Police name Brian Brimager as a person of interest in the disappearance of American woman, Yvonne Baldelli, missing in Panama/ Brimager indicted on charges of obstruction of justice/making false statements.

An American mother searching for her daughter in Panama said Monday she's desperate for answers, while authorities name an ex-Marine a person of interest in the case.
Yvonne Baldelli, a 42-year-old California woman, was last seen near Panama's border with Costa Rica in November. She was reported missing by her family in January.
"As you can imagine, as a mom, it's very hard to leave here without Yvonne in my hand," Baldelli's mother, Lillian Faust, told FoxNews.com from her hotel in Panama.
Faust, who was too distraught to speak about the case in detail, said Panamanian authorities are "doing everything they can" to uncover what happened to Baldelli.
The FBI confirmed to FoxNews.com that they are assisting in the search for the woman, though referred all media inquiries to authorities in Panama.
A Panama police official told the Associated Press on Sunday that Baldelli's former boyfriend, Brian Brimager, raised the interest of investigators and is a person of interest. Panama authorities said Brimager, a former Marine, left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States some 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli in November.
On Thursday, FBI and Panamanian forensic investigators reportedly visited the hotel where Baldelli and Brimager were staying.
Panama national police official Alexis Munoz told the AP that witnesses at the hotel reported that the couple had a "violent" relationship and frequently fought and argued.
Baldelli's mother said she had never met Brimager, who she thinks is from Southern California. She said authorities had not told them that Brimager is suspected of anything.
"I do not know, but if he knows something I would love for him to speak," she told the AP.
Baldelli's sister, Michelle Faust, said the missing woman had gone to Panama in September to design and produce clothing to sell on the islands' beaches.
She said the family had talked with the boyfriend after he returned to the U.S., but declined to give any details of what was said.
Munoz said Brimager had worked while in Panama as a performer in bars playing guitar and singing for tips.
Baldelli's elderly grandmother, Carmine Lanausee, told FoxNews.com from her home in Rochester, N.Y., that the woman had no children.
"She only had a little puppy," said Lanausee. According to a Facebook page devoted to the search for Baldelli, the dog, named Georgia Mae, is also missing.
A statement by family members on the page says Baldelli also had another dog that they are trying to locate.
"Although we don't have pictures of her, we are also hoping to discover the whereabouts of Yvonne's other dog (adopted in Bocas) Monnecca," the statement read. "She is a German shepherd mix, missing along with Yvonne and Georgia Mae.
"Yvonne's *loves* her dogs, they are her babies, finding them may bring us closer to finding her."

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This sure doesn't sound good for her.

By Crimesider Staff Topics Daily Blotter ,Missing
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Brian Brimager and Yvonne Baldelli. Brimager has been named a "person of interest" in the case. (Credit: CBS)

(CBS/AP) PANAMA CITY, Panama - Panamanian police named an American ex-Marine as a person of interest Sunday in the disappearance of Yvonne Baldelli. She is the 42-year-old California woman who vanished almost five months ago near the Costa Rica border.

Police in Panama and the United States haven't identified Brian Brimager as a suspect in the case, but Panama national police official Alexis Munoz said Sunday that Brimager, who was reportedly dating Baldelli, has raised investigators' interest.

Later in the day, Baldelli's mother, Lillian Faust, who is in Panama for the investigation, said she thinks her daughter is dead and begged for Brimager to tell what he knows about what happened to her.

"My husband, I, the family know that something happened to her. Some people want to say that she's out there somewhere, but everyone in the family knows that's not possible," Faust said.

"We did not want to accept it for a long time but we have accepted it," she added.

Panama police said Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States some 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli in November on the Bocas del Toro islands. Baldelli's family reported her missing in January.

Munoz said witnesses at the hotel where the couple stayed reported they had a "violent" relationship and frequently fought and argued. Panamanian officials said Brimager was between the ages of 35 and 40 and had brought Baldelli to the islands.

On Thursday, FBI and Panamanian forensic investigators visited the hotel.

The mother said she had never met Brimager, who she thinks is from Southern California.

Faust said authorities had not told them that Brimager is suspected of anything. "I do not know, but if he knows something I would love for him to speak," she said.

Baldelli's sister, Michelle Faust, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the missing woman had gone to Panama in September to design and produce clothing to sell on the islands' beaches.

