Kristin Werkhoven is speaking out about her marriage to Brian Brimager, a former Marine convicted of murdering and dismembering his girlfriend, Yvonne Baldelli. Brimager was sentenced to 26 years in prison for the crime, and Werkhoven has continued to support him, documenting their relationship on social media.
Brimager, who served in the Marines, had been in a relationship with Baldelli for two years and moved to Panama with her in September 2011. The couple reportedly had a tumultuous relationship, with neighbors reporting arguments and one witness claiming to have seen Baldelli with a black eye. Baldelli disappeared days before Thanksgiving in 2011, shortly after Brimager told her he was returning to the United States.
Werkhoven, Brimager's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his daughter, reconnected with him around the time of Baldelli's disappearance. Brimager, then 37, told Werkhoven he was returning to Southern California after a trip to Panama with military friends and asked to stay with her. They married on New Year's Eve in 2011.
Shortly after their marriage, FBI agents informed Werkhoven that Brimager had been living with Baldelli in Panama and that she had gone missing. Prosecutors believe that messages exchanged between Brimager and Werkhoven during his time in Panama, where he fathered a child with her, played a role in the confrontation that led to Baldelli's murder.
Baldelli's family became concerned when her communications home ceased around Thanksgiving 2011. After weeks of silence, they received a text message from an unknown number, purportedly from Brimager, asking to pick up his truck. When Baldelli's sister, Michelle Valenzuela, inquired about her sister's whereabouts, Brimager claimed they had broken up and he had returned to the U.S. alone. He sent further messages suggesting Baldelli had left for Costa Rica, which her family did not believe.
Investigators later found Baldelli's dismembered remains in a duffel bag hidden in jungle brush. Prosecutors stated that she had been stabbed to death with a machete and dismembered in a shower. Brimager sold the murder weapon on Facebook afterward, reportedly writing that he had "only used it to chop up one stripper." DNA evidence found on the machete's handle contributed to his conviction. Brimager pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 26-year sentence.
Despite the horrific nature of his crimes, Werkhoven has remained married to Brimager. She stated that she was initially angry but has come to believe he has transformed in prison, dedicating himself to his faith and becoming a mentor to other inmates. Werkhoven, who has around 50,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram under the name "The Real Inmates Wife," documents their relationship online and shares advice for partners of incarcerated individuals.
Brimager is scheduled for release in August 2035. Baldelli's family has expressed distress over Werkhoven's continued support and belief in Brimager's rehabilitation, with her stepmother Lillian Faust stating, "He has taken so much from this family... Yvonne thought he was going to marry her and he disposed of her like trash, as if she meant nothing."