Snapped: Women Who Murder - Rosalina Edmondson

Episode Date: May 19, 2024

As investigators search for the vicious killer of a Navy yeoman in Kitsap, Washington, they come across the troubling realization that the victim may have expected his own demise.Season 29 Episode 13Originally aired: June 27, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery's new podcast, Blame It On The Fame, dives into one of pop music's greatest controversies. Milli Vanilli set the world on fire. But when their adoring fans learned about the infamous lip syncing, their downfall was swift and brutal. Follow Blame It On The Fame on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

What does it mean to be black in America? In NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of stories as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as black experiences, you'll hear. It means everything. Search NPR Black Stories, Black Truths wherever you get your podcast. A well-liked, dependable sailor overcame a tragic upbringing. He was born in prison because his mother had been convicted of killing his father. In his adult years, he joined the Navy.

As his naval career took off, love also came calling. He was yearning for a family, having someone care for him and loving him. She had a child and was a ready-made family. But their relationship is ripped apart by a brutal crime. I'll never forget what the face looked like when the body was turned over. He just looked like someone, to put it bluntly, just beat the hell out of him. My first thought was, what the hell is he doing out here? With a vicious killer on the loose,

investigators navigate a winding trail of manipulation and greed in search of the truth. He closed his bank account because she was intent on emptying it. She said she caught him in bed together. He closed his bank account because she was intent on emptying it. She said she caught him in bed together. When she left him, he was talking to a long-haired guy with a shaky beard and was trying to buy some acid. He was warned that you better watch out.

In the end, the words of a dead man lead detectives to his killer. He just said, if anything ever happens, so he grabbed my diary and explained everything that had happened. There was no possibility that this was anything other than an out and out assassination. on the morning of December 29th, 1981, dispatchers in Kitsap County, Washington, receive a disturbing 911 call from 25-year-old John Tibbets. John says he's found something horrific on his morning stroll through a remote evergreen farm.

The area was very remote. There's small trails. There's roads just big enough for a car to get onto. He had been out for a walk and he saw a body. It was sprawled face down in the dirt and the mud. He went back to his residence and a 911 call was placed and that's how we became involved in the investigation. We went out to Lake Florida area and met the complainant

out there. He walked us back to the scene, and I noticed a lump of what I thought was clothing. As we got closer, we realized it was, in fact, a body. It was laying in a puddle. The puddle was about two, three inches deep. The pants was jeans. They were pulled down just below his buttocks.

And I noticed that in his back pocket was a wallet. He found an ID card from Banger Naval Base, and it identified the guy as Bill Edmondson.... ... Born on September 14, 1958, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Bill Edmondson's early years were marked by tragedy. He was born in prison in Pennsylvania because his mother had been convicted of killing his father.

He was put in foster care. It was certainly a tough beginning to his life. Bill's mother was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in an industrial school for women. She was paroled five years later, and upon her release, Bill spent the rest of his childhood living with her. After graduating high school, Bill signed up with the Navy to try and escape his troubled upbringing. He joined the Navy and then re-upped after four years

and found himself working as a yeoman, a clerical administrative person. Bill was eventually stationed at Banger Submarine Base in Kitsap County, Washington. Though he enjoyed his job, by the time he was 23, Bill knew he wanted more than just a career. I always had the impression that he was yearning for a family or a connection, having someone care for him and loving him.

Bill would have made a very good father, because he was kind. And you could tell that he had a love for children. One night at a bar near the base, Bill crossed paths with 26-year-old Rosalina Manthe. Like Bill, Rosalina was no stranger to tragedy. When she was just one year old, both her parents were killed in an accident in the Philippines, and she grew up in orphanages and foster homes and sometimes living with relatives. an accident in the Philippines. And she grew up in orphanages and foster homes

and sometimes living with relatives. Rosalina's childhood was very lonely. I think from an early age, she felt a huge void in her life. As a teenager, Rosalina immigrated to America. And by 1981, when she met Bill, she'd just escaped an abusive marriage with a man named Richard Mamthy and was raising their three-year-old daughter alone.

