48 Hours - Devil's Island - Encore

Episode Date: January 22, 2017

An ex-Marine with a secret life and a secret wifeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. Real people. Real crimes. Real life drama.

people, real crimes, real life drama. Brian Brimminger was a typical Marine, that kind of an all-American kind of persona. He was assigned to a color guard in Washington, D.C. There's pictures of him in the White House with President George W. Bush. From the outside looking in, it seemed like Brian Brimminger had everything going for him. In 2011, after having served seven years in the Marine Corps, Brian Brimminger leaves the Marines.

He decides to go to Panama. And his plan is to decompress, take some time off, leaves the Marines, that he decides to go to Panama. And his plan is to decompress, take some time off. My sister was deeply in love with the man named Brian Brimager. All she wanted was to be with him and love him. They were so madly in love. I think she was very proud of him because he was a Marine. She used to say things like, I'm with a Marine.

Yvonne went down to Panama with Brian to start a new life. That's where Yvonne wanted to be. It was perfect. I am Michelle Valenzuela and my sister is Yvonne Baldelli. She likes to karaoke. She likes to dance. Did Yvonne like it here? She loved it here. She likes to dance. Did Yvonne like it here? She loved it here. Just loved it here. Places with cheap beers and happy hour.

It's beautiful. She's got the water right in front of her house. Where are we right now? Okay, we're on Isla Karenero in Bocas del Toro. This is the house that they were renting in, Brian Breminger and Yvonne Valdeli. Yvonne told her family members that everything was good. She painted a very happy picture. Through email, she made it seem like everything was fine and well. The reality of it was that her and Breminger were fighting constantly.

After I'd heard stories of the fights, I could understand why she would want to leave. She fell off the radar screen. She just went away one day. Her email stopped. Her communication stopped. Everybody lost contact with her. There's no immigration records that

indicates that she left Panama. There's no book for this. There's no book for dummies on what to do when your sister has gone missing. Caranaro from the outside appears to be a tropical paradise. There's no book for this. There's no book for dummies on what to do when your sister has gone missing. Caranaro from the outside appears to be a tropical paradise, but it's a swampy hell. I call it Devil's Island because some terrible things took place on that island. Brian Broomager has done nothing.

Zero. To help with the search for Yvonne. We are in Central America, in some jungle, in some swamp, looking for Yvonne. That through the middle is really deep. This is unbelievable. What no one knew is that Brian Breminger had a secret. He was living a double life. Brian Breminger moved to California,

hooked up with Kristen Workhoven, and they got married. Kristen worked at the White House, and that's where she and Brian met. And his life is going on like normal, and our life will never be the same. What did you do to her, Brian? We knew that there had been foul play. We knew he was the last one to see her alive. Brian's coming out with his golf clubs.

Let's go, guys. And this is what I know. Okay, you're rolling? Let's go. My sister went down to Panama with Brian. Brian returned and my sister didn't. Brian Brimmage was exceptionally arrogant, but what he didn't account for was this family's fervor

to find what happened to their daughter and their sister. Brian, Peter Van Sant with CBS News. We'd like to ask a couple questions. It's an easy thing to tell the truth. He told a lot of lies. to tell the truth. He told a lot of lies. That's what led to his demise.

I'm Peter Van Sant. Tonight on 48 Hours, Devil's Island in the Pacific Ocean halfway between Peru and New Zealand lies a tiny volcanic island it's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story

that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn when there's nobody watching nobody going to report it people will get away with what they can get away with in the Pitcairn trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique lonely pac Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder,

early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. In the spring of 2012, Brian Breminger was living the high life in Southern California. Just months removed from a decorated Marine Corps career, Breminger was happily married and living in the suburbs. When I look at the pictures of Brian and Kristen,

