Kimberly Bailey

Summary

Snapped: Women Who Murder – Episode Summary: Kimberly Bailey

Overview

In this gripping episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder, Oxygen delves deep into the chilling case of Kimberly Bailey, a successful entrepreneur whose paranoia and jealousy led her to orchestrate the kidnapping, torture, and eventual murder of her private investigator and former lover, Rick Post. Released on April 27, 2025, this episode meticulously unpacks the intricate web of deceit, betrayal, and criminality that culminated in one of San Diego's most notorious crimes.

Background

Kimberly Bailey, a millionaire born in Oklahoma and raised in Stillwater, emerged as a formidable businesswoman with ventures in natural medicine and cutting-edge medical devices. Her ranch in Fallbrook, California, served as both a sanctuary for her medicinal plant collection and the base for her successful company, AstroPulse.

Rick Post, a handsome and highly intelligent private investigator, founded Intellisource, a San Diego-based firm specializing in various investigations, including those involving dangerous subjects like the Mexican drug cartel. Rick's expertise and charm made him a valuable asset to his clients, notably Kimberly Bailey, who became his most significant client, providing the bulk of the company's monthly income.

The Disappearance of Rick Post

On August 21, 1998, Rick Post vanished without a trace, sparking immediate concern within his family and professional circles. His son, Ian Post, reported the disappearance after noticing Rick's car abandoned with keys left in the mailbox. Despite Rick's history of sudden trips due to his investigative work, his abrupt absence without any prior notice or preparation was highly unusual and alarming.

Rick's Son shares, “Rip didn't tell his 16-year-old boy that he was going anyplace. Took no clothes, took no medications with him. That's not a normal business trip. It's suspicious.” [04:37]

The Investigation

San Diego Police Department initiated a missing persons investigation, quickly zeroing in on Kimberly Bailey and John Krueger, Rick's protege. Initial interviews with Kimberly revealed murky details about Rick's last known whereabouts in Mexico, but tangible leads remained elusive.

As months passed without progress, the FBI intervened with a cryptic phone call hinting at a connection between Rick's disappearance and a potential murder. This led investigators to delve deeper into Kimberly's background, uncovering her previous fraudulent activities with AstroPulse and her inherent paranoia, which included fears of being watched and accused of embezzlement.

A Breakthrough with Svetlana Ogorodnikova

The case took a dramatic turn when FBI agents discovered that Svetlana Ogorodnikova, a former KGB spy with a history of espionage in the United States, was residing at Kimberly's ranch. Svetlana became a pivotal figure in unraveling the mystery as she revealed startling information about Kimberly's involvement in Rick's disappearance.

Expert/Investigator notes, “Svetlana was someone that is known to virtually every FBI agent who joined the agency during the 1980s and 1990s.” [25:54]

Through a sting operation involving undercover FBI agent Nick McKean posing as a hitman, Kimberly's true intentions were exposed. In a secretly recorded conversation, Kimberly confessed her role in Rick's torture and murder, driven by her unfounded belief that Rick was embezzling funds and his infidelity.

The Trial

Kimberly Bailey's trial commenced in 2002, presenting a harrowing recount of her calculated moves to eliminate Rick Post. Her defense hinged on the assertion that Rick was still alive, leveraging testimonies from Svetlana and John Krueger. However, the prosecution's evidence, including the covert recordings and Svetlana's credible testimony, painted a damning picture of Kimberly's motives and actions.

Despite compelling evidence, the jury found Kimberly guilty of kidnapping but deadlocked on the murder charge due to the absence of Rick's body. Kimberly, steadfast in her denial, refused to accept a plea deal, choosing instead to represent herself during sentencing.

Rick's Son reflects, “When the court cases happened, it took over again and we had to relive it again to listen to the horrible details of what they did to my father. It was, you know, pretty horrific.” [41:51]

Ultimately, Kimberly was sentenced to life plus ten years in prison for kidnapping. Her accomplices, John Krueger and Humberto Uribe, received 12 years and 25 years respectively, though many questioned the leniency of these sentences.

Aftermath

The Post family, devastated by the loss of Rick, found some closure through the trial's revelations. Rick's disappearance remained a poignant reminder of the tragic consequences of misplaced trust and unchecked paranoia.

