something that is actually achievable for so many people. So with this, they each had a loose island getaway plan. Brian was going to play guitar and sing in bars, and Yvonne would sew bikinis and sell them to tourists on the beach. Like they're just getting ready to live a total dream life amongst turquoise waters. They even found a small waterfront house called Casa del Sapa, which translates to Frog house, on the island of Caranero, just off the coast of Panama. And together with Yvonne's dog, Georgia May, they got ready to start their new life in an island paradise. Yvonne packed two sewing machines in her luggage, since she would need them to start her new business venture on the island. And Brian packed up his acoustic guitar. They did leave some items back in California, as we're going to get into later when it's relevant. But, you know, they're. They're ready. They're going to see how long they can make this last and just try Something new.

[Heath]

Yeah. And at least they have somewhat of a business plan of how they're going to support themselves.

[Daphne]

Yeah, absolutely. So after their arrival In September of 2011, the two of them quickly made friends on the island, since most of the people who lived there were either American expats or other people in the same situation as them. Just normal folks trying to get away from the corporate lifestyle. Brian would sing and play guitar at local bars, and Yvonne was hard at work sewing bikinis to sell on the beach. Joan and Steven CrabTree, who were two American expats who owned the Cosmic Crab Cafe in Panama, remember how the couple was a very common sight at their bar? Brian would be singing and playing guitar while Yvonne would be cheering him on over some drinks.

[Heath]

And Brian would play at the Cosmic Crab a couple nights a week. And on the other nights, he'd play at all these surrounding bars, most of the time getting paid in food and free drinks. So he's not really making too much money here.

[Daphne]

Yeah, he's just trying to, like, get his foot in the door kind of thing and see if this can be financially reliable.

[Heath]

But for now, he's getting the food and the drinks.

[Daphne]

Yeah.

[Heath]

Well, Penny Tom, another bar owner on the island, remembered the couple as two very nice people, but mentioned that it was most likely because of the booze. She told CBS News in 2014 that they used to drink a lot, so they were always happy. And when asked how much a lot was, she just replied a lot. Another island resident named Jim Merton said that Brian would drink so much that his singing would end up sounding like a, quote, hound dog on a porch, even though he still somehow managed to play guitar well while he was drunk.

[Daphne]

So this is probably not a good look, especially if he's trying to make a living off of this and he's just getting totally plastered on the job, you know?

[Heath]

Yeah, it kind of seems like it's just a party time for Brian.

[Daphne]

Yeah, so true.

[Heath]

So it did seem like their new island life was off to a fun start. And all the pictures Yvonne sent back home to her family and in her emails showed her and Brian smiling and laughing in their new island home.

[Daphne]

So at least it seemed like they were having a good time.

[Heath]

Right? Well, Yvonne would write her family these long, detailed emails, letting them know how her new life with Brian and her dog, Georgia May, was going. Even though Michelle, Yvonne's older sister, never really trusted Brian and felt like he wasn't a good emotional match for her sister, she was happy to see her enjoying herself in Panama and felt really reassured by her emails, Michelle told CBS News that she could just close her eyes and picture Yvonne's life in Panama since her emails and calls were so detailed. In one of her emails, she told her sister about how excited she was that everything was going so well for them on the island, saying that after only five days, Brian had already played three gigs at restaurants and bars in the area. She told her sister Michelle about how every morning her and Brian would go for a run, then go swim in the ocean. And made sure to mention how happy her dog Georgia was to be in this, like nice air conditioned building.

[Daphne]

I mean, sounds amazing.

[Heath]

It does. Like on paper it looked like everything was going great for Yvonne and Brian, but in reality, there was some serious trouble in paradise.