I just see a couple in love and super sincerely happy and just enjoying the day at the beach in La Jolla. These joyful newlywed photos of Brian and Kristen Breminger were a shock to Yvonne Baldelli's family. They expected her to be in the picture. It wasn't their wedding day, but they came in their wedding attire in a limousine and champagne flowing. Photographer Jack English had no idea of the intrigue behind these happy images

that brian had proposed to kristen just days after yvonne disappeared in panama she looked very happy very in love as if she found her prince charming prince charming a man who had just left yvonne Baldelli in Panama two weeks earlier? How could this happen? We traveled to the remote islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama to find out. Up ahead is the island of Caranaro, where Yvonne and Brian, who the locals called Brim, came to live in September 2011. It's a place where they could chase their dream. Why did they decide to go to Panama? She liked the fact that they could live on the beach,

you know, pretty reasonably priced down there. Yvonne's sister, Michelle Valenzuela, says Brian wanted to become a singer, performing in bars and clubs. With her beloved dog, Georgia Mae, in hand, Yvonne brought two sewing machines in hopes of starting a clothing business. Stepmother, Lillian Faust. She was going to make bathing suits and sell them to

tourists. I knew she was excited and she didn't have any reservations. It sounded like she had a real plan for the future. She did and she thought that she found her paradise, her perfect place. Michelle recalls how her younger sister Yvonne, recently divorced, was smitten with Brian when they first started dating in 2009 in Southern California. I don't think she was physically attracted to him. That was a big part of it. And while Yvonne seemed to be falling in love with Brian, big sister Michelle wasn't so sure. As far as emotionally for my sister, Yvonne would put 100% into you, and she would expect that back. And I didn't get that impression that she was receiving that.

That concerned me. She deserved that. After Yvonne was laid off from her management job with Procter & Gamble and Brian ended his career in the Marines, the two decided to make a fresh start and reinvent themselves in Panama, settling in this house. They quickly fell in with the local expats. Did you think they were in love? Apparently.

Seems so. Joan and Stephen Crabtree own The Cosmic Crab, a funky resort and waterfront bar where brian would sing for his supper he played here at the cosmic crab um a couple of nights a week and they were frequent visitors here they were very nice people penny tom owner of another waterfront bar also let brian play for food and free booze. Lots of booze. They used to drink a lot, so they were always happy.

What's a lot? A lot. And Jim Merton says Brian's drinking may have gotten in the way of his singing. He played the guitar good, but when he started to sing, that's when it went away. What was it like? Like a hound dog on a porch. She looked very happy in the pictures and she was really enjoying herself there and I knew it would be a place that she would like. For Yvonne's father, Jim Faust, the constant stream of joyful phone calls and emails

describing the couple's Panama adventures was reassuring. Yvonne's emails were stories of exactly what her life was like down there and I could picture it and I could close my eyes and it was like I was there. I couldn't imagine the whole thing. Emails like this one. She says, hi sis, Brian already working at local restaurants and bars. We love it. We wake up and go running, then swim in the ocean every morning. And so Yvonne's family thought all was well in paradise and that Brian might be the one for Yvonne. I believed that they were going to get married. That's what I thought was going to happen

when they got down there. But then, right around Thanksgiving 2011, three months after they arrived in Panama, the happy emails and calls from Yvonne started to drop off. For Michelle, a sisterly instinct started to kick in. That's what set me off, was the fact that they were becoming less frequent, the emails from her, and then they stopped completely. Two weeks passed. Then, on December 14th, Michelle finally got a text, but it wasn't from Yvonne. There was a number I didn't recognize, and a text message on there said,

this is Brian, may I make arrangements to pick up my truck? Michelle was shocked. Brian was back in the U.S.? I sat up, called that number. The only thing out of my mouth was, where's my sister? He says, didn't you get my email? I said, I haven't received any emails from anybody. It's been a few weeks. I said, I'll call you back. So I went to my computer. Michelle discovered an email she had overlooked. It was from Brian, who had never written before. The one from him stated, I'm sure you've heard by now that Bonnie and I are no longer together. I called him right back. I asked him, point blank, what happened?

