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- [00:04]
Narrator
A beloved father and husband is found brutally murdered in his home.
- [00:09]
Detective 1
There were stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the back of his head.
- [00:13]
Detective 2
Somebody wanted him dead and they wanted to make sure that he was dead.
- [00:17]
Narrator
A years long investigation reveals an international love affair with a master manipulator.
- [00:24]
Detective 3
Her response was, you don't think my husband's having an affair, do you?
- [00:31]
Detective 1
We had to figure out if there was something that she was hiding.
- [00:34]
Narrator
But before the killers can be brought to justice, detectives will have to track them. Halfway across the world.
- [00:41]
Detective 2
We found out that she and her new friend had gone to Peru.
- [00:47]
Undercover Officer
We had multiple undercover officers and detectives out watching her.
- [00:51]
Detective 1
They were very careful about what they were saying.
- [00:54]
Detective 2
The more I pressed her, the angrier she got.
- [01:03]
Detective 1
She snapped because she wanted to be with the person she loved.
- [01:28]
Narrator
May 22, 2014. It's a little after 10am when police in the quiet bedroom community of Westminster, California receive a disturbing 911 call.
- [01:42]
Detective 2
An individual by the name of James Luna was on the call and a female could be heard in the background. She was frantic.
- [01:51]
911 Operator
We have an emergency. The husband's not responding. What's going on there? He's faced down on the stomach, but he has. I don't want to move him. Okay. Is he breathing? I don't think so. I don't think so. I can't see him.
- [02:10]
Narrator
James explains that the crying woman is his neighbor, 37 year old Olga Vasquez.
- [02:17]
Detective 2
James told us that he heard Olga frantically yelling for help, so he calls 911 and helps translate.
- [02:25]
Narrator
He says Olga told him she came home to find her bedroom drenched with blood. Believes her husband, 58 year old Adrian Zapata, has been murdered.
- [02:37]
911 Operator
When? The time she saw him, she just got back, but she just got back taking the kids to school. So he was fine this morning when she. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [02:49]
Detective 2
Westminster sent patrol officers to the apartment. They made contact initially with Olga Vazquez, where she directed him to Adrian Zapata, deceased in his bedroom.
- [03:02]
Detective 1
Adrian had several injuries on his neck that seemed to resemble stab wounds with an unknown object. He also had blunt force trauma to the back of his head.
- [03:14]
Detective 2
He was laying face down with his head on a pillow. He had a sheet over his lower half of his body. When you entered the master bedroom, it was in disarray. There were drawers pulled out, turned upside down.
- [03:31]
Detective 3
It appeared that there might have been a robbery.
- [03:38]
Narrator
Detectives turn to Adriane's wife, hoping she can shed some light on what happened.
- [03:44]
Detective 3
She was absolutely hysterical, very upset, crying and continued to be very emotional and upset for many Hours.
- [03:54]
Narrator
In her heightened emotional state, Olga can't offer more details there at the scene. While an officer takes her back to the station to give a full statement, detectives focus on the crime scene and their victim. Adrian Zapata was born near lima, Peru on June 27, 1955. The first few years of his life were a struggle.
- [04:25]
Family Member
Adrian's parents had him when they were both very young. They weren't ready to settle down or be parents at the time. So it was his paternal grandparents that stepped into that role of guardianship.
- [04:41]
Narrator
From that struggle came ambition. Adrian went to college to become a business accountant. He then secured a teaching position at a technical institute where he met his first wife, Annie Villegas.
- [05:00]
Friend or Close Acquaintance (Spanish Speaker)
Adrian charismatico hera una Persona optimista Una Persona muy hocosa Tenia seria que marcaba mislenia atomarun Cafe tiempo de espues.
- [05:22]
Family Member
And.
- [05:33]
Narrator
Less than two years later, Adrienne and Annie were married in 1978. As the Peruvian economy fell into Crisis in the 1980s, violence in their hometown skyrocketed. In 1986, Adrian left for California, determined to create a better life for his wife and 8 year old son, Renzo.
- [06:22]
Friend or Close Acquaintance (Spanish Speaker)
Com hombre de familia como padre como esposo el penso que loybas super arto y tru familia Mastard.
- [06:32]
Narrator
Although he was a professor in Peru, Adrian was forced to start over at the bottom. When he moved to America, he worked many odd jobs before he saved enough for his entire family to join him.