[Daphne]

Now, given how happy 41 year old Yvonne sounded in her emails, the family started to relax a little and even started to warm up a bit about Brian. Even though Michelle thought the two of them were not emotionally compatible, she was ecstatic to see her sister happy with someone new and even thought the two of them were probably gonna get married at some point. And as far as she was concerned, if they didn't get married, then she had this really great experience and little kind of respite from normal California life. And like Heath said, the family loved reading Yvonne's email updates about their island living. It was like a fun distraction from their own everyday lives. And it reassured them that her kind of wild plan to just drop everything and move to Panama was actually somehow kind of working. Michelle in particular loved reading the updates and would trade emails with her sister as often as possible, asking her how she was feeling and how her new job was as Brian's kind of manager and promoter. Because, you know, while she's trying to sew and sell these bikinis, she's also trying to help Brian to make sure that his venture, you know, turns into something fruitful. So Yvonne would always reply pretty quickly and again, just write these long, very detailed emails. Which is why Michelle thought it was very odd when Yvonne started sending her typical emails less and less frequently over time, she also stopped calling her family back in the States as much. And that made Michelle very worried. Like she kind of got the sense that something wasn't going right, but she didn't have any evidence of that at all. By Thanksgiving of 2011, it had been two weeks since Yvonne replied to any emails or calls, which made Michelle even more suspicious that something may have happened to her sister. And remember, by this point, it had only been just over two months since the couple had moved to Panama. So this dwindled contact happened very quickly. Well, Thanksgiving passed without any word from Yvonne. Which was on November 24th of that year, by the way, when suddenly, on December 14th, 2011, while waiting for a phone call from Yvonne, Michelle got a text from an unknown number. But it wasn't from Yvonne. It was from Brian. The text was short and had an odd kind of formal tone to it, simply saying, this is Brian. May I make arrangements to pick up my truck?

[Heath]

So obviously Michelle is completely confused by this. She hadn't heard from her sister in weeks and now her boyfriend just texts her out of the blue insinuating that he's back in the States and he wants to pick up his truck. Because by the way, she was keeping his truck at her home in LA for that time when they were in Panama.

[Daphne]

Yeah, they. They probably made these arrangements for certain items to that were more serious. Like a truck.

[Heath]

Yeah, exactly.

[Daphne]

Kind of be put on hold while they figured out how long they were going to be in Panama.

[Heath]

Exactly. But this situation felt incredibly fishy to Michelle, so as soon as she got that text, she called Brian back and point blank asked, quote, where is my sister? On the call, Brian said that he figured Michelle had read the email that he had sent her explaining the entire situation. But Michelle didn't remember any recent emails from anyone. So she hung up the phone, telling Brian that she'd call him back so that she could go check her inbox and read whatever this explanation he had was. And sure enough, she found an email from Brian explaining that he and Yvonne had broken up. Michelle immediately called Brian back and asked him to explain what had happened, since the emails weren't very detailed. To which he said that he and Yvonne got into a fight because she found out that he cheated and had a love child with another woman back in the States in 2010, which was the year prior and the year after they started dating.

[Daphne]

Insane.

[Heath]

Yeah. And the woman that he was talking about was Kristin Werkovan, who he met while on a visit to her workplace, which just so happened to be the White House during the Bush administration some years before.

[Daphne]

Yeah, he was a color guard in the marines in Washington D.C. so he was. He was in that area, living in that area at the time when they met. And they just kept talking and hanging out.

[Heath]

Yeah, apparently. Well, Michelle knew how awful her sister must have felt when she heard this news, especially since she knew that Yvonne couldn't have any kids of her own due to a medical condition. Her biggest dream in life was to start a family and to have a man that she loved and trusted betray her on that level must have just been devastating for her. So Brian told Michelle that after their fight, Yvonne just quote up and left. But Michelle obviously did not buy this. It didn't sound like something that her sister would do at all. And then of course, there was the fact that she hadn't reached out to any of her family. So where the hell was she? Michelle asked Brian if Yvonne had left a note, tried to call him afterwards, or maybe mentioned where she was headed, all of which Brian said no to. And despite not hearing from her sister in weeks, Brian just said that he was sure that Yvonne was alright. But Michelle did not agree. She knew that something was wrong and she could just feel it.

[Daphne]

Ten days after the phone call, still without any word from Yvonne, Brian had called Michelle again about his truck, completely ignoring the fact that no one in her family had heard from his now ex girlfriend of over two years, even once since they had supposedly broken up. When Michelle picked up, she told Brian to come pick up his truck, but that once he got there, that the two of them should go down to the police station and file a missing person's report together. Which I think was really smart of Michelle because she knows he has way more information than she does. She knows that she still has not spoken to Yvonne and that he might know more and be able to provide the police more details than she'd be able to.