In the years following the trial, Kimberly Bailey's health deteriorated. Diagnosed with cancer in prison, she declined medical treatments, opting instead to rely solely on her AstroPulse device until her death in 2008. Meanwhile, John Krueger was released in 2010, and Humberto Uribe was extradited and released in 2022.

Rick's Son concludes, “The sad thing is a father was murdered. Never came home to his son or the rest of his family who saw much more to him. You know, the man, his work, his craft, his care for his children. Ultimate family man. He was my father and he was my best friend.” [45:53]

Conclusion

The Kimberly Bailey case is a stark illustration of how personal vendettas and psychological instability can culminate in heinous crimes. Snapped: Women Who Murder masterfully captures the intricate details of this case, shedding light on the dark corridors of human behavior and the relentless pursuit of justice by law enforcement.

Notable Quotes

• Expert/Investigator: “He was as if he just walked out the door and poof. Vanished into thin air.” [02:18]

• Kimberly Bailey: “His voice sounded worried, forced, coerced. It did not sound like a natural thing.” [13:36]

• Rick's Son: “I always knew where he was. I knew something bad had happened.” [05:32]

• Expert/Investigator: “She thought that some of her employees were stealing from her.” [10:21]

• Kimberly Bailey: “Once they had Rick posed in Tijuana, Uribe forced him to make the call that the family heard.” [31:35]

Key Takeaways

• Complex Relationships: The intertwining personal and professional dynamics between Kimberly Bailey and Rick Post played a crucial role in the unfolding of events.

• Paranoia as a Motive: Kimberly's unfounded suspicions and jealousy were significant driving factors behind her decision to eliminate Rick.

• Law Enforcement Persistence: The collaboration between local authorities and the FBI, particularly leveraging Svetlana Ogorodnikova's insider knowledge, was instrumental in solving the case.

• Legal Implications: The trial highlighted challenges in prosecuting crimes without definitive evidence, such as the absence of Rick's body, which led to a partial conviction.

This episode serves as a compelling exploration of true crime, emphasizing the importance of thorough investigations and the complexities of human motivations in criminal behavior.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

He was a handsome private investigator living a life of escapades and intrigue.

[Rick's Son]

He scored the highest IQ test in the whole western seaboard of the army.

[Expert/Investigator]

He had a gift for talking with people. He had the ability to get them to open up to him.

[Narrator]

Then he disappeared without a trace.

[Expert/Investigator]

It's as if he just walked out the door and poof. Vanished into thin air.

In their hunt for the missing businessman, investigators sort through several leads.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She was his biggest providing the bulk of the company's monthly income.

[Expert/Investigator]

He worked on issues related to the Mexican drug cartel, so there's some dangerous territory in his line of work.

But as more layers begin to unfold, an unexpected cast of characters reveal themselves.

[Kimberly Bailey]

We received a phone call. She had a client who had Information about a kidnap and murder.

[Expert/Investigator]

He was putting himself out there as a cartel hit man.

She accessed highly sensitive confidential information and gave it to the kgb.

[Kimberly Bailey]

The hidden microphones that were up near his shoulders. So when she leaned in to whisper that to him, it couldn't have been more loud and clear.

[Expert/Investigator]

This is dangerous for us.

[Narrator]

It's August 21, 1998, in San Diego, California. 16 year old Ian Post is at the home he shares with his father Rick, when the phone rings.

[Rick's Son]

A secretary in my father's office called and said, hey, have you seen your father?

[Narrator]

Ian tells her he hasn't seen his dad in 24 hours.

[Rick's Son]

And so obviously I tried calling my father. I'm not getting an answer. So that started to worry me.

[Narrator]

Ian is well aware that his father's work as a private investigator sometimes requires him to leave town at the last minute. But he also knows that Rick never leaves without telling him he would be.

[Rick's Son]

Making preparations that I was going to be with a possible family member or a friend, someone that we trusted. But that was never set up.

[Expert/Investigator]

Rip didn't tell his 16 year old boy that he was going anyplace. Took no clothes, took no medications with him. That's not a normal business trip. It's suspicious.

It's as if he just walked out the door and poof, vanished into thin air.

[Narrator]

Ian grows more concerned when he finds his father's vehicle out front.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Rick's car was parked in front of his house and the keys to the car were left in the mailbox.