- [06:47]
Family Member or Close Friend
He actually ended up getting his license to become a nurse. And that's how he makes a big leap financially.
- [06:55]
Family Member
It definitely seemed like they had reached that American dream.
- [07:03]
Narrator
Unfortunately, the years Adrienne and Annie spent apart took a toll on their marriage.
- [07:10]
Friend or Close Acquaintance (Spanish Speaker)
Termino.
- [07:22]
Family Member or Close Friend
They love me so much that they would rather stay together as friends at the house and provide me a stable home while finish college.
- [07:37]
Narrator
Once their son Renzo graduated From college in 2007, Annie and Adrienne decided to get a divorce. After a lifetime focused on family, Adrian was now a 53 year old bachelor.
- [07:56]
Family Member or Close Friend
We were all grown up. We were all well established. He was done with helping everybody.
- [08:06]
Narrator
He began making regular trips to Peru to reconnect with old friends and invested in a penthouse in Lima.
- [08:13]
Family Member or Close Friend
It was a tall bachelor's pad with an elevator straight to the house. It was a place where he could have his parties with his Peruvian friends.
- [08:26]
Narrator
On one of his visits, Adrian met a captivating younger woman named Olga vasquez. Despite their 20 year age difference, the two quickly fell in Love.
- [08:38]
Family Member
He was over the moon. She was living in his penthouse, and everybody was happy.
- [08:44]
Colleague or Friend of Adrian
He was like, I'm gonna marry her and I'm gonna bring her to America. She has two kids and we're gonna be happy.
- [08:53]
Narrator
In 2010, Adrian and Olga married. And in 2013, he brought his new bride and her two sons to the US to live with him.
- [09:03]
Family Member
The ultimate goal for him was to retire to Peru and to live a good life after having worked so hard for so many years.
- [09:12]
Narrator
After just 11 months in America with his new wife, Adrian's dreams of returning home have been shattered. At first glance, Adrian's apartment appears to have been burglarized. But upon closer inspection, Westminster police notice the crime scene tells a different story.
- [09:35]
Detective 3
The officers determined, based on their experience, that it appeared that it was a staged ransacking.
- [09:43]
Detective 1
Nothing appears to be missing. It seems that the suspect might have just gone in there to make it seem that things are not where they were supposed to be.
- [09:53]
Detective 3
Adrian Zapata's injuries did show that there was both blunt force trauma to the back of the head as well as stab wounds. The level of violence would not be indicative of an individual who had woken up and was confronting a robber. The fact that it was so brutal seemed to suggest that it was more than just a robbery gone bad.
- [10:18]
Detective 2
The suspect entered that location with intentions of killing him. So we wanted to find a motive.
- [10:28]
Narrator
Coming up, investigators discover a bad investment from Adrian's past made him several enemies.
- [10:36]
Detective 2
They felt that he owed them $30,000,
- [10:39]
Narrator
and new evidence points to infidelity. But by whom?
- [10:44]
Detective 3
Right next to a booster seat and a taekwondo bag was a lingerie nightie with a box of condoms.
- [11:01]
Narrator
Authorities in Westminster, California, are combing through the crime scene where 58 year old Adrian Zapata was murdered.
- [11:11]
Detective 2
Adrian's body was transported to the Orange county coroner's office where an autopsy was conducted. Olga was ultimately transported to the police department for an additional interview. While she was being transferred there, we continued to process the scene. We didn't locate any blood in the sinks to indicate that the suspect washed up after the murder.
- [11:33]
Detective 3
They did not find any evidence of any forced entry, which led them to believe that the individual might have had a key or might have otherwise been let in by the victim.
- [11:48]
Narrator
An unexpected discovery in Adrian's car provides a possible lead.
- [11:53]
Detective 3
When the officer opened the trunk, right next to a booster seat and a taekwondo bag was lingerie nightie with a box of condoms sitting there right in
- [12:07]
Detective 1
the open, there was an extra large nightie. Right. So initially we're like, okay, there's no way this is hers. Because Olga was pretty small, you know, small female.
- [12:20]
Detective 2
We had a suspicion that maybe Adrian may have been having an affair. We sent it to the Orange county crime lab to be processed for any potential DNA.
- [12:33]
Narrator
Investigators head to the station where Adrienne's wife, Olga, is finally ready to tell her full version of the morning's events.