[Heath]

And on top of this, if he refuses to go down there with her, then that makes things even more suspicious and is kind of leading her in the right direction.

[Daphne]

Yeah, so this was her plan. And of course at this point she is still devastated by the story that Brian had told her and her instincts were screaming at her that something was off about the whole situation. So she went back into her emails and actually found an email that Yvonne had sent her that she had missed and immediately felt relieved to know that her sister had talked to her recently, but not for long. In the email, Yvonne breaks the news to her sister, explaining the breakup with Brian after discovering that he had had a kid, another woman, while they were together. So thus far, Brian's story made sense. But Yvonne also mentioned that she was moving to Costa Rica with a man named Tony Gonzalez that she had met in Panama. So Michelle was just supposed to believe that this Tony Gonzalez was originally from Arizona, as Yvonne is explaining, but he was living in the area for over three years after retiring from working and investing. And that Yvonne decided to end her nearly three year relationship and immediately start another one with A man that she had just met. And I mean, she did kind of do this when she met Brian, but this felt way more extreme.

[Heath]

Yeah, this is more like, I just met this guy and now I'm moving to a different country. Whereas, you know, with Brian, she had dated Brian for a few years before they decided to go to Panama.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And before they even moved in together. So now it's like immediately jumping from one relationship to the next. Not even coming to stay with her family in California for a bit and figuring out her plan, but just like, okay, nope, next day I'm in Costa Rica. So this story just didn't make any sense to Michelle. And her suspicions only got stronger as time went on. And when Yvonne's dad, Jim was told about the email, he was also immediately suspicious of the whole thing. Like, why would his daughter drop everything and follow yet another man into a different country? So pretty much everyone agreed that everything described in the emails was completely out of character for Yvonne and they couldn't call her to make sure that she was okay. For anybody wondering, why are we just waiting for emails back and forth? Because the situation is that when they moved to Panama, they shared one cell phone. So when they apparently broke up, Brian took the phone for himself. So she doesn't have a cell phone at this point. So her family just had to trust that Yvonne was alright through her emails alone.

[Heath]

After three weeks of no emails, once again, Yvonne sent Michelle and her family another update from the island, this time saying that she was in Costa Rica with her new boyfriend, but that she was starting to get homesick. She reassured her family, saying that while her unemployment benefits were probably gonna run out soon, she wasn't hurting for cash and would be okay for the meantime. She also said that she was working on getting home to her family as early as the second week of January. The family felt reassured by this, since if everything went well, Yvonne would be back home in the States just in time for a big family reunion planned for the middle of January in 2012. For a brief moment, the whole family could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But again, not for long. On the very same day that Yvonne sent out her last email update, Brian Brimager knocked on Michelle's front door. He didn't have any questions about Yvonne or her family and was visibly in a rush to just get in his truck and get out of her LA home.

[Daphne]

Yeah, so he certainly did not go down to the police station with Michelle.

[Heath]

No, he definitely did not. And once he got his keys, he got in his truck and he just simply drove away. Michelle noticed that after Brian's visit, her sister hadn't sent any more emails, but she was still waiting, just hoping Yvonne would send her another update and put her worries to rest.

[Daphne]

Yeah, because remember when she came up with this plan to report her sister missing, she didn't know that there was that email about being in Costa Rica. So right after receiving that, she's hoping that communication is sparse because of her situation.

[Heath]

Possibly travel.

[Daphne]

Yeah, but that at the end of the day she's probably okay.