On the rare night out, Rosalina liked to blow off some steam near the Navy base. She went to taverns and let the young men wine and dine her. She was an attractive young lady. Rosalina could tell Bill was different from the other men she casually flirted with. He was a nice guy. He was an honest guy.

Never heard a cuss word out of his mouth. Never heard him talk coarsely. He was probably the most normal, hardworking young man that Rosalina had really ever come in contact with, the one who probably she could have had a real life with. Bill was just as taken with Rosalina, especially after she introduced him to her three-year-old daughter.

I just think that he wanted somebody to love. He wanted children. She had a child and was a ready-made family. Within a few months, they were married. After their marriage on August 21st, 1981, they honeymooned in Montana before returning to Lake Symington, Washington to start their life together. They wanted to have a house out there on Lake Symington and buying a house certainly is one of the things you do when you just get married.

She wanted the best of everything. She wanted a brand new house and brand new appliances. Bill was happy to indulge his beautiful new bride. And as Christmas approached, Bill lavished Rosalina's daughter with gifts as well. He had Christmas presents underneath the bed that they slept in, hidden the presents from the little girl until Christmas. He was looking forward to seeing her on Christmas morning, opening him up. But he never got that chance. Just three days before Christmas 1981,

Bill failed to report to his assigned submarine unit for duty. He didn't show up to work on the 22nd. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. He was in the hospital. Before Christmas 1981, Bill failed to report to his assigned submarine unit for duty. He didn't show up to work on the 22nd.

And that was not typical of him at all. He was very punctual, a good employee, very conscientious in his work, and it was very strange for him to not show up at work. Bill's supervisor immediately reached out to Bill's wife, Rosalina. They called Rosalina to ask if she'd seen him. She said she hadn't. Rosalina doesn't seem concerned about where Bill is.

Might think, oh, well, maybe he went somewhere, stayed the night somewhere else, or maybe he overslept somewhere. But as days passed with no sign of Bill, it was clear something wasn't right. I got a phone call, and it was Rosalina. And she asked me if Bill was there. I told her, no, Rosalina, Bill's not here. And she was really worried and upset about him not coming home.

By that time, NCIS were investigating Bill's disappearance and reached out to local law enforcement for help. They were very adamant that Bill Edmondson was a stellar sailor, that it was very unlikely that he would have just taken off. Now, a week after he was reported missing by his supervisors, the discovery of Bill Edmondson's body on December 29 puts a grim end to a wide search effort. When we were out at the scene of the crime where Bill was located, we did notice that

in his tennis shoes there were some shards of glass. It was cold, there was ice in the uttos narrium. Anybody who would be out in that area would be dressed for winter weather, but that wasn't the case with the victim. My first thought was what the hell is he doing out here, and why? Why was he out there? You would have no reason to be out there.

When detectives roll Bill's body over, it's clear his death was no accident. I'll never forget what the face looked like when the body was turned over. His nose had been broken and looked smashed. It was clearly evident that he'd been severely beaten. His eyes were swollen shut. His nose was literally splattered all over his face.

Cut lip, broken teeth. You really had to look at his picture and look at him. And you couldn't tell who was the same guy. He just looked like someone, to put it bluntly, just beat the hell out of him. It was obviously very personal. Somebody didn't just want Bill dead. They wanted him erased.

Coming up, detectives mine for details about the last time Bill was seen. His face just lit up. He's like, we're going to go out. And that was the last time I ever saw him. And had Bill been keeping a dangerous secret? She did indicate that her husband and his friend were in her homosexual relationship.

On December 29, 1981, Kitsap County Sheriff's investigators are gathered over the body of 23-year-old sailor Bill Edmondson on a remote logging road near Seattle, Washington. Whoever did this deed wanted to be sure that the victim was dead. It was severely beaten. There was no possibility that this was anything other than an out-and-out assassination. As detectives take a closer look, they find an outline of a cowboy boot on Bill's bare chest. I've never, in all the years I worked as a detective,

seen anybody that had received a blow like that where it left the actual impression on a person's chest or body. This wasn't a bar fight. This was something more than that. It really etched in my mind how brutal everything was. I've seen some bad crimes, but nothing this horrific. As detectives search the area,

they find more boot impressions in the mud. We found boot prints right there at the scene that matched the one in his chest. mud. We found boot prints right there at the scene that matched the one in his chest. In an autopsy later that day, the medical examiner makes a positive identification. Coroner, he said that it looked like he was hit by a high speed truck, but confirmed that it was Bill Edmondson.

