• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
Top left, 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts of Montecito, California, was the victim of a murder-for-hire plot, according to authorities, top right. From bottom left, three suspects in the case are Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, Pauline Macareno, 48, and Henry Rostomyan, 33.

Arrests Made in Case of 96-Year-Old Woman Killed While Preparing to Bake Cookies in Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot

March 9, 2024
Clinton for Prison? Ex-DNI Ratcliffe Says 'Enough Evidence' to Indict 'Multiple People' – Report

Facebook Smacks Hillary Clinton With Community Note Over Abortion Claim

July 11, 2025
‘We’re Going To Lose’: Steve Bannon Warns Withholding Epstein Files Would Doom GOP

‘We’re Going To Lose’: Steve Bannon Warns Withholding Epstein Files Would Doom GOP

July 11, 2025
Chinese Naval Vessel Spotted Off Hawaiian Coast

Chinese Naval Vessel Spotted Off Hawaiian Coast

July 11, 2025
Organized Activists Egged On Chaotic Anti-ICE Riot That Led To Shooting

Organized Activists Egged On Chaotic Anti-ICE Riot That Led To Shooting

July 11, 2025
Trump Admin Cans Foreign Contractors On National Security Grounds

Trump Admin Cans Foreign Contractors On National Security Grounds

July 11, 2025
Major News Orgs Can’t Conspire To Crush Independent Media, DOJ Argues

Major News Orgs Can’t Conspire To Crush Independent Media, DOJ Argues

July 11, 2025
‘Go Back To Broadway’: Fox News Panelists Team Up To Roast Ketanji Brown Jackson

‘Go Back To Broadway’: Fox News Panelists Team Up To Roast Ketanji Brown Jackson

July 11, 2025
NATO To Foot Bill For Missile Shipments To Ukraine

NATO To Foot Bill For Missile Shipments To Ukraine

July 11, 2025
Dems Appear Confused Over Raid At Marijuana Farm Run By Illegal Migrant Children

Dems Appear Confused Over Raid At Marijuana Farm Run By Illegal Migrant Children

July 11, 2025
Trump Raises Tariffs On Canada, Threatens More Over Fentanyl Crisis

Trump Raises Tariffs On Canada, Threatens More Over Fentanyl Crisis

July 11, 2025
‘Perverting Perception To Distort Reality’: Chris Cuomo Rips NYT Over New Iran Strike Headline

‘Perverting Perception To Distort Reality’: Chris Cuomo Rips NYT Over New Iran Strike Headline

July 11, 2025
Trump’s Exec Order Isn’t Stopping Blue State From Radicalizing Kids

Trump’s Exec Order Isn’t Stopping Blue State From Radicalizing Kids

July 11, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Friday, July 11, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Arrests Made in Case of 96-Year-Old Woman Killed While Preparing to Bake Cookies in Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot

by Western Journal
March 9, 2024 at 5:48 pm
in News
250 2
0
Top left, 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts of Montecito, California, was the victim of a murder-for-hire plot, according to authorities, top right. From bottom left, three suspects in the case are Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, Pauline Macareno, 48, and Henry Rostomyan, 33.

Top left, 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts of Montecito, California, was the victim of a murder-for-hire plot, according to authorities, top right. From bottom left, three suspects in the case are Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, Pauline Macareno, 48, and Henry Rostomyan, 33. (@OfficialUScrime / X)

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When a 96-year-old California woman was killed in 2022 as she prepared to bake cookies, police thought they were just hunting for a killer.

On Thursday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown announced multiple arrests that have been made as part of “a tangled evil web of financial exploitation against the victim,” according to KTLA-TV.

Henry Rostomyan, 33, of Tujunga, and Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, have been arrested on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Harry Basmadjian, 58, of Van Nuys, was in federal custody at the time of his arrest on an unrelated charge. Before being arrested in the slaying of the 96-year-old woman — Violet Evelyn Alberts of Montecito — Basmadjian suffered a medical emergency in federal custody and is “incapacitated,” Brown said, according to the Times.

Police say 48-year-old Pauline Macareno, who already has been convicted of fraud in connection with the slaying, also has been linked to the killing.

Police said that when they responded to the scene to find Alberts strangled in her bed, the victim had the ingredients for cookies laid out on her table, according to KTLA.

🚨96-year-old Violet Alberts was the victim of an elaborate murder-for-hire plot in Montecito, Calif. The suspects were angered that she was taking too long to die on her own. She was found dead in her bed as she prepared to make cookies for her upcoming birthday. pic.twitter.com/FlAAhohZcK

— US-Crimes (@OfficialUScrime) March 9, 2024

Brown called the crime a “particularly heinous case of murder,” per the Times.

Police allege that Macareno was trying to swindle Alberts out of money and her home. As noted by KTLA, the Montecito house in which Alberts lived had a value of over $5 million.

Brown said even though a fraud scheme was in place, the conspirators were impatient.

“In the eyes of Pauline Macareno, Mrs. Alberts was living too long,” Brown said, according to the Times. “The assumption was that [Alberts] would die quickly, and then [Macareno] would have obtained this home through fraudulent means.”

“Macareno emerged as a central figure in the manipulation and deceitful targeting of 96-year-old Violet Alberts,” Brown said, per KTLA.

“In 2020, Macareno capitalized on Alberts’ vulnerability, engaging in financial elder abuse that ultimately led to the fraudulent acquisition of her property.”

Macareno is linked to a “murder-for-hire scheme,” Brown said, noting there appeared to be premeditation involved because surveyors were on Alberts’ land shortly before the day she died.

Video of a trip the suspects took near the victim’s house “shed light on the premeditated nature of the crime, underscoring the perpetrators’ calculated efforts to plan their vicious and reprehensible actions,” Brown said, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

Macareno is serving a six-year sentence for fraud-related charges involving Alberts.

Brown added a message to other criminals.

“To any individual civil or criminal enterprise that may be contemplating coming to Santa Barbara to commit crimes: If you come here, and if you target members of our community, no matter who they are, we will doggedly investigate the crimes that you commit,” he said.

“We will identify you, all of you. We will hunt you down. We will arrest you. We will jail you. We will build a comprehensive case against you. And we will bring you before the bar of justice, just as we have done in this case.”

_____________________________________________

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Tags: Californiacrimemurder
Share196Tweet123
Western Journal

Western Journal

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th