[Heath]

But unfortunately, after waiting over 16 days for any signs of life from her sister, Michelle took matters into her own hands and wrote her sister an email herself. In her email to Yvonne, Michelle said in a half joking kind of manner that she was just checking to make sure that Yvonne hadn't been kidnapped or that someone wasn't impersonating her through her emails. The subject line of the email simply said worried. And Michelle had every right to be. After all, she hadn't seen her sister in months and hadn't heard from her in over two weeks. And remember, they know nothing about this supposed Tony guy or what her exact situation was and just wanted clarity and reassurance. Well, after sending her email, Michelle never heard from her sister again. So she decided to act on her suspicions and reach out to a cousin of hers who was good with computers so that she could look into the emails that were sent by her sister. After the two of them talked about how weird the entire situation was with Brian, they decided the best thing to do would be to try to track down where exactly these emails were being sent from to make sure that it was really Yvonne that was sending them. Michelle's cousin reminded her that if the emails were sent from Panama or Costa Rica, the IP address would guarantee it. So the cousin set up an IP search and after a few minutes, the IP address location came back to Dana Point, California, which is exactly where Yvonne and Brian had met and the area of which he had recently been living after returning from Panama. So as you guys can imagine, the two cousins were absolutely stunned by this, since there was no possible way that Yvonne would have been able to send those emails unless she was back in the States, which she said that she wasn't. So they felt confident that the emails had been coming from Brian, so they needed to clarify this fast. So the cousin had the idea to track the IP on the email that Brian had sent to Michelle discussing their breakup and see if they just matched. And sure enough, the same location came up. Dana Point, California.

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[Daphne]

The name based on S and p Global Mobility 1946, the current US total new cumulative registrations for all vehicles identified as SUVs. Horsepower and torque ratings based on premium fuel per SAEJ 1349 standard. Your results may vary. So once Michelle and her cousin determined that both emails from Brian and from Yvonne were coming from the same location again, Dana Point, California. Michelle was absolutely sure that Brian was the one who sent that email talking about how Yvonne had moved to Costa Rica with Tony Gonzalez. I mean, Brian had been impersonating her sister for God knows how long. So Michelle wasn't even sure how many of Yvonne's emails were actually sent by Brian and how many were truly sent from her. She had no real timeline of events. She was sure of one thing though. Brian had done something horrible to her sister and she was going to get to the bottom of it. So she immediately went not only to the FBI, but the State Department as well. Michelle presented her case to Special Agent Andrew Masters and made sure to mention the IP addresses from the emails showed that they were sent from the States, not Panama. So the FBI started an investigation in the U.S. but Michelle and her family couldn't wait any longer for answers. So they got together and made arrangements to fly to Panama as a family and look for Yvonne themselves. So Michelle, Yvonne's dad and stepmom and a couple other family members traveled to Caranero island and hired an American expat detective in the area named Don Winner to help them out. Don Winner had previously aided in the arrest of three serial killers and was a former U.S. intelligence officer and consultant for the CBS News show 48 Hours. So this was a really good guy to have on their team. Don Winter was also known for having a lot of influence on the local police and government because obviously of his track record. So he pressured the local government to put the word out that Yvonne was missing. And the family also made a televised appeal for any information regarding Yvonne's whereabouts. In that press conference, the Panama police made it clear that Brian Brimager was the prime suspect. And back in the States, the FBI had chosen Brian as the main person of interest in Yvonne's disappearance. Brian had no idea, though, that he was being investigated by the FBI, the State Department, and the Panamanian government.

[Heath]

At the same time, Caranero Island's lush greenery was now covered in pictures of Yvonne Baldelli. And the family was going door to door, asking neighbors and locals if they knew anything about what happened to Yvonne. And very quickly, the family discovered that the island paradise life that she claimed to have been living in her emails was just an illusion. Witness after witness told the family how they noticed Brian was often aggressive with her, both verbally and physically. One local bar owner, Jeff Salzman, told the family that he remembered seeing Yvonne with black eyes and bruising on her face one day at his bar and noticed that she was trying her best to hide these injuries. After the family interviewed neighbors and locals, they made their way to the house where Yvonne and Brian were living. And they started searching for their missing family member. The house was on the waterfront as Daphne described, but it was surrounded by miles of thick, boggy swampland, meaning searching the area was going to be a nightmare since not only was it such a big area, but also so difficult to travel through. The family started their search in the bug infested jungle swamps with the help of a bunch of local volunteers, Dawn Winter and the local police. And while they trudged through the thick, muddy waters of the swamp, a few of the local volunteers found some items that gave the family hope, but also a little bit of pause. They found a Safeway pill bottle, a woman's purse, and even a US passport. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, none of the things that they found belonged to Yvonne. But even though the family's investigation in Panama was going slowly, the FBI was making progress. Back in the U.S. special Agent Andrew Masters and his partner visited Brian Brimager's house in Dana Point, California, and they interviewed him for over four hours. When the FBI arrived at his house, Brian said that he had been expecting them and let them in his house while he babysat the daughter that he had with Kristen.

