Devil’s Island | Full Episode | Forensic Files

real people real crimes real life drama [Music] Brian brimminger was a typical Marine
[Music] [Applause] that kind of an All-American kind of persona he was assigned to a color guard in
Washington DC [Music] 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 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 the man Brian brimmager 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 Bryant to start a new life that's where Yvonne wanted to be
I am Michelle Valenzuela and my sister is Yvonne baldelli she likes a karaoke she likes to dance
did Yvonne like it here she loved it here just love 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 carenero in Boca Del Toro this is the the house they were
renting in Brian bermanger and Yvonne baldelli 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 birminger 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 Communications stopped everybody lost contact with her there's no immigration
records it 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 Karen Arrow from the outside appears to be a Tropical Paradise but it's a swampy Hill
I call it Devil's Island because some Terrible Things took place on that island brand brimmager 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 exactly 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 brimminger moved to California hooked up with Christian 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 her 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 O'Brien Brian returned and my sister didn't Brian
brimage 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 that's what led to his demise
Peter Van Sant tonight on 48 hours Devil's Island [Music] [Applause] 48 hours we'll be back in 90 seconds
[Music] in the spring of 2012 Brian bremager 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 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 of the Caribbean coast of Panama to find out
up ahead is the island of carinaro 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 [Music] why did they decide to go to Panama she
liked the fact that they could live on the beach you know you know it was pretty 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 May in hand Yvonne brought two sewing machines in hopes of starting a clothing business
stepmother Lillian fost she was going to make bathing suits and sell them to tourists I knew she was excited and she
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
and 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 from 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 and 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 it 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 a guitar good but when he started to sing that's when it went away what was it like
um 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 coming 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
for only thing on my office 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
so I asked him like 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's somebody else Kristen werkhoven 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 you should leave
a note no has she tried to call you since now 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 ten 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 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 person's
report because now we're already the mid-December and I haven't heard anything from her and that's not right
something's wrong 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 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 Avon really
have run off with another man after learning that Brian had a love child all you've all never wanted to do was be a
mother that's all she ever wanted to do was be a mother to find out that Brian had a child and you know she said
everything she had to go the other ends of the world to be with his 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 and to Costa Rica 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 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 La home to pick up
his truck what did you see on his face what was his demeanor like I was just in a hurry
he he's calm it's very brief all business yes get his stuff get his truck and leave
after Brian got his pickup truck Yvonne's emails stopped 16 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 haha 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 Michelle was still hopeful that she would appear at that family reunion but
Yvonne never showed up well 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 that's 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 them to please check it out because like I said
I haven't had 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 he 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
ones 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 we 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
and it's not in the same person it's murder now it's murder I thought 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's absolutely Foul Play involved the FBI FB 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 foreign with the FBI investigation underway in the states Yvonne's family met up with legendary
investigator Don winter 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 when they don't know what else to do winner is an ex-us 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 a deal this is what happened this is what we think is going on it's not the first
time winner of CBS News consultant has worked on a case with 48 hours all right we're gonna go take a look at this uh
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 uh it's it's it's it's amazing winter is convinced Brian breminger is
involved his strategy put pressure on the Panamanian government to act because when Don winter 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 experienced a living nightmare for quite
a few months and we continue to appeal to anyone who knows absolutely anything about iman's disappearance to come
forward Panamanian police announced for the first time that Yvonne is the victim
of Foul Play and named Brian brimminger as the suspect this news conference reverberated around
the world police say within weeks of her disappearance brimager 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 ivonne's niece Lauren Byer in a place that is no longer a paradox
there's nothing 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 and Blackness around the face and bruises was she self-conscious about it she was
trying to hide it and 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 we'll just feed 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 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 okay struggling through the mug the spiders and the rancid water the smallest Discovery raises hope a
purse a medicine bottle a mysterious sinkhole 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 you know we find a U.S passport uh the front page here
none of it is Yvonne's but back in the United States the FBI confronted Brian brimmager 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 brimminger for more than four hours while he babysat his young daughter
to to special agent Andrew Masters along with special agent Gabriel Ramirez approaching apartment m in an attempt to
have a consensual monitored interview with Brian grimatur we weren't sure if he was going to break down and confess
to having a part in her Disappearance in 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 um f-u-m but when confronted with Michelle's
email evidence Brian began to stumble Brian I was kind of laid out there man the IP addresses are not coming back
from coast okay they're coming back from here okay so if she's not hanging out around
here then somebody sent those emails right out of those things all get sent you know anybody that would have her
email account vendor her account no yeah 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 vial 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
Masters 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 take the journey with ivonne's family as they searched the jungles of Panama now
at 48hours.com even though he was under the FBI's microscope Brian bremager 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 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 let's go guys 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 Ryan why won't you speak with us
did you have anything to do with her disappearance well 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 from after leaving the Marine Corps and that he was going with some Marine Corps friends did
Christian urge Brian to leave Yvonne no Kristen didn't even know he wanted to existed so he lied to Kristen absolutely
apparently all those lies didn't matter to Kristen according to her Brian is 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 Kristin Kristen I'm Ryan with CBS News
so anyway we can talk [Music] 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 them at bars and we
learned about all the domestic violence uh that uh that he brought upon her uh the choking the the dragging uh 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 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 Stewarts discovered even more evidence
in Costa Rica where Brian is seen with drawing cash for me Vaughan's account we were able to obtain those ATM photos so
we have Brian using the 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 breminger
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 Brianna 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 taken off with some guy to 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 disappear 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's 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 and they had caught Brian in multiple lives soon someone would stumble upon the most
important evidence of all Don winter shares some of the details of his investigation now at 48hours.com
[Music] 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 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 I 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 I sat down and a sense of relief because
now they believed us Brian bremature 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 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 she 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 and 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 premature 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 are going I'm going to be giving a dip position
we can buy cancer and given just weeks to live you saw me swear Michelle a crucial
witness agreed to tell her story while she still could Brian breminger would sit directly
across from her didn't I try to ignore him smooth best I can and who was Brian brimmager the defender
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 tacky outfit then 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 [Music] 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 remove these three and just pulled it
out here and conducted the testing on the blade and the interior portion of the handle and found blood whose blood
yvonnece Yvonne baldellas 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 going to get out of the he was not going to
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 brimager to plead guilty
within a week brimager 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 carnate 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 Khan
he had his new wife Khan 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 [Music] with the case over Yvonne's remains were
returned to her family foreign and laid to rest at sea [Music] 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 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 [Music] Kristen and Brian brimmiger are still
married she continues to support and visit him in federal prison brimminger's prison term ends in
February 2037. [Music] help us solve this crime it was a Savage murder a stunning model she was quite the
trophy married to a multi-millionaire this is where the assailing got her from behind knocked her to the ground they
slid her throat eight years no arrest and there are no fingerprints no nothing at all there are Clues the sketch who is
this is this the guy that murdered my sister the letter I know that was a shock cut out in little bitty individual
different letters I mean why are you talking to me I want to find out who murdered my sister
cbsn CBS News always on