[Narrator]

Ian reaches out to other family members and finds no one else has seen or heard from 52 year old Rick Post in over 24 hours.

[Expert/Investigator]

Either his family, his kids were concerned because they hadn't heard a word from him. And that was not like him. It was a huge red flag.

[Rick's Son]

I always knew where he was. I knew something bad had happened. We were doing everything that we could to figure out where he was.

[Narrator]

Born September 2, 1945, Rick Post was a native Californian.

[Rick's Son]

He was born and raised in San Diego. He entered the army intelligence back when he was 18. He scored the highest IQ test in the whole western seaboard of the army. So they immediately put him into army intelligence.

[Narrator]

Rick served during the Vietnam war and specialized in radio communications.

[Rick's Son]

My father being in the army at a young age, he was very well traveled. This took him to places like Turkey, Germany, all over Europe.

[Expert/Investigator]

By his late 20s, Rick was out of the army and married. In 1971, his first son, Orion is born. And 10 years later, in 1981, he has a Second son, Ian.

[Rick's Son]

We had a sailboat growing up. We spent a lot of time out in the ocean. That was something that brought him a lot of happiness.

[Narrator]

To support his growing family, Rick drew on his military background and opened a private investigation firm.

[Rick's Son]

So my father's company was called intellisource, based out of Old Town San Diego. And the type of work ranged anywhere from occult investigation to cheating investigation of a spouse or husband and anything in between.

[Narrator]

Rick wasn't afraid to take on difficult or even dangerous cases.

[Rick's Son]

He had worked on a case for a woman in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Her son was murdered by a cult named the Rainbow Children.

[Expert/Investigator]

He worked on issues related to the Mexican cartel. So there is some dangerous territory in his line of work.

Rick had a gift for talking with people. He had the ability to, in the moment, relate to someone and get them to open up to him. In his line of work is a talent that you can't buy.

[Narrator]

Rick's work life was a success, but his love life was a different story. By the late 90s, Rick was twice divorced with four kids.

[Rick's Son]

I lived between two different homes, so, you know, I would visit with my father, I'd visit with my mother, but it was always that way. So that was pretty normal.

[Expert/Investigator]

By the late 90s, business was thriving so much that Rick took on a protege. He hired an aspiring young PI John Kruger.

[Rick's Son]

John Kruger worked in my father's office. Maybe about a year and a half, John had wanted to get his own Life license.

[Expert/Investigator]

In 1997, Rick landed his most prominent client yet, millionaire Kimberly Bailey. Born in Oklahoma, Kimberly was raised in the quaint town of Stillwater.

Kimberly was somewhat enigmatic. She was seemingly a loner. The only thing we know about her private life is that she came from an apparently very troubled childhood in Oklahoma. She traveled the world looking for endangered medicinal plants.

Kimberly Bailey bought a ranch in Fallbrook, California, with the stated intent to use it as a place to grow natural medicines that she was gathering from all over the world.

It was beautiful, you know, 33 acres, avocado trees everywhere, nice big ranch house. She was very pretty, highly intelligent.

[Narrator]

Kimberly also had a second business selling cutting edge medical devices.

[Expert/Investigator]

She had a business known as Astropulse. And the idea was that by using electrical currents, you could cure pretty much anything.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Astropulse was a black box that had some controls and dials on them. The user would hold in the box would send electric currents through their body.

[Narrator]

By 1997, Kimberly was in her early 40s and had amassed a sizable fortune.

[Expert/Investigator]

She was this zen holistic practitioner who made a lot of money.

Business was outstandingly successful. The word of mouth would spread, and she had many, many, many people ordering her black box. She built up hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[Narrator]

But Kimberly worried that those closest to her were trying to undo what she had built.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kim was rather paranoid. She always believed that somebody was watching her or after her.

She thought that some of her employees were stealing from her.

[Kimberly Bailey]

So Kimberly Bailey hired Rick Post to conduct investigations.

[Narrator]

Rick enlisted his new right hand man, John Krueger, to help him on the case. Rick worked closely with Kimberly. The suave PI and beautiful businesswoman made an instant connection.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She was his biggest client, providing the bulk of the company's monthly income. At some point, that relationship evolved into one of a. Of a romantic nature.

[Expert/Investigator]

But after a short and passionate fling, Rick decided it was best to steer clear of anything serious.