[Daphne]

Brian stuck to the same story he told Michelle when the FBI asked him about the situation. He said Yvonne left him for a Man in Panama, you know, and moved to Costa Rica because Brian was a, quote, lying, cheating asshole.

[Heath]

And he was.

[Daphne]

He was. I was gonna say. At least that part's true.

[Heath]

And also a piece of shit.

[Daphne]

Yes. So the FBI kept probing and prodding, just trying to get him to maybe slip up and give them some information that they could use, but they knew they had an ace up their sleeve with this, you know, IP address, information that they were told. After the agents got what they could from Brian, they confronted him about the emails coming not from Panama, but. But the exact address they were in in Dana Point. Of course, Brian didn't have any convincing answers for that, but also didn't necessarily incriminate himself with his answers. One incredibly suspicious detail that the agents did notice during the interview was something very specific that caught Special Agent Andrew Masters eye. A white Sony VAIO laptop. Yvonne's laptop. Brian had said earlier in the conversation during his retelling of the story that Yvonne took her laptop with her. So when he was confronted about whose laptop that was, Brian changed his story and said that, yes, he had kept Yvonne's laptop but never sent any emails from it.

[Heath]

Yeah, right.

[Daphne]

Likely story. So next up on their list was interviewing another person of interest, or at least somebody who could have some very pertinent information, and that was Kristen Workevin. But Kristen didn't go by that name anymore. No, no, no. Now her name was Kristen Brimager. Because as it turned out, Brian proposed to Kristen less than two weeks after he came back to the States from Panama. And more importantly, less than two weeks after Yvonne disappeared. Because guess what? The two of them had continued their relationship for years. Meaning Brian had been living a double life with Yvonne and Kristen. When he was in Panama, he wrote emails to Kristin promising that he would come back to the States and marry her. And he stuck to that promise. Like, what I don't understand is why move to Panama with Yvonne then? Like, make it make sense.

[Heath]

Yeah, if you're in love with Kristen, then why not just be with Kristen? Like, I don't understand the point of this. Unless. Unless he just enjoyed living this double life. He enjoyed having, you know, two women in his life.

[Daphne]

Well, to try to figure this out, the FBI knew that they needed to speak to Kristen and see if she knew anything about Yvonne's existence or potentially what had happened to her. And when the FBI agents interviewed Kristen, they laid out the whole case on the table, telling her about what they thought Brian did and how he had been living a double life with her and Yvonne and The truth was exactly what they had surmised. Kristin had no idea Yvonne even existed and just thought that Brian went to Panama to decompress after retiring from the military, because, remember, he was only there for two months. So this could have easily been looked at as a long vacation or quasi sabbatical. So this is what she thought, apparently. But despite all the lying and manipulation, disturbingly, Kristen wasn't really affected. She still loved Brian and openly told the FBI that she was gonna support him no matter what. Which is just a really messed up thing to say to the FBI regarding a missing woman that your cheating boyfriend and baby dad is connected to.

[Heath]

Yeah, I was gonna say, like, how insane. I mean, if somebody came to you and they were like, hey, we found out that, you know, Heath was in Mexico with some woman and she is now missing, and she's been missing. Nobody's heard from her. Like, you wouldn't just be like, oh, yeah, well, I don't really care about that. Like, I still love him. I'm just going to stand by his side. It's like, that's alarming. Like, girl, do you realize that you yourself. You yourself are in danger?

[Daphne]

No, I'm sorry. I would never support you. That's just crazy. I mean, it's horrific, and it's also really scary. You know, we just talked about this last week on our most recent episode on Kelsey Barreth, that it's so hard to understand why somebody would support somebody after knowing that they did such a horrific thing because they could turn around and do the very same thing to you. Like, you're not safe.