An ex-Marine with a secret life and a secret wife. A five-year investigation turns on shocking DNA evidence — is the one-time hero a killer, too? "48 Hours"' Peter Van Sant has the latest in the case. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

“Yvonne Baldelli disappeared from a tropical Panamanian island in 2011. The last person to see her alive was her ex-Marine boyfriend, Brian Brimager. I got involved in this fascinating investigation early on, with Yvonne’s family certain she’d been a victim of foul play. We’re with the family step-by-step as they discover that emails sent from Yvonne — allegedly from Panama — actually were sent from where Brian Brimager was now living in California. I confront him on camera in a supermarket parking lot.” — Peter Van Sant on why the story is important.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Yvonne Baldelli's disappearance leads to the discovery of her murder by boyfriend Brian Brimminger, who is ultimately sentenced to prison.

Key points

The All-American Marine. Brian Brimminger seemed to have it all, but appearances can be deceiving.
The Disappearance. Yvonne Baldelli goes missing, leaving her family desperate for answers.
The Shocking Revelation. Brian's double life is uncovered, raising suspicions about Yvonne's fate.
The Family's Quest. Yvonne's family embarks on a desperate search for the truth.
Brian's Arrest. Brian Breminger is arrested for the cover-up of Yvonne's death, charged with 13 felonies.
Yvonne's Remains Found. Yvonne's skeletonized remains are discovered on a Panamanian island, confirming her tragic fate.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

What did you do to her, Brian?

3:26WatchJan 25, 2023

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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