[Rick's Son]

I do remember my father telling me at our home that he wanted to keep this relationship professional, that he did not want to have a romantic relationship with her.

[Expert/Investigator]

Despite the brush off, Kimberly and Rick maintain their professional relationship with the holistic guru as one of his most prominent clients. Rick seems to be in his professional prime until the PI suddenly vanishes on August 20, 1998, throwing his family into a panic.

[Rick's Son]

All of his belongings he would take with him were there at the house. So that alone itself was something that triggered, you know, kind of an emergency response. Over the course of that week, my brother and I had been looking for him. We had been contacting airlines. I don't think I slept at all really that first week.

[Narrator]

Then his son Ian gets a troubling phone call from John Kruger.

[Rick's Son]

John Kruger says, we got this voicemail here at the office. I think you should hear it. Okay, I'll be right over. He plays it for me.

[Kimberly Bailey]

The voicemail was Rick's voice and was directed to his office staff, saying that he was going to be in Mexico for a few days. He was fine. Not to worry about him.

[Expert/Investigator]

The voicemail was left the day before Rick went missing. John feels confident that the message means Rick is okay. But Ian and other family members have their doubts.

[Rick's Son]

It really wasn't what my father was saying. It was his candor, the way he spoke.

[Kimberly Bailey]

His voice sounded worried, forced, coerced. It did not sound like a natural thing. They all knew something was very wrong.

[Expert/Investigator]

With concerns mounting, Rick's family files a missing persons report in August 1998.

Missing person investigations can be very intense. The longer someone stays disappeared, the greater the chances that they will never be found.

Coming up, police locate the last known Person to be seen with the missing.

[Kimberly Bailey]

PI she and Rick Post had gone down to Mexico for a work trip.

[Rick's Son]

She dropped him off at the airport and then she drove back. This seems really weird.

[Expert/Investigator]

And just as local authorities hit a dead end, the FBI receives a bizarre call.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She said she had a client who had information about a kidnap and murder. She was asking for blanket immunity for her client.

[Expert/Investigator]

By late August 1998, over a week has passed since private investigator Rick Post disappeared after hearing a suspicious voicemail Rick left at the office. Ian and his brother report the 52 year old as missing to the San Diego PD.

The police must do their due diligence before they decide that an all out search has to take place.

[Rick's Son]

Their position was the nature of your father's work requires him to go on stakeouts where people aren't supposed to know where he's at. So this seems very fitting for his line of work.

[Expert/Investigator]

San Diego police visit Rick's private investigation firm in Telesource where they speak with employees including John Krueger.

[Kimberly Bailey]

It would be typical in a missing persons investigation to try and interview as many family members, friends, coworkers as can be found to try and find out what does this person typically do? Is this very unusual? Where might they have gone?

[Expert/Investigator]

John tells detectives that the last time he saw his Boss was on August 20, almost three weeks prior. Rick was leaving the office with his biggest client, Kimberly Bailey.

[Narrator]

San Diego detectives immediately tracked down Kimberly at her avocado farm.

[Kimberly Bailey]

When investigators first talked to Kimberly Bailey, she explained that she and Rick Post had drove down to Mexico for a work trip.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kimberly says that on August 20, while in Tijuana, she and Rick stopped for a meal.

While at a restaurant in Mexico, Rick was approached by two men who had a conversation with him. At the conclusion of the conversation, Rick told Kimberly that he needed to make a business trip to Mexico City.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Rick had requested she drop him off at the Tijuana airport, drive his car back up north of the border, leave it at his house and put the keys in the mailbox.

[Expert/Investigator]

She tells detectives that she's been worried sick since Rick's disappearance.

The investigators knew that the information they had didn't add up. But all they had was Kimberly Bailey and and John Kruger saying, yeah, he left town.

[Kimberly Bailey]

It's always harder to conduct an investigation of an American citizen being missing in a foreign country because all we can do is pass the information along through our international liaison.

[Expert/Investigator]

Without much to go on from John and Kim, investigators pore over Rick's client list and find no shortage of potential Leads.

[Kimberly Bailey]

There's potential for there to be a lot of trails to follow because of the types of cases he had worked in his past.

[Narrator]

But those leads all fall flat.

[Expert/Investigator]

The local investigators talked to Rick's family, they talked to Rick's co workers, and it all led to a dead end.