- [12:42]
Detective 2
When we talked to Olga about what happened, she told us that at about 8am she left the apartment with her two sons with the intentions of taking them to school and running some errands. Adrian was asleep in bed. He worked late night, so she was allowing him to sleep. When she got home, she entered the bedroom and discovered Adrian. We asked Olga, does Adrian have a life insurance policy or any major accounts that someone would financially gain from his death? She said, no, he doesn't.
- [13:21]
Narrator
When they ask her if she knows of any other women in Adriane's life, Olga also says no.
- [13:28]
Detective 2
Olga told us that her and her husband loved each other. There was no suspicion of infidelity on either part. I showed her pictures of the nightie and box of condoms that we had located in Adrienne's trunk. She had no idea whose they were or where they came from.
- [13:51]
Detective 3
Her response was wide eyed, surprised, shocked. And she said something along the lines of, you don't think my husband's having an affair, do you?
- [14:08]
Narrator
Olga says it would explain some of Adriane's past behavior.
- [14:13]
Detective 2
She does mention that she had heard Adrian on the phone with a female that seemed somewhat secretive.
- [14:21]
Detective 3
He had gotten text messages from a woman a time in the past and he was possibly being unfaithful.
- [14:31]
Narrator
Unfortunately, Olga never looked into the texts further and has no more details to share. So detectives turned to Adriane's friends and family.
- [14:45]
Family Member or Close Friend
My wife and I were on a trip to Arizona and we get the call from my mom telling me that my dad has passed away. So we turn around and head back to California. None of it made sense.
- [15:01]
Narrator
Adrian's loved ones say they don't believe he would cheat on Olga, but he did have enemies.
- [15:08]
Detective 2
We learned that Adrian had a business thing go bad.
- [15:13]
Family Member
Adrian had decided with two of his friends to open a Peruvian restaurant.
- [15:21]
Narrator
Adrian and his partners took out a sizable loan to get the business off the ground.
- [15:30]
Family Member
For a while it was doing well, but then the restaurant started kind of going sideways. I think at some point not everybody was pulling their weight in that business and they split up. The partners, I think at some point blamed Adrian.
- [15:47]
Detective 2
They felt that he owed them $30,000 because of this
- [15:53]
Detective 3
it was posited that perhaps one of the individuals who had bad blood from this bad restaurant deal might have had a motive to kill Adrian Zapata.
- [16:08]
Narrator
Detectives get in touch with Adrienne's former business partners. Both men are adamant they would never commit murder over $30,000.
- [16:18]
Detective 2
They weren't at the crime scene. They had alibis of where they were. Quite honestly, during those interviews, it didn't appear they really had a motive to kill Adrian. They had no benefit to want him dead. They weren't happy about the business, but they didn't hate him or anything like that. It just the businesses didn't work out.
- [16:35]
Narrator
With his former business partners now in the clear, investigators must focus on the potential of an affair gone wrong. They turn to Adrian's co workers for insight into his personal life.
- [16:50]
Detective 3
Adrian Zapata worked as a tech at a local hospital. The officers went and spoke with a number of Adrian Zapata's colleagues. We never found any evidence to support the allegation that Mr. Zapata had been unfaithful to his wife.
- [17:13]
Detective 2
Actually, we found out just the opposite. He's actually confided in some of his friends that he suspected Olga is having an affair.
- [17:26]
Narrator
Before detectives look into the rumors, autopsy results provide insight on the brutal attack that took Adrian's life.
- [17:35]
Detective 2
It appeared Adrian had two major head injuries to the top of his head, which were caused by blunt force objects. In addition to those injuries, he had seven stab wounds in his neck. There was no indication whatsoever that Adrian fought back or even knew that he was being attacked.
- [17:58]
Detective 1
It was as if these injuries were done while he was sleeping.
- [18:03]
Detective 2
Based on the coroner's findings, as well as what I saw at the crime scene, somebody wanted him dead, and they wanted to make sure. Sure that he was dead.
- [18:13]
Narrator
Unfortunately, the medical examiner's findings don't help narrow down any suspects or motives. The crime lab is also unable to make a match on the DNA found on the nightie.
- [18:27]
Detective 3
They had found an unidentified male DNA profile on it.