She said the family had talked with the boyfriend after he returned to the U.S. but declined to give any details of what was said.

Munoz said Brimager had worked while in Panama as a performer in bars playing guitar and singing for tips.

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Yvonne Baldelli: FBI Joins Search For American Woman Missing In Panama

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB (@alyssanewcomb)
April 26, 2012

The FBI has joined the search for an American woman who disappeared from an island paradise in Panama as her ex-boyfriend is called a person of interest.

Yvonne Baldelli, 42, and her dog, Georgie Mae, were last seen on Nov. 26, 2011 in Isla Carenero. The town of 450 people, mostly foreigners, is part of the Bocas del Toro archipelago off the coast of Panama.

The FBI will join authorities from Panama and Costa Rica who have been searching for the missing woman.

Neighbors reported hearing an argument come from the home Baldelli shared with her boyfriend, Brian Brimager, 36. People who heard the skirmish told authorities the sounds of yelling, screaming and breaking glass emanated from the couple's home, the English language news site Panama-Guide reported.

Brimager, who is a former Marine, was termed a person of interest by Panamanian investigators, the Panama-Guide reported. Brimager returned to the United States in December and has since married another woman, according to reports. ABCNews.com was unable to reach him.

The couple moved to Panama in September 2011 after Baldelli, who was divorced, was laid off from her job at Proctor & Gamble.

"She came to Panama because she wanted to have a new life. She wanted to have a beautiful place, beautiful surroundings," Baldelli's sister, Michelle Faust, told ABCNews.com. "She wanted to continue her happy fun life here. She said, 'I'll see what happens, let me sew some bikinis, sell them to tourists.'"

Faust said her sister communicated with the family via email at least once a week and also called her mother weekly. The family heard from Baldelli shortly before she disappeared, she said.

"After the first week [without communication], you get nervous, but as a grown woman you don't necessarily know," Faust said. "You send emails and wait for responses. You call. We heard she was coming home, so we didn't overly concern ourselves with it."

When Baldelli did not show up for a family reunion in January, her parents alerted the U.S. embassy and flew to Panama. They have been in Panama almost constantly since then, looking for their daughter.

Relatives and family friends have also joined in the search for the "happy-go-lucky" woman who had previously lived in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

"We trudged through raw sewage, jungle, [got] mosquito bites, looking for any trace of Yvonne we could find," Faust said.

On Tuesday, the Panamanian equivalent of the FBI, the Departamento del Investigación Judicial, announced a $3,000 reward for the recovery of Baldelli.

When asked Tuesday if the case could be a crime of passion, Alexis Muñoz, deputy director of DIJ, said "that would be a hypothesis."

Michelle Faust and her parents had never met Brimager, she said, although she noted other family members had met him.

While authorities take a closer look at Brimager, Faust said she prefers to keep the focus on finding her sister.

"She is a beautiful woman, so happy, with a radiant, gorgeous smile," she said. "We just want to see that smile again."

The family asks anyone with information to contact them via their Facebook page.
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Ex-Marine Brian Brimager Eyed In Missing Yvonne Baldelli Case By Panama Police
By JUAN ZAMARANO 04/29/12 11:43 PM ET
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PANAMA CITY, Panama — Panamanian police named an American ex-Marine as a person of interest Sunday in the disappearance of a 42-year-old California woman last seen on an archipelago near the Costa Rica border.

Police in Panama and the United States haven't identified Brian Brimager as a suspect as they investigate the case of Yvonne Baldelli, who was reportedly dating Brimager. But Panama national police official Alexis Munoz said Sunday that Brimager had raised investigators' interest.

Later in the day, Baldelli's mother, Lillian Faust, who is in Panama for the investigation, said she thinks her daughter is dead and begged for Brimager to tell what he knows about what happened to her.

"My husband, I, the famiy know that something happened to her. Some people want to say that she's out there somewhere, but everyone in the family knows that's not possible," Faust said.

"We did not want to accept it for a long time, but we have accepted it," she added.

Panama police said Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States some 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli in November on the Bocas del Toro islands. Baldelli's family reported her missing in January.

Munoz said witnesses at the hotel where the couple stayed reported they had a "violent" relationship and frequently fought and argued. Panamanian officials said Brimager was between the ages of 35 and 40 and had brought Baldelli to the islands.