And he said they had got in a fight because she had found out that he had a child from somebody else. That somebody else, Kristen Workhoven. The two had a baby girl in 2010. Since Yvonne was unable to have a child because of a medical condition, the discovery must have been earth-shattering. Brian then said Yvonne just up and left. I said, did she leave a note? No. Has she tried to call you since? No. Do you know where she's at? No.

And I said, I haven't heard from her, Brian. And he said, well, I'm sure she's fine. But Michelle had her doubts about that story. And 10 days later, when Brian called and still wanted to pick up his truck, Michelle said she had another plan. I said, when you come to pick up his truck. Michelle said she had another plan. I said, when you come to pick up the truck, I'll be here. That's no problem. And I think it's a good idea that you go with me to the police department

since you're the last one to see her and we can fill out a missing persons report. Because now we're already in the mid-December and I haven't heard anything from her. And that's not right. Something's wrong. Introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bold risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans, discover the surprising stories of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. It's just the best idea yet. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop.

Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. In December of 2011, Michelle Valenzuela was still worried about her missing sister. So she went back to her computer, where she found another overlooked message. This one from Yvonne. Hi, sis. Just an update. Brian and I are no longer together. I should have trusted my instincts that he is a lying, cheating ass. I'm headed to Costa Rica with a man I met when

we first got to Bocas. What'd you think when you read this email? I just wasn't sure. There's some things in there that didn't feel right to me. Her head was spinning. Could Yvonne really have run off with another man after learning that Brian had a love child? All Yvonne ever wanted to do was be a mother. That's all she ever wanted to do was be a mother. And to find out that Brian had a child, and she sold everything she had to go to the other ends of the world to be with this man, and he didn't tell her about that.

I'm questioning what her mental state is right now. She's heartbroken. In upstate New York, Jim and Lillian Faust also felt the turn of events was just so out of character for their daughter. For her life to change so abruptly, and she's like, oh, well, I'm going with this guy to Costa Rica, that made absolutely, positively no sense to me. Also making no sense, three weeks had passed since Yvonne had emailed from Panama.

But then out of the blue, she sent a new email. It was strange. Miss you and everyone at home. I'm starting to get a little homesick. I'm working on plans to get home as early as the second week of January. I've been living with cliffhangers for a while. Love you, sis, Yvonne. While strange, the email was also reassuring for her family, who was happy to learn Yvonne would soon return to California. So I stopped worrying. I figured, okay, she knows that in January we're having a family get together.

She's going to be there. Do you feel she's safe at this at this point? I was still worried, but I was satisfied with it for the moment. On the same day that email arrived, so, too, did Brian Brimminger, knocking on the front door of Michelle's L.A. home to pick up his truck. What did you see on his face? What was his demeanor like? He was just in a hurry. He was calm.

He was very brief. All business? Yes. Get his stuff, get his truck. And leave. After Brian got his pickup truck, Yvonne's emails stopped. Sixteen long days passed

until on January 6, 2012, Michelle wrote her sister. The subject? Worried. I just want to make sure you weren't kidnapped or someone pretending to be you. Ha ha. There's my paranoid, suspicious mind or maybe too many 48 hours. Did you ever hear back from your sister again? No. That's the last email. Did you ever hear back from your sister again? No. That's the last email.

Michelle was still hopeful that she would appear at that family reunion. But Yvonne never showed up. At that point, when we met up with my dad and I told him we haven't heard from her, he said, oh no, something's wrong. Something's wrong. And I told my dad, she did not leave Panama. That's just my feeling. By now, Michelle was convinced her sister never ran off to Costa Rica with another man. So her instinct was to learn where Yvonne's emails were really coming from. So I went to my cousin and asked him to please check it out. Because like I said, I haven't got a clue. The cousin, a technology whiz, said tracking Yvonne's emails would be easy. All he needed

was their IP addresses. So we searched the emails Yvonne had supposedly sent from Panama and Costa Rica, as well as that email Brian had sent from near Dana Point, California. The cousin made a startling discovery. The one from Panama came from Panama, and then the one that was supposed to be with her being in Costa Rica came from the United States. Where in the United States? One of them looked like they were coming from Dana Point.