- [18:34]
Narrator
So on June 5, detectives meet with one of Adrian's co workers, Ruth Sevilla, to get the details on Olga's alleged affair.
- [18:43]
Colleague or Friend of Adrian
Working with Adrian, we built a relationship. Like, you know, we would talk a lot about our lives. He wouldn't stop talking about Olga.
- [18:54]
Narrator
Ruth tells detectives the problems between Adrian and Olga began soon after she arrived from Peru.
- [19:02]
Colleague or Friend of Adrian
It was a month after he brought her to us. He told me we don't sleep together no more.
- [19:09]
Detective 2
She told us that the marriage started going sideways when Adrienne found out through phone records, you know, that she was on the phone daily talking to somebody.
- [19:21]
Colleague or Friend of Adrian
Adrienne was thinking that she was already cheating on him with someone, but he wanted to prove it, so that's why he called the number. There was a man that answered, and when he said hello, he hung up.
- [19:45]
Narrator
A week into their investigation, Westminster police have discovered Olga Vasquez might have been the one stepping out on her marriage. And according to Ruth Sevilla, Adrian confronted Olga as soon as he suspected she was cheating on him.
- [20:03]
Colleague or Friend of Adrian
He told Olga, like, who is this person? You know, I called this number, and there was a man that answered the phone, and she said, oh, it was my sister's boyfriend.
- [20:19]
Narrator
Ruth says Adrian didn't believe Olga, so he continued digging.
- [20:24]
Detective 2
He was reaching out to people in Peru to find out if Olga was faithful to him. While she was there, Adrian found out that she, in fact, was messing around with somebody while he was in the United States, trying to get her to come here with him. Ruth had no idea who this person was. Adrian never told her a name.
- [20:44]
Narrator
Armed with this new information, investigators bring Olga in to question her again.
- [20:53]
Detective 2
She denied having an affair. She denied the fact that Adrienne ever confronted her or even accused her about having an affair.
- [21:00]
Detective 1
The only thing that she continued to ask us is whether or not we were accusing her of having something to do with her husband's murder.
- [21:06]
Detective 2
At this point in the investigation, I feel that Olga is lying to us. We had some more digging to do.
- [21:17]
Narrator
Detectives, take a closer look at Olga's alibi.
- [21:21]
Detective 3
She had indicated that she had taken both of her sons to school, and then after that, she had gone to a gas station. Then she had gone by the UCI medical center to get a note for her employer for a recent surgery she had had. She then went to the restaurant where she worked as a server to drop off that note.
- [21:44]
Detective 2
We followed up, and we saw her on surveillance cameras, Credit card information, interviewed people. She went the location she told us she went the day of the murder.
- [21:57]
Detective 1
At this time, detectives knew that we had to do something else.
- [22:01]
Undercover Officer
We had put a tracker on Olga's vehicle. Additionally, we did physical surveillance, meaning we had multiple undercover officers and detectives out watching her
- [22:14]
Narrator
almost immediately. The tracking device leads investigators to a hotel.
- [22:20]
Detective 3
The police are able to get the surveillance videos, and it shows Ms. Vasquez and her children checking into that hotel.
- [22:30]
Undercover Officer
And we saw that she had met up with a male Hispanic, and he seemed to be very friendly with her and her kids, as if they all knew each other very well.
- [22:38]
Detective 2
It was obvious that she was being romantic with this person.
- [22:43]
Detective 1
At one Point Olga come out of her room during the nighttime hours and meet with this male and appear to go back with this male into his room.
- [22:53]
Undercover Officer
Within two or three hours later, she exited the second room that she had entered and went back to her original room. You don't just leave a room in the middle of the night and leave your children behind for several hours unless there's some sort of affair going on.
- [23:09]
Detective 3
They were able to determine his identification by going to the front desk of the hotel.
- [23:19]
Narrator
According to the registry, Olga's lover is Roberto Saavedra.
- [23:26]
Detective 1
Detectives learned that Roberto had just arrived to the United States from Peru.
- [23:32]
Detective 3
On March 4, 2014, Mr. Zavedra lawfully entered the United States. He was on a 32 day vacation travel visa. He did not board his returning flight.
- [23:46]
Narrator
Almost three months after his arrival, Adrian was murdered. And detectives want to know if Roberto was involved.