The medical examiner says Bill's horrific internal injuries aren't even what killed him. During the autopsy, 422 caliber bullets were found in the victim's head. Now that autopsy results have confirmed Bill's identity, detectives go to the home of Bill's wife, Rosalina Edmondson, to break the news of her husband's tragic death. When the detectives did tell her that they'd found Bill's body

and how he was murdered, she cried a lot. To this day, I've never seen anybody that wectives asked Rosalina to walk them through the last time she saw her husband. She says it was eight days earlier on the evening of the 21st. When I talked to Rosalina, she had indicated that she and Bill had gone out to a place where there was drinking, that he was drinking quite heavily.

And she said, I don't know. I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened. of the 21st. When I talked to Rosalina, she had indicated that she and Bill had gone out to a place where there was drinking, that he was drinking quite heavily. When she left him, he was talking to a long-haired guy with a shaky beard and was trying to buy some acid. and she said she wanted nothing to do with her husband's bad habit. After Rosalina left Bill, she went to another bar and she danced with some sailors. And she told detectives that she actually slept on the couch

at the neighbor's house that night. And she said, I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. I'm going to go to the bar. and she danced with some sailors, and she told detectives that she actually slept on the couch at the neighbor's house that night.

In addition to the mysterious bearded man she'd seen her husband with, Rosalina says she knows someone else who might have a motive in Bill's death. She did indicate that Michael move in with them. Michael Cogswell was in the Navy with Bill, had been Bill's roommate before Bill married Rosalina, and he was a friend of Bill's.

He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's.

He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. He was a friend of Bill's. Bill insisted that Michael move in with them. Michael Cogswell was in the Navy with Bill, had been Bill's roommate before Bill married Rosalina. And then when Bill bought the house, Michael also moved into the house and rented from Bill and Rosalina. Rosalina tells detectives that as a newlywed, she wasn't thrilled to have a roommate, but she'd never suspected what was really going on.

She said that she'd walked in on them once when they were naked. She said she caught them in bed together. We certainly wanted to talk to Michael Cogswell about that. Detectives ask Rosalina if Michael has any cowboy boots at the house. Michael Cogswell was one of the last people to see him alive, so we certainly couldn't rule him out. Before detectives seek out Michael, Rosalina grants permission to search any properties

and vehicles in her name, except a red and a black one. The police are looking for Michael Cogswell and they're looking for him. The police are looking for him. The police are looking for him. The police are looking for him. The police are looking for him. and the police were able to find her. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license.

She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. She was able to get her license. and they add him to their list of house calls. But first, they want to speak with Bill's friend

and alleged lover, Michael Cogswell, who agrees to come to the station for questioning. When we talked to Michael Cogswell, he denied any relationship with Bill Edmondson. When you're assigned the same command and you work closely with him, he denied any relationship with Bill Edmondson. When you're assigned to the same command and you work close with each other, you become friends.

So, I mean, it was natural that we were going to become friends and hang around with each other. If you had a relationship with the same sex back then, you automatically were discharged. And Bill and I didn't ever even cross, you know, whatever. I might never do anything like that. I just don't have no interest in that. Michael says that on December 21, 1981, the night before Bill disappeared,

the two friends had gone out to a bar near the base. They had been out drinking, and they came back to the house out in Lake Symington, where Rosalina was. His face just lit up. He's going, oh, she's here. She said, we're going to go out. And they went out, and that was the last time I ever saw him. To this point, Michael's story matches

what Rosalina told detectives about the last night Bill was seen alive. But when asked about the mysterious bearded man that Bill allegedly bought drugs from, Michael is taken aback. As far as I knew, Bill never used drugs at all. In the military, you're tested too often, so it wasn't even worth it. After we got into our investigation,

we never believed that Bill was involved in drugs and he was involved with somebody that may have killed him for that kind of thing. To cross Michael off the suspect list, detectives turned to their only solid clue about the killer's identity, the casting of a boot print found near Bill's body. Police told me, they said, well, the prints that they took at the tree farm

were too small to be mine. The police said, don't worry about it. We know you didn't do it. Detectives immediately shift their focus to the red gremlin driven by Rosalina's ex-husband, Richard Manthe. You certainly have to look at all the aspects in the case. And we certainly wanted to contact Richard Manthe.

