Death penalty declined in Panama slaying case

Federal prosecutors have announced they will not be seeking the death penalty against Brian Brimager, the former North County Marine charged in the slaying of his girlfriend on a Panamanian island.

The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as federal death penalty cases are extremely rare. The decision to pursue capital punishment is made at the very top, by the U.S. attorney general.

After an extensive review process, the federal death penalty was also declined earlier this year in a case against two alleged San Diego gang chiefs, Randy Graves and Terry Hollins, charged with racketeering and accused of everything from murder to sex trafficking.

Before that, prosecutors considered death in two other local cases, in 2006 and 2007, but the attorney general decided against it after much investigation.

The Brimager case is now headed for a trial in San Diego federal court that will likely take three to four weeks, starting March 28. Brimager is charged with foreign murder of a U.S. national in the death of Yvonne Baldelli. The couple had moved to Isla Carenero off Panama in 2011 to make a new start.

According to the charges, Brimager became abusive and had plans to rejoin the mother of his child in San Diego County. He is accused of killing Baldelli, dismembering her body and disposing of it. Her remains were found two years later in a green military-style duffel bag in a swamp.

Brimager is accused of posing as Baldelli in emails to her family indicating she had run off with another man to Costa Rica. In the meantime, Brimager had moved back to the North County and married his former girlfriend within weeks.

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