On Thursday, FBI and Panamanian forensic investigators visited the hostel.

The mother said she had never met Brimager, who she thinks is from Southern California.

Faust said authorities had not told them that Brimager is suspected of anything. "I do not know, but if he knows something I would love for him to speak," she said.

Baldelli's sister, Michelle Faust, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the missing woman had gone to Panama in September to design and produce clothing to sell on the islands' beaches.

She said the family had talked with the boyfriend after he returned to the U.S., but declined to give any details of what was said.

Munoz said Brimager had worked while in Panama as a performer in bars playing guitar and singing for tips.

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MUST-SEE Video!!

May 1, 2012 9:48 AM

Yvonne Baldelli Disappearance: Mother of missing woman desperate for answers
By Crimesider Staff Topics Daily Blotter

(CBS/AP) PANAMA CITY - A mother searching for her daughter in Panama reportedly said on Monday that she is desperate for answers in the case.

This statement comes just after authorities named an American man as a person of interest in the disappearance of California woman Yvonne Baldelli.

Baldelli was last seen near Panama's border with Costa Rica in November. Authorities in Panama and the United States haven't identified Brian Brimager as a suspect in the disappearance of the 42-year-old, who was reportedly dating the ex-Marine. However, a national police official in Panama says Brimager has now raised the interest of investigators.

The mother, who is Panama to keep tabs on the search, says she thinks her daughter is dead. She is begging for Brimager to say what he knows about what happened to her. Baldelli was reported missing by her family in January.

"As you can imagine, as a mom, it's very hard to leave here without Yvonne in my hand," Lillian Faust, Baldelli's mother, told FoxNews.com from her Panama hotel.

Faust, who was reportedly too emotional to speak about the case in detail, said Panamanian authorities are "doing everything they can" to uncover what happened to her daughter.

Panama police said Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica and the United States some 10 days after last being seen with Baldelli in November.

Panama national police official Alexis Munoz told the Associated Press that witnesses at the hotel said that the couple had a "violent" relationship and frequently fought and argued.

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Why does this case remind me somewhat of Natallee Holloway and Robyn Gardner?

What REALLY gets me is the POI leaves, returns to the US and MARRIES someone else almost immediately? WTH????? I would love to know what the new wifey-poo thinks about all this.

Back In The Saddle After Yvonne Baldelli Investigation

Saturday, May 05 2012 @ 09:51 AM COT
Contributed by: Don Winner

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I flew to Bocas del Toro on Thursday, 19 April 2012, to start my investigation into the disappearance of the American woman from Southern California who went missing from Isla Carenero, Yvonne Baldelli. On that day the plan was to spend one day in Bocas to meet with her family members, and to return to Panama City the next day (so, I was packed for a quick overnight trip). However one thing turned into the other, and as a result I spent a total of sixteen days in Bocas. By now my regular readers know how I work. When something like this pops up then it becomes my #1 priority, and I get totally focused at the expense of all of the routine and daily news in Panama. But as of today, Saturday, 5 May 2012 - I'm officially "back in the saddle" and working to get caught up with the regular and normal grind.

More Than 3,500 Emails: I had more than 3,500 emails waiting for me on the various servers I use, and I had to clear them out in a hurry. About 2,500 were filtered as Spam and deleted without reading. I blew through a lot of routine traffic with just a glance. If you sent an inquiry about advertising, you might want to send it again if I don't get back to you. All those who sent "heads up" notices for articles that appeared in other media about the stranded fishermen who were spotted by the cruise ship, thanks. If you sent a non-profit or community service notice that you wanted to see published on this website, please send again if you don't see it in a day or two. And a lot of other things I just had to blow off completely, including some requests like - "Can you help me find Skippy Jack Splaterpus, last seen in the Panama Canal Zone in 1974?" Yeah, I'll get right on it...

Update On The Yvonne Baldelli Case: I'd love to give you a full update on the investigation of the disappearance of Yvonne Baldelli, but I can't, not yet. I met with James and Lillian Faust yesterday, again. The investigation is continuing, and right now it's best to simply wait for the situation to develop further. Patience - I trust the authorities in both Panama and the United States are doing what they do. In the meantime, I'll be sitting on the results of my investigation, for now - and getting back to the normal stuff.