We wanted to know Richard Manthe. We wanted to know what was inside the car. Coming up, detectives uncover a suspicious scene. It looked like someone kicked out a window or something. There had been some significant violence in that area. And veiled clues expose Bill's brutal last moments. I was able to find evidence of blood in the headrest of a passenger seat. It just made sense that that's where all this happened.

Nancy's love story could have been ripped right out of the pages of one of her own novels. She was a romance mystery writer who happens to be married to a chef. But this story didn't end with a happily ever after. When I stepped into the kitchen, I could see that Chef Brophy was on the ground and I heard somebody say, call 911. As writers, we'd written our share of murder mysteries. So when suspicion turned to Dan's wife, Nancy, we weren't that surprised.

The first person they look at would be the spouse. We understand that's usually the way they do it. But we began to wonder, had Nancy gotten so wrapped up in her own novels, There are murders in all of the books. that she was playing them out in real life? You can listen to Happily Never After, Dan and Nancy early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.

In the climate ravaged year of 2072, the city of Pura stands as a miraculous green haven, a geo-engineered paradise that protects fortunate residents from the global catastrophes of heat domes, fires, floods and droughts. Demetria Lopez heads up Pura's public relations, tirelessly promoting the city's idyllic image. But when she stumbles upon a dark secret that if exposed would be the downfall of Pura's existence, she must decide who and what she is willing to protect.

From Wondery, the makers of Academy and Dr. Death, The Last City stars actors Reyes Seahorn, Jeannie Tirado and Maury Sterling. Follow The Last City on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Last City early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Detectives investigating the brutal murder of Bill Edmondson have cleared his roommate, Michael Cogswell, and are moving on to their next lead. We wanted to go over to the house on Long Lake

and contact Richard Manthe. On December 30, 1981, detectives make the 20-minute drive out to the address provided by Bill's wife, Rosalina. Her ex-husband, Richard Manthe, greets them at the door. He certainly gave us permission to be able to search. I think he was trying to cooperate. Richard lets detectives into the home and immediately sends them tell something is off. The back door itself was gone, and the door casing

was splintered, indicating that there had been some significant violence in that area. There was glass shards on the floor. It looked like someone kicked out a car. It looked like someone was driving. indicating that there had been some significant violence in that area. There was glass shards on the floor. It looked like someone kicked out a window or something. It was very noteworthy to us that there

appeared to be a fight where the door was missing. Detectives noticed that the appliances and walls have been freshly cleaned, so they spray the kitchen with luminol. We found a significant amount of blood on the floor, also on several of the walls. Sitting by the missing back door is the most crucial piece of evidence yet. When we searched the house, we found a pair of Western boots. As the search of the home continues,

detectives ask Richard to come to the station for an interview. Detectives question Richard about his relationship to the Edmondsons, and he explains his past with Rosalina. Richard Manthe was a US Marine assigned to the Edmondsons, and he explains his past with Rosalina. Richard Manthe was a US Marine assigned to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where he met Rosalina. And they'd been pretty hot and heavy,

and she was very interested in him. But before she could get him to marry her, his ship had left port. The couple eventually reconnected when Rosalina immigrated to the US in 1977, and they married that same year. Rosalina and Richard Manthe had a baby girl. There was domestic violence.

She stuck with him for quite a while until she decided she could do better. He went back to Montana, where he was from, and not long after that, he was convicted of theft charges and sent to prison. Richard says after he was released in December of 1981, he was hoping to patch things up with the mother of his only child.

Rosalina paid for a ticket for him to come out to the residence in Washington on Long Lake that she owned. And Bill had really nothing to do with that residence. Richard says that on December 21, Rosalina, that evening. Richard claims that he spent the rest of the night drinking alone at home. He says he was drunk, and he was drunk.