[Rick's Son]

I didn't know if I was going to ever hear anything further regarding this. It just was possible that no one would ever knew.

[Narrator]

By January of 1999, Rick has been missing for over four months. And the Post family is beginning to lose hope.

[Expert/Investigator]

Then, out of the blue, FBI agents at a field office in San Diego, California, get an unexpected phone call.

[Kimberly Bailey]

We received a phone call from the U.S. attorney's office about an attorney and calling Cusack, who said she had a client who had information about a kidnap and murder, a person from San Diego.

[Narrator]

Before she will reveal the name of the victim, Colleen attempts to negotiate a deal for her client.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She was asking for a blanket immunity for her client in order to discuss the matter. The United States Attorney's office does not generally offer blanket immunity to people up front without hearing what they have to say. So that conversation never went anywhere.

[Narrator]

The phone call ends abruptly, but agents follow up with San Diego police.

[Kimberly Bailey]

We started reviewing some of the missing persons files at the San Diego Police Department.

[Expert/Investigator]

We had a few facts that they did get from this initial phone call. A certain date and time. And it matched up with the missing persons report of Rick Post disappearing in Mexico.

[Kimberly Bailey]

After that, there were ongoing negotiations wherein the US Attorney's office was trying to get Ms. Cusack to bring her client in and explain what they knew. But that also never materialized.

[Expert/Investigator]

After hitting yet another dead end in May of 1999, FBI agents circle back to Rick's employee, John Krueger.

[Kimberly Bailey]

He asked us if he could call his attorney and talk to her before answering our questions. She said, of course. He then said, my attorney would like to speak to you first, and handed the phone over to us and it was calling Cusack. At that point, we quickly made the connection that Rick Post is not just a missing person. Rick was murdered. And Jon Kruger has information directly related to the kidnap and murder of Rick Post.

[Narrator]

But whatever John knows, he isn't willing to share.

[Kimberly Bailey]

He would not talk with us, but definitely raised our level of suspicion into his role in this case.

[Expert/Investigator]

Investigators turn back to the other person of interest in this case, Kimberly Bailey.

[Narrator]

As it turns out, Kimberly already has her own file at the FBI.

[Kimberly Bailey]

We saw, we had an open investigation on her related to her company, AstroPulse. She was claiming that These were medical devices that cured cancer.

[Expert/Investigator]

Could Kimberly's fraudulent business dealings be linked to Rick's disappearance?

The investigation had kind of come to a standstill. They started conducting a surveillance of the ranch that Kimberly Bailey owned up in Fallbrook.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Kimberly Bailey did exhibit a lot of odd behaviors. She did not like talking on the phone. She preferred to meet people in person. Would often speak in a whisper as though she thought or feared she was being surreptitiously recorded. Somehow she had that kind of paranoid mindset.

[Expert/Investigator]

They knew that in addition to Kimberly, there were some other people living in there. So the case agents finally decided, let's go up and talk to people up there and see what we can find out.

[Narrator]

Coming up, investigators find themselves seeking help from an international spy.

[Expert/Investigator]

It was like something right out of a James Bond movie.

And an undercover sting reveals a horrifying plot.

The torture included hitting him in the face and crushing his fingers with pliers.

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[Narrator]

FBI agents in San Diego suspect that private investigator Rick Post was kidnapped and murdered in Mexico. There are two names in his missing persons file that have garnered their attention. John Krueger and Kimberly Bailey.

[Expert/Investigator]

Usually in an investigation, you try and talk to your main subjects. Last you want to have as much information as possible when you go into that interview, because then it allows you to know if what they're telling you is false.

In November of 1999, after seven months of surveillance fails to turn up any new leads, agents pay a visit to Kimberly's Fallbrook Avocado Ranch. When they arrive, they're greeted by two employees, husband and wife, Bruce and Svetlana.

This woman identified herself as Svetlana Olgorodnikova. This moment was a jaw dropper for the agents. Svetlana was someone that is known to virtually every FBI agent who joined the agency during the 1980s and 1990s.

Back in the early 80s, an agent in Los Angeles by the name of Richard Miller. He was working counterintelligence against the Soviets. And Svetlana, had she been used as a source in those cases? And they became intimate.

Svetlana, like something right out of a James Bond movie, seduced an FBI agent, accessed highly sensitive confidential information and gave it to the KGB.