[Heath]

That's exactly what I'm saying. It's like, you know, you. You could potentially, if Brian has the capability and just the evilness inside him to do something like that to Yvonne. What makes you think that he doesn't have the capability to do it to you 100%? Well. While Levon's family desperately searched for anything that could lead them to their family member, Brian Brimager was living his life as an unemployed stay at home dad, just playing golf and drinking. While Kristen worked as a defense contractor, he was confronted on camera several times by CBS News about what had happened to Avon. And he never said a single word. Not once. After the FBI had exhausted their options in the States, they took the investigation to Panama and started to interview friends, locals and neighbors alike. And just like the family had found out, the agents learned that the couple's relationship was filled with violence, both verbal and physical. Neighbors said that they had personally seen Brian hitting, choking, and Even dragging Yvonne. Several interviews later, Special Agent Masters was able to put together a rough timeline of Yvonne's disappearance and determined that on November 26, 2011, two days after Thanksgiving, Brian and Yvonne had a massive fight. The fight was caused by Yvonne discovering that Brian had a child, the one thing she always wanted but was sadly unable to do herself because of that medical condition. And the fact that, of course, he did this with another woman while they were together.

[Daphne]

It's a pretty big deal.

[Heath]

It is. That's when, according to Special Agent Masters, Brian decided that he had to kill her. It was obvious that Brian had been lying to federal agents and he was the main suspect in Yvonne's disappearance. But the FBI had no actual evidence tying him to anything other than the IP addresses, so he was still a free man. That was until they searched Yvonne's laptop. The same one that Special Agent Masters spotted inside Brian's house during their first interview. And inside the laptop, the agents found a picture of Yvonne that she had taken herself. Her face swollen and covered in bruises. She even had a black eye. Also on the laptop, the agents found a Yahoo search for how to clean blood stain on mattress the day after their argument. And remember, this was on her laptop.

[Daphne]

Yeah. So he probably searched it on hers, thinking police wouldn't check.

[Heath]

Exactly. And this kind of proved to them that things had gotten physical between them during that night. So now the FBI was officially treating this case as a homicide investigation. The FBI also found ATM camera footage of Brian using Yvonne's card in Costa Rica to withdraw money from her account.

[Daphne]

Which proves even more that he's creating and trying to push this narrative that she ran off to Costa Rica, even stopping there and doing this on his way into the US which there is proof of. We also know, of course, you know, her laptop is in his possession. He's writing fake emails from her account. There is so much here.

[Heath]

Yep. But the most damning piece of evidence came from the private investigator. Don't Winner. Don was searching through Brian's Facebook page for any clues when he found a comment that Brian had left on a post after Yvonne had gone missing. And this comment was under a post selling a machete in Panama. On the post, Brian commented that he had actually bought the machete back in the States before giving it to a friend and moving back home, and that he had only dismembered one stripper with it, so it was hardly used.

[Daphne]

Not only is that a really weird, sick joke to make, but your girlfriend is missing. Like, are you a literal idiot?

[Heath]

I mean, he is he's such an idiot. So with that information, the FBI were able to track down the machete because now they're thinking that it was used in Yvonne's murder. And they're hoping that finding it and testing it could lead to having physical evidence against Brian and physical evidence to prove that Yvonne had been killed in the summer of 2013. So a year and a half after Yvonne's disappearance, The FBI arrested 37 year old Brian Brimager, but not for murder. He was arrested under the charges of obstruction of justice, giving false statements to federal agents and falsifying records. And he obstructed justice by disposing of physical evidence, including a bloodied mattress.

[Daphne]

Yeah, the same bloody mattress that was discussed in two Google searches made from Yvonne's laptop.

[Heath]

Yup. They also uncovered that hours after this argument with Yvonne and believed murder of her, he sent this text to a friend of his. Hey, bro, whatcha up to? I got stories for days. I'm living on an island off the coast of Panama, lovin life and living semper free. And then there's like 10 exclamation points after this.

[Daphne]

And by the way, semper is a Latin word that means always or forever. It's also used by Marines often in the term semper fidelis to mean always faithful. Which is something that somebody, like somebody showing their lifelong commitment to the Marine Corps would say this.

[Heath]

Yeah, a lot of people shorten it to Semper Fi.

