Dismembered woman – US marine charged

A RETIRED US marine accused of killing his girlfriend and dumping her dismembered body on an island in Bocas Del Toro, has been indicted for first degree murder by a court of inquiry in San Diego, California.

 Brian Karl Brimager, 37, who pleaded not guilty, has been in the custody of the US authorities since June 2013 on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and falsifying documents related to the murder.
According to the indictment, Brimager killed Yvonne Baldelli, around November 26, 2011, and subsequently dismembered and dumped the remains in an inaccessible jungle area on the island of Carenero, in the Bocas del Toro archipelago.
During the time that Baldelli was missing, Brimager said the woman had moved to Costa Rica with another man and concocted an elaborate alibi to avoid suspicion, which included sending emails posing as the victim and traveling to Costa Rica to withdraw money from the Baldelli bank account.
Human remains found on the island were analyzed and matched with the DNA of relatives of Baldelli, confirming that it was the missing girl.
According to an EFE news agency report, Brimager and Baldelli began a relationship in 2009 when both lived in Dana Point, Orange County, Southern California, and in September 2011 they moved to Panama.
The couple settled in a room in a hostel on Carenero island while Brimager contacted by email another woman, the mother of his daughter, (identified with the initials “KW”) and made plans to settle down with her in the US.
In the messages Brimager never mentioned Baldelli, who by then had suffered physical abuse from the former marine.There were loud fights in their room and he left marks on her arms and eyes.
On November 24, 2011, the manager of the hostel broke a leg and had to be taken to a hospital in Changuinola, on the mainland. H e asked Brimager and Baldelli to take charge while he recovered.
At that time there were no guests in the room next to the Americans.
Baldelli’s death occurred, according to authorities, on the night of November 26 or early 27
On November 27, according to court reports, Brimager accessed Baldelli’s computer and searched on the internet how ” to clean blood stains on a mattress” but ended up throwing the mattress in the ocean and told the manager his dog had urinated on it.
Between 27 and 29 November, Brimager got rid of the evidence of the crime and threw away the hostel clothing and Baldelli’s  belongings.
On November 29 he sent an email from Baldelli’s computer to her sister Michelle Valenzuela, saying she had broken with Brimager and went to live in Costa Rica with a man named Tony Gonzales.
On December 12 Brimager landed in San Diego and two days later proposed to KW, and married her soon after.
Brimager continue to send emails to Valenzuela on behalf of Baldelli until late December so that the family postponed reporting her disappearance to the authorities
In March 2012, Brimager was questioned by the FBI regarding the whereabouts of Baldelli, when he insisted she had left him and lived with another man in Costa Rica.