That email, Michelle says, originated from where Brian was now living near Dana Point, California. It was the evidence Michelle had been looking for. They were sharing the same IP address. So Yvonne's email is coming from Brian's computer. Yes. The family's worst fear had come true. It appeared Brian had hacked into Yvonne's email account and was impersonating her. But why?

That's when I knew that he did something to her. It's not missing person. It's murder now. It's murder. I said my sister's dead and I'm never going to see her again. But Michelle had no time to mourn. She took that new evidence down to the FBI, where she met with special agent Andrew Masters. Michelle Valenzuela, she was a spitfire. When they brought that to us, we knew that there was absolutely foul play involved. The FBI immediately launched an investigation into Yvonne's disappearance, with Masters taking charge. Yvonne's family then contacted the State Department. I called the embassy and the embassy tells us there is no record of her ever leaving Panama and no record of her ever entering Costa Rica. Yvonne's family couldn't wait any longer.

They traveled to Panama to find answers. The FBI made a move as well, targeting Brian Brimminger as a person of interest. Brian didn't realize what exactly the FBI is capable of. With the FBI investigation underway in the States, Yvonne's family met up with legendary investigator Don Winner in Panama City. Why is it when something goes bad with an American citizen in Panama, you get the phone call? I've already put away, or helped to put away, three serial killers. So when bad things happen, they know that to come to me when they don't know what else to do. Winner is an ex-U.S. intelligence officer with an uncanny ability to solve murders.

Jim and Lillian tell Don the story of their daughter's disappearance and Brian's claim that she's run off with another man. I think the chances that she's running around in Costa Rica somewhere with some other dude are damn near zero. Here's the deal. This is what happened. This is what we think is going on. It's not the first time Winner, a CBS News consultant, has worked on a case with 48 Hours.

All right, we're going to go take a look at this yellow trimaran. The intrepid investigator helped solve the murder of American sailor Don North, as 48 Hours reported in 2011. Just on a personal side in all of this, can you believe you and I are doing this again? No, absolutely not. I tell you what, it's amazing. Winner is convinced Brian Breminger is involved. His strategy? Put pressure on the Panamanian government to act. When Don Winner speaks, the people listen, yeah. Winner's game plan also called for Jim and Michelle to give blood for DNA tests should any remains be found. And when Yvonne's family travels hundreds of miles from Panama City to the tropical island where she disappeared, the Panamanian police are persuaded to hold a press conference to plead for information.

The family has been experiencing a living nightmare for quite a few months, and we continue to appeal to anyone who knows absolutely anything about Ivan's disappearance to come forward. Panamanian police announce for the first time that Ivan is the victim of foul play and name Brian Brimminginger as the suspect. This news conference reverberated around the world. Police say within weeks of her disappearance, Briminger returned to the U.S., got engaged and married another woman. Tonight, the FBI is calling him a person of interest.

Riding the momentum of the press conference, they printed flyers, fanned out to neighborhoods, and the village, searching for their own clues. It's a bittersweet search for Yvonne's niece, Lauren Beyer, in a place that is no longer a paradise. There's nothing here for us until we find her. That's why we're here. But the family's quest is starting to get results. Witnesses who knew the couple come out of the woodwork, describing Brian's verbal and physical abuse.