Svetlana was sentenced to 18 years, served nine. And after that, was in danger of losing her status to stay in the United States. And in fact, one step ahead of ins. Essentially moved back to Mexico. While down there, came into contact with Kimberly.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Agents talked to her, explained why they were there, why they were there looking for Kimberly.

[Expert/Investigator]

Well, we're investigating the Rick Post murder. And can we talk to you? Then Lana and I look at each other, you know, because here's the FBI. She's here illegally. And reporting as if she was still in Mexico.

Svetlana tells the agents that Kimberly is away at a yoga retreat. She also says that she and Bruce have been working and living at Kimberly's ranch for around six months. In that time, they forged a friendship with the quirky millionaire.

On the surface, she's brilliant. She's pretty, a little bit paranoid. She thought the satellites were listening to her and that people were after her.

However, Svetlana claims Kimberly trusted her. One day, she began confiding in her about her breakup with Rick Post.

She was a woman scorned. She was in love with Rick. He dropped her as a girlfriend. The real problem was jealousy.

[Narrator]

What's more, Kimberly told Svetlana money was missing from her business, that she believed.

[Expert/Investigator]

That Rick Post was stealing money from her. This was the one, two punch that sent her over the edge.

[Narrator]

And then Svetlana says Kimberly revealed her darkest secret.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Kimberly Bailey had actually confided in Svetlana that she had orchestrated the kidnap and murder of Rick Post. The problem that we had was we didn't see a way that we would be able to use information or testimony coming from a former convicted espionage agent. How do we get around that?

[Expert/Investigator]

They solved it by getting Svetlana to agree to wear a wire recording device. I think she was scared of Kimberly and I think there was a fear motive in her status in the United States. She was actually back in the United States illegally.

[Narrator]

A few weeks later, Kimberly asks Svetlana to pick her up from the airport in Phoenix and drive her back to California. The nine hour car ride presents the perfect opportunity.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Our agents wired up the car in advance and also wired Svetlana up with hidden recording devices.

[Expert/Investigator]

It takes a little prompting from Svetlana to get Kimberly talking. Kimberly says that John Kruger had called her in August 1998 with some concerning information about his boss, Rick Post.

She had been told by Krueger that Post had been taking her money and then sleeping with other women.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She was so enraged that she just had to prove a lesson to him.

[Narrator]

Kimberly reveals that she asked John Kruger to help her hire some muscle.

[Expert/Investigator]

John had become acquainted with individual by the name of Humberto Arribe, Mexican national who was purporting to have connections to the cartel.

Kimberly paid 25 year old Humberto approximately $40,000 and then lured Rick Post to Mexico. On August 20th, the trap was set.

Kimberly went down to Mexico with Rick Post. They stopped at a pharmacy. Rick waited in the car. Kimberly got out of the car, supposedly to go into the pharmacy. Two men hired by Uribe approached the car, forced Rick out of the car and took him away.

After Richard is kidnapped, Kimberly gets inside of Richard's car, turns around and heads back to San Diego, where she drops off his car at his own home.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Once they had Rick posed in Tijuana, Iribe forced him to make the call that the family heard, where he said, don't worry about me, I'm in Mexico City.

[Narrator]

According to Kimberly, Humberto and his two associates tortured Rick. For the next five days he was.

[Expert/Investigator]

Duct taped to a chair and then.

He took pliers and pinched his fingernails.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Svetlana shared with us that once Rick was kidnapped, Kimberly Bailey said she continued to travel back down to Mexico to the safe house where he was being kept to observe his torture.

[Expert/Investigator]

After five days of torture, Rick still.

[Narrator]

Hadn'T confessed to stealing from her.

[Expert/Investigator]

Rick loves me that I slept with other women.

[Kimberly Bailey]

He always denied stealing anything.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kimberly tells Svetlana that she told Uribe to build an underground prison and keep him there for the rest of his life. This is dangerous for us. We don't like staying up all night watching this guy.

[Narrator]

Then Kimberly reveals to Svetlana that she is sharing her story with her because she needs her help.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She asked if she knew anybody, any hitmen who she could hire to kill John Kruger and kill Humberto Uribe. Svetlana, to her credit, rolled with it, took it right in stride and said, yeah, she did know somebody.