- [23:55]
Detective 3
One of the officers wanted to be able to obtain the DNA of Mr. Zavedra in a lawful but surreptitious manner. And so he actually took the water bottle that had been used by Mr. Zavedra.
- [24:12]
Detective 2
Olga was having an affair. And not only is she's lying to us about it, she's trying to make it look like Adrienne was the one having an affair. Basically get us to, to not look into her.
- [24:24]
Detective 3
There's a point at which if you find that a person is repeatedly lying to you, then it makes you reconsider everything that they've said.
- [24:36]
Detective 2
So at this point, it kind of gives us a motive. Maybe Olga doesn't want Adrian in the picture. No longer.
- [24:44]
Narrator
Coming up, a murder plot unfolds.
- [24:48]
Undercover Officer
The two cell phones had communicated in a way where they were almost timing things.
- [24:54]
Narrator
And detectives catch the co conspirators on tape. Recent evidence suggests to police that Olga Vazquez is, isn't the grieving widow she's been pretending to be.
- [25:20]
Detective 2
It was obvious at this point that Olga was lying. She was lying about having an affair for sure.
- [25:27]
Detective 1
Detectives believe that the next step was to figure out how far back this relationship went. In order to do that, detectives wrote several search warrants for both her phone records and his phone records.
- [25:42]
Narrator
While they wait for their warrants to come through, investigators ask Adrian's family in Peru what they thought of Olga.
- [25:51]
Detective 2
We interviewed a cousin of Adrian's who still lived in Peru, Mercedes Rojas. She knew Olga prior to Adrienne marrying her.
- [26:03]
Detective 1
Mercedes believed that Olga was an opportunist and that the only reason she wanted to marry Adrienne was so that Adrienne could bring her and her Sons over to the United States.
- [26:18]
Narrator
According to Adrian's loved ones, however, life in California didn't satisfy Olga.
- [26:25]
Family Member or Close Friend
It was not what she expected, Coming from a penthouse in Peru to an apartment in Westminster in California.
- [26:34]
Detective 2
Olga seemed disappointed because she thought he was better off than he actually was.
- [26:43]
Narrator
Adrian's loved ones say in the months before his death, Adriane finally realized he'd never be able to please her.
- [26:51]
Detective 2
Adrian had confided that, you know, they weren't being intimate, that he planned on potentially divorcing her.
- [26:59]
Detective 1
A divorce between he and Olga would affect her immigration status as well as the immigration status of her son.
- [27:06]
Detective 2
If you get a divorce, you're going back to Peru, and you're not going to be able to stay here in the United States.
- [27:13]
Narrator
In the event of Adrienne's death, however, Olga would have been able to retain her immigration status and more.
- [27:22]
Detective 1
Detectives learned that Adrienne had a 401k with a value of about 62,000, of life insurance of about $78,000, and the beneficiary for both of those policies with Olga.
- [27:34]
Detective 2
It appeared at this point in the investigation that Olga had lots of motive to have Adrian dead.
- [27:40]
Narrator
When detectives receive Olga and Roberto's phone records, they find evidence to back up the theory.
- [27:47]
Detective 1
It was discovered that the cell phone that Roberto was using was actually registered under Olga's name.
- [27:55]
Undercover Officer
The communication between the two seemed to be very personal, almost loving and doting.
- [28:01]
Detective 1
We found out that Olga and Roberto, who were communicating pretty frequently, stopped all of a sudden.
- [28:11]
Narrator
Investigators suspect that 11 months before Adrienne's murder, they simply got better at covering their tracks.
- [28:19]
Detective 1
Roberto started communicating with an unknown number.
- [28:23]
Detective 2
Those phone calls, locations were coming from the cell from Olga's apartment in Westminster. We did a search warrant on that phone number and figured out, hey, whoa, this phone is everywhere Olga's at. So it was very obvious that this was a phone that Olga was using that we were unaware of, that she didn't tell us about.
- [28:48]
Narrator
According to those phone records, their illicit affair wasn't the only thing Olga and Roberto discussed.
- [28:57]
Detective 1
It appeared that the secret phone and Roberto's phone were communicating on the night of the homicide as well as the night before.
- [29:08]
Detective 2
His phone shows the night prior to the murder. He comes to Westminster, and he's staying just outside the apartment complex until about 8am Then his phone goes off for a short time.