He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk.

He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. He was drunk. Lina that evening. Richard claims that he spent the rest of the night drinking alone at home. But given the significant amount of blood found in the home, detectives are skeptical. Anthony said that he'd injured his hand working

on the engine of a car. But the injuries on his hand were minor. There was no way his hand had produced any of that blood that was in the kitchen. When we did talk to Richard about the door being missing, he indicated that he had used that door for firewood, which we considered quite unusual and probably not at all truthful. quite unusual and probably not at all truthful. When detectives do a background check on Richard Manthe, they discover a history of violence.

He would get drunk, and he was very vicious and violent when he was intoxicated. He would be a very intimidating person, especially to somebody like Bill Edmondson. Back at the property where Richard Manthe had been living, investigators search the red gremlin that's registered in Rosalina's name. When we did look inside the car, a portion of the car on the passenger's side had been spray painted.

The car was painted red. The car was painted red. The car, a portion of the car on the passenger's side had been spray painted, but nothing else had been spray painted on the other side. In the floorboards, detectives find a.22 caliber shell casing. The.22 casing certainly fit with the type of wounds that Bill Edmondson sustained. There was glass shards found inside the gremlin,

and there's glass shards inside the house. Investigators had also found glass shards in Bill's shoes when his body was recovered. We kind of put the glass and the tennis shoes together. And it just made sense that that's where all this happened. Next, detectives carefully scrape away the spray paint and uncover startling evidence. I found hair samples, and they had black spray paint on them.

And I was able to find evidence of blood in the headrest of the passenger seat and on the dashboard directly in front of the passenger seat. When we got the blood sample, we sent it to the state lab with a vial of Edmondson's blood, and it matched up to being the same blood type as Edmundson's. The hairs were compared against known hairs that I collected during the autopsy. The hair found in the car was a perfect match to the victim. With irrefutable evidence in hand, detectives are certain that Bill was killed inside the red gremlin.

To further strengthen their case against Richard, investigators compare his cowboy boots to the prints found around Bill's body. All the dimensions of the impression on the body were a perfect match for the size and shape of the boot that Mr. Manthe owned. We believed that we were on the right track as far as Richard Manthe being involved, but we certainly wanted to know his motive.

Coming up, critical evidence is uncovered in the victim's own words. They found that Bill Edmondson had kept a diary. He was all there in his own handwriting. I think he realized that he had made a mistake. In January 1982, detectives with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office have sufficient evidence pointing to Richard Manthe as the murderer of Bill Edmondson. As they begin the process to secure an arrest warrant, they receive belongings from Bill's

locker at the naval base. They found that Bill Edmondson had kept a diary. He was all there in his own handwriting. According to the diary, which began in the fall of 1981, Bill realized he was in danger weeks before his murder. But it wasn't Richard Manthe he was worried about. It was his wife. He was suspicious of Rosalina,

and he was afraid for his life. The diary entries reveal that Bill had initially fallen hard for Rosalina, but soon after, he had the good sense to look into her background. At some point when she was a teenager, she was working as what's called a bar girl in the Philippines.

She learned that she could use her feminine charms to entice sailors that were from the United States Navy over in the Philippines. Rosalina's goal was to find a way to get to the United States, and she could do that if she got a soldier to agree to marry her. She could get what is called a fiancé visa. In 1977, she finally found a sailor willing to pop the question, and she boarded a plane for Seattle.

But by the time she arrived in the States, her fiancé had realized he was being manipulated. He didn't want anything to do with her. He said he wasn't gonna marry her, and she wasn't gonna stay with him, and he sent her away. And there she was, alone in Seattle. At that point in time, she was kind of up against it,

because she had to fulfill that visa by being married. Rosalina turned to Seattle's large Filipino population for help. That's where she met a fellow expat from the Philippines, 76-year-old Pete DeGino. He was in his 70s, retired naval sailor, who was a widower and was very lonely for companionship. He owned his own little house.

She cooked for him. She kept the house tidy. And within just a few weeks, they were married. According to what Bill discovered, the honeymoon was very brief. This fellow had a history of heart problems. And three weeks after they were married, he up and died. Apparently, he had a heart attack in bed one night.