To me, he was a scary person. He was not the kind of person I wanted to be around. Local bar owner Jeff Salzman saw it firsthand on Yvonne's face. As I recall, it was black eyes and blackness around the face and bruises. Was she self-conscious about it? She was trying to hide it and not speak of it. It was very painful to learn that he had hit her, that she had bruises, that she had black eyes. Those things were very difficult to learn. The realization that Yvonne may have been murdered is setting in. Where could Yvonne's

body have been dumped? Well, just feet in front of that house, you've got thousands of square miles of water. Well, if you just go not 20 yards from the shoreline, this impenetrable swamp. Try to find something in there. Try to find something in there. But that's exactly what Yvonne's family, investigators, and volunteers set out to do. Entering what could be Yvonne's swampy graveyard. Describe this area that has to be searched. Just how difficult a place is it? Okay, it's jungle, it's tropical, so you have every kind of bug and critter that you can think of. Spiders and snakes and you know it's not

a place to go slogging around through. Struggling through the muck, the spiders, and the rancid water, the smallest discovery raises hope. A purse, a medicine bottle, a mysterious sinkhole. I kept asking myself, I want to find Yvonne, but do I want to find Yvonne? I mean, I want to know where she is, but do I want to see her in these swampy areas? Then they find a passport. We found a U.S. passport on the front page here. None of it is Yvonne's.

None of it is Yvonne's. But back in the United States, the FBI confronted Brian Brimager. We went and knocked on his door. He answered and invited us in, said that he was expecting us. FBI Special Agent Andrew Masters questioned Brian Brimager for more than four hours while he babysat his young daughter. This is Special Agent Andrew Masters along with Special Agent Gabriel Ramirez approaching Apartment M in an attempt to have a consensual monitored interview with Brian Brimminger. We weren't sure if he was going to break down and confess to having a part in her disappearance and murder or if he was going to become angry, if he was going to kick us out.

Brian stuck to his story. Yvonne left him for another man. I come back home and there was a note that said, and I quote, going to Costa Rica with a man I've been talking to. But when confronted with Michelle's email evidence, Brian began to stumble. Brian, I'm just going to kind of lay it out there, man. The IP addresses are not coming back from Costa Rica or Panama. Okay. They're coming back from here.

Okay, so... Here? Mm-hmm. Okay. So if she's not hanging out around here, then somebody sent those emails, right? How did those emails get sent? Do you know anybody that would have her email account, hat in her account? No.

Then something caught Master's eye. As soon as I walk in, I see a white Sony VAIO. Which is a computer. A laptop computer, exactly. And we knew that Yvonne owned a white Sony VAIO laptop that she had taken with her to Panama. What are you thinking? I'm thinking we may very well have Yvonne's computer right here. Master's hunch was spot on.

It was Yvonne's computer. But why was it in Brian's condo? And would it help unravel the mystery of Yvonne's disappearance? Even though he was under the FBI's microscope, Brian Breminger remained a free man, living with his family on the outskirts of San Diego. Kristen worked for a defense contractor while Brian, unemployed, spent much of his time golfing.

Do you recognize that man? Yes, I do. That's Brian. In the summer of 2012, we showed Yvonne's sister Michelle video of Brian's new life. What goes through your mind when you see him? Well, honestly, it's not surprising now that I know what he's capable of. He thinks he got away with murder. So what you have here is a person killed my sister and can walk away scot-free. You ready? Brian's coming out with his golf club.

Let's go, guys. Okay, roll. Just a few months after that FBI interview, we came face-to-face with the suspected killer. Brian, Peter Van Sant with CBS News. We'd like to ask a couple questions. Would you please talk to us? Did you murder Yvonne Baldelli?

You can speak to us. You can answer that question. Brian, why won't you speak with us? Did you have anything to do with her disappearance? While Brian heads off to enjoy another carefree day on the greens, the FBI was turning his life upside down, interviewing everyone he knew, including his wife, Kristen. What had Brian told her about why he was living in Panama?

He told Kristen that he is going down to Panama to decompress after leaving the Marine Corps and that he was going with some Marine Corps friends. Did Kristen urge Brian to leave Yvonne? No, Kristen didn't even know Yvonne existed. So he lied to Kristen? Absolutely. Apparently, all those lies didn't matter to Kristen.