[Daphne]

Exactly. So this could just mean that he's not in the Marines anymore and he's living a free life on an island. But. But he seems pretty excited and pretty happy considering what just happened and what, as you guys will see, he just did.

[Heath]

Well, the problem was still that the FBI had no body, so they couldn't prove that Yvonne had been killed, let alone that Brian had been her murderer. That was until later that year when a farm worker in the area where Yvonne went missing was clearing some brush and found a green military style duffel bag in the jungle.

[Daphne]

Inside the duffel bag were the full skeletal remains of someone who had been disposed of at least a year earlier. After the FBI ran DNA forensics on the dismembered skeleton, they could confirm the worst. It was Yvonne. And this news, of course, just brought up the same feelings of agony and, you know, the early days of the investigation for the entire family. But it also clarified their worst fears that she had been killed. So despite this being news that they did not want to receive, they at least had an answer and could push forward in Pursuing justice for Yvonne. Now, regarding her autopsy, even though so much time had passed, a medical examiner was able to determine that her cause of death was most likely due to her being stabbed. And this was because there were numerous cut marks on some of her bones. So that is how the medical examiner was able to determine that this was most likely. It's not conclusive, but it does seem like that's what happened and that Brian most likely cowardly stabbed Yvonne in the back at least twice before she died due to blood loss. But that wasn't all this absolute monster did, because he also broke some of her teeth as well as her nose in an attack. And then after he killed her, he cruelly dismembered her body in the shower, packed her into his green duffel bag, and dumped her body in the swamp nearby. But he hadn't put all of her remains in that duffel bag because it was determined that while her torso was put in the duffel bag, her limbs were put in trash bags that were thrown off an embankment 1.5 miles away from their home, and her hands were thrown off a cliff. And if you didn't think this guy could get any worse, the FBI determined that he most likely also killed Yvonne's dog, Georgia May, since if the dog were around, they would raise suspicions.

[Heath]

I mean, this guy is just such a horrific piece of shit.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And this really puts everything else into play, knowing that he did these unthinkable things to this innocent woman. And then he's texting his buddy hours later, saying he has stories for days, and he's living it up. He's making jokes about dismembering a stripper when he literally did dismember his girlfriend with this machete, as we'll get into. Then he moves back to California and acts like nothing happened and moves back in with this other woman. I mean, absolutely no remorse. Well, shortly after the discovery of Yvonne's remains, some other tragic news was brought to the family. In the spring of 2014, Yvonne's beloved sister Michelle, who fought so hard to find answers in her case, was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer. Over the span of only months, Michelle went from a lively woman ready to get justice for her sister to a woman bravely fighting through chemotherapy despite her disease, leaving her bound to a wheelchair. Michelle also bravely fought through her pain and suffering to take part in a deposition against Brian Brimager, where she said on camera everything she believed happened to her sister, pointing at exactly who she believed did it. Brian. Michelle was so exhausted by Hours of deposing that she passed out as soon as the recording ended. And devastatingly, she died only days later.

[Heath]

That is so heartbreaking to know just how hard she was fighting. I mean, literally to the point where she couldn't even keep herself upright.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And we do not have access to this video, but it really is, like you said, so heartbreaking that this was one of the last things she ever did and. And that she spent the last few years of her life focused on her sister's murder instead of enjoying what time she had left because this horrible POS decided to do something completely, completely insane. And for what? Because if he wanted to just go back to California and live his life with Kristen and their daughter, he could have just done that. But it was almost like he wanted to have both, like you were saying earlier, Heath. And when that was threatened, once Yvonne found out the truth, he took action. But also just knowing how abusive he was to her in their relation or their relationship. Anyway, sorry. This guy, in my opinion, was just looking for any excuse to be violent.

[Heath]

And, you know, now he knows that Yvonne knows about Kristin. So I'm guessing that he was thinking, well, if Kristen knows about Yvonne, then he can't have either one of them, so he had to take action, which.

[Daphne]

Obviously wasn't the case because Kristen didn't seem to give a shit.