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Missing-Turned-Murder Case Has Ties to Rochester

By: Cierra Putman
Updated: May 24, 2012

A missing persons-turned-murder investigation involving an American in Panama has ties to Rochester. Yvonne Baldelli's parents live in Rochester and have been traveling back and forth since January to find out what happened to their daughter.

No one has seen nor heard from Baldelli since November .

"You don't even know where your daughter is and what she's gone through and what she's suffered," said Baldelli's mother Lillian Faust.

For the past five months James and Lillian Faust have been searching for their daughter. In September, Baldelli went to an island in the Bocas region of Panama with her boyfriend.

"Around Thanksgiving I was calling her at least six times and I never got through to her," Lillian Faust said."

They didn't know something was wrong until Baldelli missed a family reunion in California. Phone calls and emails went unanswered. They filed missing persons reports in California, where Baldelli lived, and in Panama. Baldelli's parents even went to Panama themselves to help local authorities and the FBI search.

"It was very hard to walk in the same steps knowing that she was there," James Faust said.

Her parents put up fliers, talked to the locals and what they learned was disturbing. Neighbors say Baldelli and her boyfriend had a volatile relationship. No one has seen her since November.

"They heard a lot of fighting and screaming on the 26th (of November,)" James Faust said. "And they say that's the last time they ever heard of her."

Police named Baldelli's boyfriend a person of interest. He told authorities and her family she left Panama for Costa Rica, but when they checked there was no passport record of her ever leaving Panama. Her parents say there were also rumors she was killed.

"For me the beginning of March I had come to grips with that she was gone," James Faust said.

Last week was tough when authorities launched a murder investigation.

"That took a long time to get them to do," Lillian Faust said. "(But) that stings. Your heart drops, you still feel a lot of pain."

Although police named Baldelli's former boyfriend as a person of interest he is not under arrest. The Fausts learned he returned to the US in December and was married shortly after. To learn more about Baldelli and her family's efforts to find out what happened to her

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parent's speak in above link.

By CHRIS BOUCLY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA – The case of a former south Orange County woman missing in Panama is now a homicide investigation, according to a prosecutor there.
"I think we'd come to accept that she was gone, but it's still very difficult to hear," said Lauren Beyer, whose aunt, Yvonne Baldelli, was last seen Nov. 26 on Carenero Island, one of a group of islands that make up the archipelago province of Bocas del Toro on Panama's Caribbean coast.

Panamanian authorities have reclassified the case of Yvonne Baldelli as a homicide. Baldelli, 42, went missing on Nov. 26 along with her two dogs, according to her family.

In addition, the case has been moved out of Bocas del Toro province to a higher-profile office in David, the capital of the Chiriqui province. The move is expected to bring additional resources to the case, according to local news site Panama-Guide.com, which quoted Second Superior Prosecutor Nedelka Diaz on the case's reclassification.
"We feel validated that the (Panamanian) government agrees with us that something happened to her, that someone did something to her, and that person needs to be found and brought to justice," Beyer said. "But we still need to find Yvonne."

Beyer and other members of Baldelli's family, including her parents James and Lillian Faust, have been searching for Baldelli and her two dogs in and around Bocas for several months.

Baldelli, 42, moved to Panama in September with Brian Brimager, 36, according to Alexis Muñoz, director of the Panama Department of Judicial Investigation. The couple rented an apartment, and Brimager played music in bars for tips, Muñoz told the AP.

Baldelli had recently been laid off from her job as a regional sales manager for Sebastian International and Brimager had recently left the Marine Corps.

The two wanted to live together on the beach, Beyer said, and they figured it would be cheaper to do that in Panama than in Orange County. Public records show Brimager lived recently in San Clemente. Baldelli has been a resident of several south O.C. cities including Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo.

Witnesses at the home where Baldelli and Brimager were staying, known locally as Casa del Sapo, reported the couple had a "violent" relationship and frequently fought, Muñoz said.

Baldelli called and emailed her family regularly, with her last correspondence to her mother in November, according to news reports. A little less than two weeks after Baldelli was last seen, Brimager left Panama for Costa Rica, eventually returning to the United States, Muñoz said. According to news reports, Brimager told acquaintances Baldelli had left him and he planned to return to Southern California.