- [29:25]
Undercover Officer
At some point after 8:30am that communication began back up. Based off of information from the coroner and evidence at the scene, it appeared as though the homicide most likely took place around that 8am mark, when there was no communication.
- [29:44]
Narrator
GPS shows that when Roberto's phone was turned back on, it was in the same location as Olga's secret phone.
- [29:56]
Detective 3
The secret phone no longer follows Ms. Vasquez's phone from tower to tower, but instead goes to Van Nuys and starts following all the towers of Mr. Zavedra's phone.
- [30:13]
Detective 1
We think that she gave him the secret phone and he took it to Van Ness.
- [30:17]
Detective 3
It seemed to only point to one reasonable conclusion, that Ms. Vasquez knew she was coming home to the murdered body of her husband and didn't want to have her secret phone with evidence of that murder in her possession.
- [30:31]
Detective 1
At that time, it was becoming very obvious to us that Roberto and Olga had something to do with Adrian's death.
- [30:42]
Narrator
To prove their theory, investigators obtain a warrant to wiretap Olga's phone.
- [30:56]
Detective 1
It was very obvious that Olga was very paranoid in communicating with Roberto. Although they were talking on the phone, they were very careful about what they were saying.
- [31:05]
Detective 3
They decided to do what's called a route. The idea is that they want to stimulate a conversation between Ms. Vasquez and Mr. Zavedra. And what they choose to do is the possibility of DNA evidence.
- [31:20]
Detective 2
We use a ruse to get them thinking, huh?
- [31:31]
Narrator
After months of investigation, Roberto Saavedra and Olga Vasquez have become the crime suspects in her husband's murder. Since the wiretap on Olga's phone isn't providing detectives with the proof they need, they decide to give the couple a push.
- [31:49]
Detective 2
We told her that we found some DNA that we believe was the killers on Adrian's body and suspected it might be someone that lived internationally.
- [32:01]
Detective 1
This was a lie just to see if they would talk about it on the wire.
- [32:23]
Narrator
Detectives are hoping one of them will mention the murder next. But Olga quickly changes the subject.
- [32:30]
Detective 2
She points. Probably thinks we are listening to the phone call, and that's why she doesn't want to talk about it. And it's very obvious to us that she doesn't want to say anything that we can hear. The next step was to confront her.
- [32:45]
Narrator
On November 25, 2014, six months after Adrienne's murder, investigators bring Olga back in for questioning. When they show her her photos of her and Roberto at the hotel, she begins to backtrack on her previous statements.
- [33:04]
Detective 1
She stated she was only involved with him romantically. After Adrian had already died, Olga started
- [33:11]
Detective 2
telling the truth about certain things that she figured she had to tell the truth about. But she denied any knowledge of the murder.
- [33:23]
911 Operator
Robert. Okay,
- [33:54]
Family Member or Close Friend
Okay.
- [34:01]
Undercover Officer
She always denied having a second Cell phone. And she would often cut off the detectives from communicating about said cell.
- [34:16]
Detective 2
The more I pressed her, the angrier she got. I'm thinking, why lie about those things if you're not trying to cover up something?
- [34:23]
Narrator
Eventually, Olga stops talking altogether and asks for a lawyer. If detectives are going to prove she and Roberto conspired to kill Adrian, they'll have an uphill battle.
- [34:39]
Detective 1
There was a mountain full of records for us to review. We had to go through every single piece of information.
- [34:49]
Narrator
Detectives spend months combing through the paperwork.
- [34:53]
Undercover Officer
Most of the communication was in Spanish, so we had to utilize Spanish speaking officers and detectives to decipher what's being said. This takes a lot of time.
- [35:03]
Detective 1
Messages showed that they were involved in a sexual and romantic relationship. A year before the murder, there was a lot of Skype phone calls that were placed between the two. Some of these Skype messages included them communicating with each other, in which they stated that soon they would both be together forever.
- [35:27]
Narrator
It's exactly what police are looking for. And lab tests on the water bottle they took from Roberto provides the last piece of the puzzle.
- [35:38]
Detective 2
In May of 2016, the Orange county crime lab notified me that the secondary sample of Roberto Cervager that we collected during the surveillance was a match to the DNA on the white and pink nightie found in Adrian's car.
- [35:55]
Detective 3
The DNA was important because it would show that the nidi and condoms were in fact, planted in the trunk. It doesn't prove it definitively, but it's evidence that seems to suggest that.
