HOH: Blood Money Edition

Former marine 'impersonated his girlfriend by sending emails and withdrawing her money' in an 'elaborate cover-up to hide her murder' (then married another woman)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTERS

An ex-Marine has been accused of an elaborate cover-up of the death of his girlfriend after she disappeared in Panama, including deceiving her family into believing she was still alive with emails and withdrawals from her bank account. Yvonne Baldelli, 42, has not been seen since November 2011 and her body has never been found. Her boyfriend Brian Brimager, 37, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday at his California home on charges of obstructing justice and making false statements.

It is also claimed he married another woman just weeks after Ms Baldelli went missing. The indictment claims that on November 29 Brimager began sending fake emails to a hotel manager, friends and family from Ms Baldelli's account.

It also states that on his way back to California he made a two-day layover in Costa Rica and used her ATM card to make it look like she was withdrawing money. This was to back up the retired Marine's story that had Ms Baldelli had 'broken up with Brimager and was headed to Costa Rica with a man named Tony Gonzales.' 'Brimager impersonated Baldelli over email in an attempt to trick her friends and family into believing she was still alive, thereby obstructing, influencing and impeding investigation into her disappearance and suspected death,' the indictment says.

The indictment adds that when Brimager landed in San Diego on December 12, 2011, another woman, known as K.W., met him at the airport.

'He proposed to her two days later and they married shortly thereafter,' the document states.

Brimager is accused of dumping a ? mattress in the ocean to cover up his girlfriend's death after searching online for how to get the stains out. He is said to have packed her belongings into garbage bags and left them outside the hostel for disposal. The couple had left Los Angeles in September that year for Bocas del Toro in Panama, where they rented a hostel room on a small island. She was last seen at a steakhouse in Bocas del Toro with Brimager on November 26, 2011, according to the U.S. Attorney's office, which also said he physically abused her before she went missing.

He has not been charged with murder but faces ten counts of obstruction of justice and one count of false statement to a federal officer.

Brimager faces a maximum sentence of 205 years in prison and a $2.5million fine if found guilty of every charge.