When Brimager returned to California, he became engaged and married another woman, according to news reports.

An Amazon.com Wedding Registry entry for a Kristin M. Werkhoven and Brian Brimager states the two met in Washington, D.C., at a karaoke bar in 2004 and had a daughter in 2010. According to the entry, which has been taken down:
"Brian got out of the Marine Corps in November 2011 and went on a vacation to Panama to detox from the Marine Corps. Now Brian is a professional father during the day and a professional student at night. We were engaged on 15 December and on 31 December we had a civil ceremony to legalize our marriage."

When Baldelli failed to respond to her family about a reunion planned for January, relatives flew to Panama to look for her, coordinating with local authorities and the U.S. Embassy. A missing persons report was filed in January.

Authorities announced a reward in hopes locals would come forward with information leading to Baldelli's whereabouts. The family has established a Facebook page, Find Yvonne Baldelli, to gather tips and share updates.

In the months since the search effort began, the FBI has joined the investigation, assisting Panamanian authorities in searching for trace evidence at the home where Baldelli and Brimager stayed. Also, Panamanian police named Brimager a person of interest in Baldelli's disappearance.

Beyer said to her understanding, the results of testing that evidence have not been released.

"We've accepted something happened to her and we want to bring her home and give her a proper resting place," Beyer said. "But she's also missing, and that is incredibly hard to accept."

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Posted: 06/27/2013
Last Updated: 1 day ago
Steve Fiorina Steve Fiorina

SAN DIEGO - A retired local Marine was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the disappearance and possible death of his former girlfriend in 2011.

Click here to view the federal indictment (This is a MUST Read!)
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Brian Brimager was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements.

Yvonne Baldelli, 42, and Brimager moved to Panama in September 2011. She was last seen on Nov. 26, 2011, leaving a restaurant in Bocas del Toro with Brimager.

The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, accuses Brimager of killing Baldelli and then sending fake emails -- as Baldelli -- after her disappearance.

Deputy Chief U.S. Attorney Hamilton Arendsen referred to the indictment document, saying, "Mr. Brimager killed Miss Baldelli and disposed of her body in an unknown location."

According to the indictment, Brimager allegedly "created a cover story to explain her whereabouts ..." and "… 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."

Arendsen said, "He destroyed evidence, including a blood-stained mattress … he made withdrawals from Miss Baldelli's bank account on two separate occasions to make it appear as though she were still alive." Yet another   ?

The U.S. Attorney has not charged Brimager with murder, but he faces 10 counts of obstruction of justice, carrying penalties of 20 years each upon conviction, and one count of making a false statement to a federal officer, which could bring five more years.

Baldelli's body has never been found.

Lauren Beyer, Baldelli's niece, said, "When we searched for her, we went to this exact spot where this picture was taken and unfortunately we were too late, but we hope it's not too late to find answers to where she is."

Younger sister Michelle Faust told reporters, "Everyone who had met them both told us they found him creepy and he beat her in public and he gave her big black eyes and bruises all over her body."

"Miss Baldelli was killed in Panama, not the U.S. We are working with Panamanian authorities on the case, but it is an ongoing investigation," Arendsen said.

Thursday was the first time Baldelli's relatives had seen Brimager in almost two years.

Faust called the experience "nauseating."

Beyer said, "It was just very shocking to me, very painful."

Brimager returns to U.S. District Court Friday for a detention hearing.  

The prosecution will ask that no bail be set, calling Brimager a flight risk and a danger to the community.  

Defense attorney Brad Patton will argue against that, however.

On a Facebook page dedicated to finding Baldelli, her family issued the following statement:

"Yvonne Baldelli is our beloved daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. Yvonne disappeared November 26, 2011 with her two dogs on Isla Carenero, Bocas del Toro, Panama. For more than a year and a half, our family has been begging for the authorities and the public internationally -- in Panama, the United States, and Costa Rica-- to help us find her and bring her home. Authorities in Panama upgraded the case to a homicide investigation on May 18, 2012. We sorely miss Yvonne's melodious laugh, contagious smile, and her kind heart.

The last person seen with Yvonne was Brian Brimager. He has in no way helped our family in locating Yvonne since her disappearance in 2011. Today, he was arrested by U.S. authorities and is in federal custody in San Diego, California on charges of obstruction of justice and lying to a federal officer.