- [36:13]
Narrator
After two years and thousands of man hours, investigators believe they finally have enough to make arrests. But when they show up at Roberto's home, they discover their suspect left town weeks ago.
- [36:29]
Detective 2
So one of the things I had to do is find him.
- [36:40]
Narrator
Just as Westminster homicide detectives prepare to make arrests in the murder of Adrian Zapata, they learn that Roberto Saavedra has fled the United States.
- [36:51]
Detective 2
I learned that he applied for refugee status in Canada.
- [36:57]
Narrator
Now Westminster police will need to convince Canadian authorities to deport him.
- [37:04]
Detective 2
I notified the Canadian government that we were charging him with murder. Based on that, they refused his refugee status and kicked him out.
- [37:17]
Narrator
In October 2017, over three years after Adrian was murdered, Roberto lands in Peru.
- [37:25]
Detective 2
Interpol arrested him, and we had to start the extradition process from Peru to bring him back to the United States.
- [37:31]
Narrator
Extradition takes another two years. Even though she's the prime suspect in Adrienne's murder, Olga's status as a widow has allowed her to stay in the
- [37:43]
Detective 2
US the reason that we waited so long to arrest Olga was because we wanted to wait until we got Saavedra in the United States, because I wanted to try them together. We could have arrested Olga a lot sooner. Instead, I kept tabs on her.
- [37:59]
Narrator
And as detectives coordinate Roberto's arrest with Olga's, they discover she's moved on to a new boyfriend.
- [38:07]
Detective 2
We found out that Olga and her new friend had gone to Peru for a short vacation.
- [38:14]
Detective 3
Mr. Zavedra was arriving in March of 2019, which by coincidence, was also the same day that Ms. Vazquez returned from a flight to Peru.
- [38:28]
Narrator
On March 15, 2019, they are both taken into custody without incident.
- [38:35]
Detective 2
My last and final interview with Olga was a short one. During that interview, she finally admits she did have the secret film.
- [39:00]
Narrator
Prosecutors try to get Roberto to turn on Olga, but he refuses to talk. It will be up to a jury to decide if the evidence is enough to. To convict them.
- [39:13]
Detective 3
Ms. Vasquez was the first of the two defendants to go to trial in May of 2021. And my strategy was to try to present as much circumstantial evidence as possible, but to create a timeline to show how all of these pieces and parts all fit together to one conclusion.
- [39:37]
Detective 2
The strongest evidence was the cell phone data that showed that Roberto traveled the night prior to the homicide from Van Nuys down to Westminster, waited outside Adrian's apartment till Olga left, leaving the door unlocked for him. He does the murder, and he takes that secret phone, knowing that Olga's gonna go home to find this body.
- [39:59]
Detective 3
When you put it all together, it showed the two of them had planned and committed this murder.
- [40:09]
Detective 1
Olga snapped because she wanted to be with the person she loved. Roberto.
- [40:15]
Detective 2
She does the murder because she wants to stay in the United States. And she also has a financial gain of his life insurance policy and his 401k and the condo in Peru.
- [40:28]
Narrator
Olga's attorney argues there's no physical evidence tying Olga to the crime. But even without it, the state's case is compelling.
- [40:39]
Detective 3
The jury would deliberate for slightly less than two and a half hours, and they would find her guilty of murder in the first degree. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
- [40:54]
Family Member
To hear the verdict. The jury found her guilty was just such a relief. They kind of gave us our life back.
- [41:06]
Narrator
In July 2023, Roberto Saavedra is also found guilty.
- [41:12]
Detective 3
His sentence was life without the possibility of parole in state prison.
- [41:17]
Friend or Close Acquaintance (Spanish Speaker)
Roberto, fuego puppet. Okay. Un hombre que enamorado. Mucha triste.
- [41:31]
Family Member or Close Friend
It made me more aware of how vulnerable my family can be. It made me realize that life is fragile and try to enjoy the most time that I can with my family.
- [41:41]
Friend or Close Acquaintance (Spanish Speaker)
Adrian de veria de ser re cordado Comuna Persona charismatica Comuna Persona a que tenoceria ir se copy.
- [41:55]
Detective 3
Olga's appeal was rejected in November 2022.
- [41:58]
Narrator
She will be 58 years old when she is eligible for parole in 2030.