There certainly wasn't anything that would indicate foul play at that particular time. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine.

She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very good friend of mine. She was a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation.

She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was in a very difficult situation. She was getting ready to retire early because he was ill. His name was Robert Erickson, and she went to work for him in his home as a house cleaner and a cook.

He subsequently changed his will and named Rosalina to be the sole beneficiary of his estate. And lo and behold, he too died in the middle of the night. There wasn't sufficient reason for the coroner to believe there was foul play going on. So these deaths were not reported to law enforcement and consequently they were not investigated.

By the time Rosalina and Bill met, rumors were circulating around the base about Rosalina's reputation. During the time that Rosalina was going out with Bill, he was warned that you better watch out for Rosalina. She's a black widow. According to Bill's diary, that only made him want to marry her more.

I think when he first started going with her, he thought maybe they had a future. But then he found out about her background. And that's when he started thinking, I want to be the one to bring her down. He wanted to catch her in these life insurance scams. He wanted her to go to jail for what she did with these other two men. Bill married Rosalina in August of 1981

and promptly took out a life insurance policy that would pay Rosalina $150,000 if he died. According to his diary, less than a week later, and he ended up with a severe anaphylactic reaction and just about died. Doctors asked Bill how he had ingested the medicine. And although Bill's memories were fuzzy, he did remember something. He was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very

very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very about died. Doctors asked Bill how he had ingested the medicine. And although Bill's memories were fuzzy, he did remember something. In the middle of the night, he remembered waking up and Rosalina was sitting on his chest pushing Tylenol pills down his throat. I think maybe that's where he came up with the thing about keeping everything documented.

And he just said, if anything ever happens to me, just go down to my locker and grab my diary, and it'll explain everything that had happened. In addition to keeping a journal, Bill moved his friend Michael Cogswell into his house to make sure he was never alone with Ros happened to them, the house would be paid off. She was spending his money so much that he was overdrawn. And he later in the late fall closed his bank account because she was intent on emptying.

And she was going to pay him back. And she was going to pay him back. And she was going to pay him back. And she was going to pay him back. because she was intent on emptying it. By December, Bill was confessing to the diary that he had gotten in over his head. Bill wrote about the life insurance policies. He wrote about Rosalina's spending his money.

He talked about the times he felt that she had tried to poison him with the over-the-counter painkiller. I think he knew that she was a dangerous person. I think he was very sorry that he married her. I think he realized that he had made a mistake. She did it twice before, and she got away with it. What makes you think that she couldn't

get away with it again? Although Bill's diary proves that Rosalina had a motive and a prior record, physical evidence points to Richard Manthe as the killer. There was quite a bit of evidence that added up to form a probable cause to make an arrest on Richard Manthe. We wanted to hold off on Rosalina

until we put it all together. So when we went to arrest Rosalina, we had everything ready as far as a case against her. On January 14th, 1982, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office arrests Richard Manthe on the charge of first degree murder. I was pretty glad that they finally arrested somebody, but we were just wondering, well, when the hell are you going to arrest Rose?

One of the detectives quoted in the paper that Rosalina would have her day in court. So I knew that they were on her trail then. So I knew that they were on her trail then. Coming up, can a new witness solidify the case against Rosalina and put a presumed black widow away for good? She said, kill the son of a bitch or I will. In 1982, Richard Manthe awaits trial behind bars for the murder of Bill Edmondson. Though the state suspects Bill's wife Rosalina as the mastermind, they lack the hard evidence to prove it. In March of 1982, authorities get word

that Richard has been talking. Had a couple inmates in a jail that was in it. Matthew shot off his mouth about killing Edmondson and kind of implicating Rose. According to his cellmate, Richard had claimed that even after Bill and Rosalina got married, Rosalina still secretly visited Richard in prison. When she went to visit him in prison,

she kept saying that she was still his wife. I don't think she really cared about Edmundson. I think she felt that she was still married to Matthew. Nobody could take his place. According to the cellmate, on December 17, 1981, Rosalina moved Richard into the house on Long Lake Road that she inherited from Robert Erickson. A few days later, on December 21,