We thank U.S. and Panamanian authorities for continuing the investigation and following every lead in Yvonne's case. As a family, we have been cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the State Department, and the Panamanian National Police. Anyone with any information about Yvonne's disappearance is encouraged to step forward and continue to cooperate with police.

Yvonne did not deserve to be ripped from our family. We will never recover from her absence. We are confident in the U.S. government's case against Brimager. As a family, we know this process is far from over. At this point, we pray that justice is served for Yvonne."

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By Andie Adams and Vanessa Herrera | Saturday, Mar 29, 2014 | Updated 3:56 AM PDT

A federal judge has decided to hold off on an obstruction of justice trial for the man accused of killing his girlfriend in Panama.

Brian Brimager, 38, is the lead suspect in the death of Yvonne Baldelli, who went missing while the two were on vacation in Central America in 2011.

Baldelli’s remains were found in a zipped bag off the coast of Isla Carenero in Aug. 2013.

A federal grand jury charged Brimager with obstructing justice and making false statements to law enforcement, and he was arrested by the FBI in the Vista area on June 26, 2013.

Prosecutors allege he underwent an elaborate scheme to cover up Baldelli’s death.

On Friday, the federal judge heard a defense motion to dismiss charges against Brimager. The judge did not throw out the charges, but he also did not set a trial date, calling the hearing a “dicey matter.”

While prosecutors were expecting a trial date, they accepted a 90-day motion.

Baldelli’s family said the delay will give officials in Panama more time to gather the evidence.

Brimager’s defense said there has to be a “clear nexus” in the case, and if it goes to a jury trial, they want wording on the charges changed.

James Faust Jr., Baldelli’s brother, told NBC 7 it was heart-wrenching to see the “emaciated” Brimager in court Friday, but the family is glad he has not been released from custody.

“The jumpsuit suits him very well though, and those shackles, those chains on his ankles are music to my ears," said Baldelli’s sister Michele Valenzuela.

According to the grand jury indictment, Brimager and Baldelli traveled to Bocas Del Toro, Panama, in Sept. 2011. They stayed in a hostel on Isla Carenero, an island off the coast accessible only by boat.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office accused Brimager of physically abusing Baldelli, and she was last seen with him at a Panamanian restaurant on Nov. 26, 2011.

Prosecutors allege that soon after that, Brimager killed Baldelli. Investigators said he then tried to cover up her death by sending emails to family and friends from her laptop, posing as Baldelli. The emails said she was traveling to Costa Rica with another man.

Brimager allegedly disposed of a bloody mattress from their Isla Carenero hostel by dumping it in the ocean, investigators said. According to the indictment, Brimager had done two internet searches on Baldelli’s laptop for instructions on getting blood stains out of a mattress.

Court documents also accuse Brimager of packing Baldelli’s belongings into ten large garbage bags and leaving them on the dock outside their hostel for disposal.

Brimager then used Baldelli’s ATM card in Costa Rica and San Jose to make it look like she was still alive, prosecutors said.

When investigators questioned the suspect about Baldelli’s disappearance, they said Brimager lied to them and claimed she took her laptop to travel. That same laptop was found in his possession in 2012, at which point he changed his story and said the device never went to Panama and he never sent emails from it.

Nearly two years after vanishing, Baldelli’s body was discovered on a small island off the Isla Carenero coastline. Forensic scientists used DNA analysis on the skull and bones to identify her.

Brimager now faces 13 charges in connection with Baldelli’s death. If convicted on all counts, he would have to serve a maximum sentence of 205 years in prison and a $2.5 million fine.

Baldelli’s family said if Brimager goes to trial and is convicted in the U.S., they hope he will then be extradited to Panama to face murder charges.

“Justice is most important for us, and justice will be done when he is incarcerated – like I said – for the rest of his life,” said Baldelli’s father James Faust.

Many of the family members have made it a priority to attend Brimager’s hearings en masse.

“He did everything he could, hoping that people would forget her and not investigate and try to cover his tracks. But it didn’t work and we’re all here and he’s in jail,” said Baldelli’s niece Lauren Beyer.

NBC 7 reached out to Brimager’s defense attorney, but so far, no response has been returned.