[Expert/Investigator]

So the decision was made. Let's put a bow on this. Kimberly Bailey wants a hitman. So the FBI decided, we'll give her a hitman.

[Narrator]

Coming up, agents set up a sting.

[Expert/Investigator]

So she bent over me and whispered in my ear for an hour and.

Learn of her next plan for bloodshed.

She would have been literally the last person standing in the room with a bloody knife.

Over a year after Rick Post's mysterious disappearance, his former client and lover, Kimberly Bailey unwittingly confesses to his murder During a secretly recorded conversation with former KGB spy Svetlana Agorodnikova.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Not only did Kim lay out the entire scenario and her involvement and Kruger's involvement, Iribe's involvement with the kidnap and murder, she also approached Svetlana for help in eliminating Kruger and Iribe.

[Expert/Investigator]

She was going down a road where she would have been literally the last person standing in the room with a bloody knife.

Svetlana agrees to work with investigators once again in a sting operation. On December 22, 1999, almost a year and a half since Rick's disappearance, Svetlana.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Worked with us to help set up a meeting between Kimberly Bailey and who she thought was a hitman that Svetlana was connected to.

[Expert/Investigator]

So a meeting was arranged in a hotel room. Fortunately for us, the professional hitman was, in fact, a professional FBI agent.

Agent Nick McKean takes on the role of hitman.

Before I met with her, I talked with Svetlana about Kim Bailey and just asked her what kind of person she was. What could I expect her to do?

[Kimberly Bailey]

We wired up the hotel, and Kimberly Bailey and the FBI undercover agent met to discuss Kim's request.

[Narrator]

When she arrives, it's clear that Kimberly's infamous paranoia is in full swing.

[Expert/Investigator]

I think she was a little skittish, and what I wanted to do was put her at ease, make her feel like I was the guy that she would want to hire.

[Narrator]

Kimberly refuses to talk about the hits. Instead, she pulls a laptop computer out of her bag.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kimberly tries to type out the death wish, and the laptop does not work.

[Narrator]

Since she can't type her request, Kimberly is forced to say it out loud.

[Expert/Investigator]

And so she bent over me and whispered in my ear for an hour.

[Kimberly Bailey]

The irony is when she leaned in to whisper that to him, it couldn't have been more loud and clear.

[Narrator]

Kimberly reveals that her hit list has changed since she spoke with Svetlana. Only one name remains the same.

[Expert/Investigator]

She wanted three people killed. She wanted John Krueger. She wanted her attorney. And then she wanted her gardener. And I, for the life of me, I couldn't get her to tell me why she wanted her gardener killed. Still don't know.

[Narrator]

Kimberly is clear that the murders should not look like intentional killings.

[Expert/Investigator]

I told her we'll stage an accident, you know, something violent will happen to them. They will die.

Kimberly gave the undercover agent $10,000 as a down payment.

FBI agents are able to secure arrest warrants for Kimberly and her co conspirators.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Unfortunately, at the time that we had the operation ready to go, Jon Kruger was the only person in the country and he was arrested first.

[Expert/Investigator]

On April 4th of 2000, John Kruger is arrested in San Diego.

[Narrator]

Later that month, authorities locate 54 year old Kimberly at an airport in Mexico city. Armed with 14 pieces of luggage and a Canadian ID. It's clear that she's on the run.

[Kimberly Bailey]

Kimberly Bailey was later arrested at an airport in Mexico and extradited to the United States.

[Narrator]

Kimberly refuses to talk and maintains her innocence. Meanwhile, Humberto Uribe remains free in Mexico.

[Expert/Investigator]

He is a Mexican national. It oftentimes can take a long time to extradite someone from Mexico to the United States. When there is a murder case.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors begin preparing for Kimberly's trial. In addition to Svetlana, they are able to secure another star witness.

[Kimberly Bailey]

John Kruger was the first to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and offer cooperation to the government.

[Narrator]

John tells investigators that it all started when he became upset with Rick for not paying him what he felt he deserved.

[Expert/Investigator]

John Kruger's a bit of a disgruntled employee at the company. He's only making $15 an hour. He sees that Richard Post is reeling in the dough.

[Narrator]

So John lied and told Kimberly Rick was stealing from her.