According to her, Brian was the greatest thing to ever happen to anybody. But that's something she didn't want to share with us when 48 Hours knocked on her door. Hi, Kristen. Kristen, I'm Ryan with CBS News. Is there any way we can talk? Meanwhile, as Special Agent Masters took several investigative trips to Panama,

a different portrait of Brian Breminger emerged. We talked to many people that would socialize with him at bars, and we learned about all the domestic violence that he brought upon her, the choking, the dragging, the berating. After speaking with friends and neighbors of Yvonne and Brian, special agent Masters became certain the couple had a violent fight on November 26, 2011. After Yvonne learned that Brian had fathered a child with Kristen. The argument probably escalated, and at some point, Brian decided he was done with her, and he was going to kill her. Crucial evidence was also discovered on Yvonne's laptop, the very computer Master saw when he first questioned Brian.

About two weeks before her murder, Yvonne took this disturbing selfie. That photo shows a massive black eye on her left eye and swelling in her left cheek. In a way, from the grave, Yvonne helped you in this investigation. Yvonne helped us tell the story, yes. Absolutely. And there was more chilling evidence. We found the Yahoo searches in which he searches how to remove blood from a mattress. When did he do that? He did that about 10.30 in the morning the night after Yvonne was murdered.

Masters discovered even more evidence in Costa Rica, where Brian is seen withdrawing cash from Yvonne's account. We were able to obtain those ATM photos. So we have Brian using Yvonne's debit card to extract money from her account. And Master says there is no doubt that Brian used Yvonne's laptop to send those emails to her family. So we went looking for Brian Bremenger again to get answers. Hey Brian, I need to talk to you. How do you explain the fact that Yvonne's email that said she was in Costa Rica, that she sent to people, was actually sent by you from here in California?

Can you answer that? You knew she was dead when you sent that email, didn't you? Bryna, we really want you to talk to us, answer some questions. He's never said a word. Never said a word to us. He will not answer any questions. And what about Yvonne's dog, Georgia May, which had not been seen since she disappeared? Don Winner has a theory. He knew that she loved that dog and that if the dog was running around, he knew that anything she said about her taking off with some

guy to Costa Rica, everybody would immediately know it was crap. So he had to get rid of the dog too. out of Costa Rica, everybody would immediately know it was crap. So he had to get rid of the dog too. In his investigation, Don Winner unwittingly found a key piece of evidence on Brian's Facebook page where he had sold this machete. After Yvonne disappeared, Imager made a comment about that knife. He's like, yeah, that used to be mine. I brought it down with me when I came down from the States. And the chilling part is he made a comment that said, I've only used it to chop up one stripper. That's just chilling. Special Agent Andrew Masters needs to get his hands on the machete to see if it was used in Yvonne's murder. Incredibly, he was able to track down the person who bought it from Brian in Panama.

This is the machete that Brian bought in the United States and took down with him to Panama. Can you pick it up for me? Sure. It's very heavy. It's weighted, and it would inflict a lot of damage. Investigators had the machete. They had the email,. They had the email. And they had caught Brian in multiple lies. Soon, someone would stumble upon the most important evidence of all. We seek answers, justice and help.

Summer 2013. Nearly two years have passed since Yvonne Baldelli's disappearance. You feel like you're reading a book, a terrible mystery or murder mystery, and there's no end to it. a terrible mystery or murder mystery, and there's no end to it. On June 26, 2013, the final chapter of this mystery began to unfold. A former Marine who family members say murdered his girlfriend before...

FBI Special Agent Andrew Masters slapped the cuffs on Brian Breminger. What did you say to him? You're under arrest. He said, turn around, put your hands behind your back. He needed the answer for his crime. How did you learn that Brian had been arrested? Truth be told, I received a text from my dad, said they got the SOB.

And I sat down in a sense of relief because now they believed us. Brian Breminger was charged with 13 felonies relating to the cover-up of Yvonne's death, but not murder. Assistant U.S. attorneys Shane Harrigan and Mark Conover were lead prosecutors. At that point, without having found the body, we didn't have quite enough to bring in the murder charge.