[Heath]

Yeah, she apparently didn't care. Well, in 2015, after months of legal debate between the US and Panama officials, the US was able to convince the Panama government to make sure that Brian would face trial in the US and not in Panama, so the family could have closure and he could face the full brunt of the law. Brian was already in custody because of his earlier charges, but after finding Yvonne's body, the FBI added a charge of second degree foreign murder of a US national to his record. Brian was not charged with second degree murder since the murder took place outside of the US So that's why that specific charge was used. And by the way, both charges relate to a murder being intentional but not premeditated and have similar sentencing time ranges. Now, Brian, of course, pled not guilty originally and had the full support of his wife, Kristen, who he now had a second child with. Court records show that Kristen attended nearly every single court hearing related to Brian for years, despite all evidence pointing to the fact that he not only had lied to her and Yvonne for years, but that he had obviously murdered and dismembered Yvonne. Finally, in 2016, the case was headed to trial when an absolutely crucial piece of evidence arrived that changed the entire case. Finally, we're circling back to the machete because under the handle of the machete, the FBI found blood samples that matched Yvonne Baldelli's DNA. And who was last in possession of this machete, trying to sell it off? Brian Brimager. So it was now undeniable that Brian had not only used the machete to kill her, but also to dispose of her body before giving the machete to a friend. But without even cleaning it completely, once.

[Daphne]

This new evidence arrived, 40 year old Brian finally decided to plead guilty to the murder of Yvonne Baldelli, knowing that he could no longer attempt to get away with it. So that is how we know a lot of the details in this case. The fact that he hiked approximately 1.5 miles to the other side of the island. And that's when he threw the duffel bag and the garbage bags down an embankment in the jungle. And then of course, they were found. He also even turned around during trial and told the family, I'm sorry, which obviously was not well received. So he did take accountability in a small way. And after lying for nearly five years, in May of 2016, he was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison, meaning, terrifyingly, he should be released by 2042, when he's about 66 years old. At his sentencing, U.S. attorney Laura Duffy said, quote, the day of reckoning has come for Brian Brimager. Not only did he show a callous disregard for Yvonne Baldelli's life by viciously beating, stabbing, dismembering and dumping her in the jungle, but his words and actions in the hours, days and months following his horrendous crime exhibited an extreme lack of remorse. He stole a precious daughter, sister, aunt and friend, and now he is paying the price. In my opinion, not big enough of a price. But after an emotionally draining five year process, Yvonne's family had not only lost her, but her sister Michelle too. But after Brian was sentenced, the family finally had some much needed closure and could lay Yvonne, who they called Vonnie, to rest. With the peace of knowing the person who killed her would be in prison for nearly three decades. Yvonne's remains were sent to her family, who cremated them and placed them inside a beautiful pink decorative clamshell. Her burial ceremony was attended by her family, her siblings and her niece, who loved her so dearly. Yvonne was laid to rest at sea surrounded by rose petals and her loved ones again, who not only mourned her, but her sister Michelle as well. I mean, if it wasn't for her sister's intuition, Yvonne may have never been found, and Brian Brimager might still be free to this day. Michelle Valenzuela's last act on this earth was making sure her sister would get the justice she deserved. Today, Yvonne Baldelli would be 54, and her sister Michelle would be 56. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Heath]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I can't believe the amazing work that Yvonne's sister Michelle did to solve this case. I mean, as you mentioned in the episode, had she not put in all of that work, it's possible that we may have never known what happened to Yvonne.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And honestly, it's so crazy to me that he is apparently gonna get out when he's 66 or by the time he's 66.

[Heath]

Like, I mean, that just really pisses me off.

[Daphne]

This is clearly a very violent individual, and he doesn't deserve to be out, in my opinion.

[Heath]

Yeah, because we're talking about not only the fact that he murdered Yvonne, but the fact that he was physically and emotionally abusing her before the murder took place.

[Daphne]

Seriously. So please let us know what you guys think of this case. Head on over to our socials. We're on Instagram at Going west podcast, and we're also on Facebook. We have a private discussion group where you guys can kind of talk and start conversations, and we jump in there a lot. Or we have a public Facebook group. But please let us know what you think about this case and check out the photos.

[Heath]

And with that, we will see you guys on Friday. All right, guys, so for everybody out.

[Daphne]

There in the world, don't be a stranger.