Rosalina allegedly arrived with a case of beer. She provided Manthee with a significant amount of alcohol, knowing full well that he would get drunk. She knew that Richard couldn't control his temper when he was drunk. Richard apparently said that hours later, Rosalina showed up again. But this time, she had another drunken man with her

who she introduced as her current husband, Bill Edmondson. I don't think it was until that moment that he found out that he was no longer married to Rose. He confronted Bill about being married to Rosalina and tried to goad him into a fight. When he didn't fight, well, Manthe hauled off and hit him as hard as he could right in the nose. According to what the cellmate knows,

Richard kept punching Bill until he finally snapped out of his drunken stupor long enough to realize what he'd done. After beating him so severely, Manthing suddenly had feelings of remorse and apologized to Bill and said, hey, I got to take you over to the hospital. When they were leaving, Edmondson turned to Rose and said he was going to change the insurance policy

and take her off as a beneficiary. Disgracefully set her off. And she said, kill the son of a bitch or I will. Bill got into the gremlin with Richard. And before they left the house, he asked Bill to roll down the window and turn on the radio and said, you know, a dying man shouldn't have his favorite radio station on.

Then he turned and shot Bill twice in the head. Manthy thought he better go back to the house and pick up Rose, which he did. She climbed in the backseat, and they drove out into an area that had been logged off over the years. Allegedly, Richard told his cellmate that he and Rosalina intended to just dump Bill's body. But when he placed Bill face down in a puddle,

he realized that Bill was still alive. He said to Rose that the SOB is still alive and I better go finish him off. So he shot him two more times in the head. Manthee grabbed one arm, turned him over, and then stomped on his chest. He said it sounded like potato chips cracking. That is just overkill.

That's somebody that has a lot of anger or hatred and just did not care. He took enjoyment killing Bill. According to Richard's claims, Rosalina was going to give him a cut of Bill's life insurance for his help. To me, there was no reason to believe that she was going to share the proceeds of Edmondson's death.

On May 17, 1982, Richard's case goes to trial. The star witness at Richard Manthe's trial was his cellmate, who Richard had boasted to about the murder, basically confessed to it. The defense attorneys didn't want so much credibility and credence to be given to the cellmate. On June 9, the jury returns its verdict. Richard Manthe was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life without parole. Days later, Rosalina is finally arrested and charged with first degree murder.

Her trial begins in the spring of 1983, and in opening statements, prosecutors tell how Rosalina orchestrated Bill's death. When Bill came home from work, she got him so drunk that he was literally falling down. work, she got him so drunk that he was literally falling down. And then she told him, hey, I'll take you over to the Long Lake place.

So he just literally walked into a trap. The defense claims that Rosalina's violent ex-husband acted alone, but the jury disagrees. On March 5, 1983, Rosalina is found guilty of first degree murder. The outcome of all of this resulted in life without parole. No, it was never enough for Rosalina.

Nothing was ever enough. The love of her husbands wasn't enough. The money they brought to the table wasn't enough. The life insurance she got them to sign up for wasn't enough. She probably would have tried maybe to look for another victim after this, if she would have got away with it again. Bill was a friendly, caring person.

He didn't really deserve to lose his life at such a young age. I definitely think that Bill would have been happy that she had finally been caught and put away, even at the expense of his life. I think that it was justice. On July 20, 2001, Rosalina was denied her last appeal and is currently serving a life sentence. Rosalina was never charged in connection to the deaths of Pete Duginot and Robert Erickson.

Rosalina and Richard's daughter was raised in foster care. Gen Z high school girls have gone through a lot. So what could and did send a shockwave through a group of 50 of them competing in one of the nation's biggest scholarship competitions? I'm your host, Shima Oliyaye, and I'm going to take you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women competition. I was Nevada's competitor 20 years ago. But this time, a Supreme Court decision catapults all 50 girls into the center of a nationwide debate about their rights.

These girls, who have spent months fighting to make it to nationals, are faced with a tough decision. Do they speak up for their political beliefs? Or do they stay focused on winning the money? Follow the competition on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of the competition early and ad free right now by joining Wondry+.