[Kimberly Bailey]

It was actually John Krueger who dripped the first poison in Kimberly Bailey's ear. Knowing how paranoid Kimberly Bailey was, knowing that this was would enrage her.

[Narrator]

When Kimberly asked him to help her find a hitman, he obliged.

[Kimberly Bailey]

John Kruger orchestrated this plot to get rid of Rick Post so that John.

[Narrator]

Could take over the business between John and Svetlana. The case against Kimberly is strong. But prosecutors will soon learn that Kimberly Bailey's will to remain free may be even stronger.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kimberly is fight to the death and it just seems so natural for her to say, I'm not making any deal with anybody. I'm going to trial because she thinks she's impenetrable.

[Narrator]

Coming up, a shocking claim rocks the courtroom.

[Expert/Investigator]

Rick wasn't dead. He was living off her money somewhere in Mexico.

[Narrator]

And the twists keep coming.

[Expert/Investigator]

You could say that that is the ultimate Hollywood movie ending to a twisted story like.

[Narrator]

Kimberly Bailey's trial gets underway in 2002. The millionaire and entrepreneur is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping, torture and murder of her one time lover and private investigator, Rick Post.

[Expert/Investigator]

For Rick's family, it's been four years since they last saw him and the trial has been a long time coming.

[Rick's Son]

When the court cases happened, it took over again and we had to relive it again to listen to the horrible details of what they did to my father. It was, you know, pretty horrific.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors argue that Rick's murder was driven by a deadly combination of revenge and paranoia.

[Expert/Investigator]

He was tortured in an effort to get him to cough up a confession on stealing money from her. Unfortunately, it appears the problem for Rick was he hadn't stolen any money from her, so he had nothing to confess to.

[Narrator]

On the stand, Svetlana and John walk the jury through Kimberly's cold hearted scheme. But Kimberly's attorneys argue that not only are these witnesses unreliable, but Rick Post is, is still alive.

[Expert/Investigator]

Kim Bailey's position through the entire trial was that Rick wasn't dead, that Rick stole a lot of money from her and he was living off her money somewhere in Mexico.

[Narrator]

In July, the jury finds Kimberly Bailey guilty of kidnapping. But without a body, they deadlock on the murder charge.

[Expert/Investigator]

Even though we know she said a million times she wanted him killed, there was no body.

Kimberly fires her attorney and represents herself at her sentencing on the kidnapping conviction.

Never a good move. That's probably the worst type of representation you can have.

Kimberly receives a life plus 10 years in prison.

[Narrator]

John Kruger is rewarded for his cooperation.

[Kimberly Bailey]

After John Krueger pled guilty, the judge saw fit to sentence him to 12 years in prison.

[Rick's Son]

I think 12 years was laughable. John kicked this whole thing off blame to my father saying that he had stolen money. He knew the type of person that he was telling this to.

[Expert/Investigator]

It takes five more years for the third perpetrator of the crime, hitman Umberto Iribe, to face justice.

He got popped in Mexico by the authorities down there on an unrelated homicide case. Arrangements were made for extradition to bring him back up to the United States to face trial in the Rick Post murder. He got 25 years. Is that long enough for taking a human life? I don't think so.

[Narrator]

Umberto's trial marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the Post.

[Rick's Son]

Family memorial service for my father. And we put a plaque down and we had a ceremony for him. So that was for us being able to kind of help us to move on.

[Narrator]

In 2008, Kimberly Bailey was diagnosed with cancer in prison.

[Kimberly Bailey]

She refused any medical treatment and insisted on only using one of her astropulse black box devices to treat her cancer. And she died. Died in 2008.

[Expert/Investigator]

You could say that that is the ultimate Hollywood movie ending to a twisted story like this.

[Kimberly Bailey]

The sad thing is a father was murdered. Never came home to his son or the rest of his family who saw.

[Rick's Son]

Much more to him. You know, the man, his work, his craft, his care for his children. Ultimate family man. He was my father and he was my best friend.

[Advertiser]

Svetlana Ogorodnikova passed away in 2022 after a prolonged illness.

[Expert/Investigator]

Illness.

[Advertiser]

John Kruger was released from prison in 2010. Humberto Uribe was released from prison in December of 2022.

[Expert/Investigator]

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[Kimberly Bailey]

Thanks.

[Expert/Investigator]

Have a good one.

Yep, that too.

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