SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities in Santa Barbara County, California, have made multiple arrests in connection with a fraud scheme that tragically ended in the murder of a 96-year-old woman. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Pauline Macareno, 48; Harry Basmadjian, 58; Henry Rostomyan, 33; and Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, in connection with the murder of Violet Evelyn Alberts.
The murder of Alberts was determined to be part of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by a woman aiming to commit financial crimes against the elderly victim, as reported by KTLA. Alberts, 96, was found deceased in her home by a caretaker in Montecito, California. An autopsy revealed that Alberts died from asphyxiation, leading authorities to classify her death as a homicide.
Further investigation uncovered that Macareno had posed as a real estate agent to gain access to Alberts’ property and assets using forged documents, according to The Los Angeles Times. Sheriff Bill Brown revealed that Macareno initiated the murder plot after realizing that Alberts “was living too long.”
Authorities also arrested Rostomyan and MartinDelCampo in connection with the murder-for-hire scheme, while Basmadjian experienced a medical emergency while in federal custody, rendering him unable to be apprehended. Macareno, on the other hand, faced charges of elder abuse and fraud, resulting in a six-year prison sentence.
Acknowledging the collaborative efforts of various agencies in solving the case, Sheriff Brown expressed gratitude for the support and cooperation of allied agencies like the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department, and others. Brown commended the diligent work of Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office detectives for their relentless pursuit of truth and accountability in the tragic murder of Violet Alberts.