But that would soon change. Human remains have been found on a Panamanian island. A local worker clearing some brush on the island where Brian and Yvonne lived came upon this duffel bag. And when he unbuckled the clasp, he found Yvonne's skeletonized remains. By the time she was found two years later, it was only bones. A DNA test confirmed it was Yvonne. Her remains were found just a few hundred yards from where the family had spent days searching.

I wanted to tell Michelle personally. When I first heard the possibility that they found Yvonne, my first reaction was, for me it's good news because I just feel good. We can nail this bastard. While the family's prayers had been answered, an autopsy confirmed the hellish fact that Yvonne had been dismembered. This is the actual device that was used to dismember Yvonne. The most likely cause of death was being stabbed in the back at least twice. Despite overwhelming evidence and proof that Breminger had repeatedly lied,

his wife Kristen continued to stand by him. Kristen, may I ask, do you still believe in your husband's innocence? Can you just tell us that? Don't touch the camera. Then, for Yvonne's family, another cruel tragedy struck in the spring of 2014. Michelle, who had dedicated her life to finding justice for her sister, now faced another deadly enemy. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

I'm still alive to fight for my life, and I'm still alive to fight for my sister. This was Michelle in June of 2014. And this was her just three months later. Today we're going, I'm going to be given a deposition. Weakened by cancer and given just weeks to live, Michelle, a crucial witness, agreed to tell her story while she still could. Brian Breminger would sit directly across from her. I'm going to try to ignore him as best I can.

And who is Brian Breminger? The defendant. Do you see him in the courtroom here today? Yes, I do. Would you please point to him and describe where he is seated for the record? He's sitting at the end, khaki outfit, the end. Michelle passed out after the exhausting testimony. It was a courageous act of love for her sister.

This might be the last thing I get to do for her. Over and over and over again because it'll be on camera forever. Days later, she died. It took years of diplomatic and legal wrangling, but in early 2015, the government of Panama finally agreed to let Brian be tried for murder on American soil. We came to the conclusion that the only way that Brian Brimager would face justice for his murderous act is if he was charged and convicted here in the United States. Brian pleaded not guilty. The case was heading for trial in 2016 when investigators made another dramatic discovery. Yvonne's blood and DNA were found under the machete's handle.

So these three screws were undone. The handle opens up, and inside they find blood. Right, they removed these three and just pulled it out here and conducted the testing on the blade and the inferior portion of the handle and found blood. Whose blood? Yvonne's. Yvonne Baldelli's.

Yvonne Baldelli. This now is a slam dunk. You know that this is the tool used to dismember her. It was that that made Brian finally realize he was not gonna get out of the... He was not gonna lie his way out. It's over. It's done.

He had cleaned the blade, but he hadn't cleaned underneath the handle. And it was that additional evidence that I believe eventually led Mr. Brimmager to plead guilty. Within a week, Brimmager pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while the other charges were dropped. And later at his sentencing, finally admitted, after nearly five years of lies, to killing Yvonne Baldelli.

And I think if you look up on the dictionary, evil, and you see Brian's picture in there, he's the ultimate carnage of evil in my mind. In open court, Brimager apologized to Yvonne's family, but his words rang hollow. Brian Brimager is a con artist. He had our daughter conned. He had his new wife conned. He had her family conned. He was able to live a double life, sometimes a triple life. And people buy what he says. But his actions show that he's not the person he says that he is.

Brian was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison. With the case over, Yvonne's remains were returned to her family. And laid to rest at sea. To get her remains back and be able to give her a dignified resting place, I can sleep better at night knowing that she's not rotting in some jungle or deep in the ocean somewhere, knowing that she loved the ocean, knowing that we were able to put her in a place that she loved. We brought her home, and I know that that was thanks to a lot of work of a lot of unsung heroes i know in a way two people were honored this day yvonne and her beloved sister michelle

Yvonne and her beloved sister Michelle who battled a Marine to the end and won she's definitely a hero she never gave up to her dying day she gave all she had Kristen and Brian Brimager are still married. She continues to support and visit him in federal prison. Brimager's prison term ends in February 2037. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.