Suspects Arrested in ‘Murder-for-Hire’ of Elderly Woman in Montecito

In a press conference at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Headquarters on Thursday, Sheriff Bill Brown announced that several arrests have been made in what he described as a “murder-for-hire scheme” leading to the death of 96-year-old Montecito woman Violet Evelyn Alberts in 2022. 

Alberts was originally found dead at her Park Lane home on May 27, 2022, by her caretaker, who quickly contacted sheriff’s deputies. Detectives found evidence of foul play, including evidence that Alberts had been smothered in her sleep and a broken window in Alberts’s home, indicating a break-in. 

According to Brown, a subsequent autopsy performed by the Coroner’s Bureau confirmed that the matter of death was asphyxiation, and the homicide investigation began. 

Through the extensive and meticulous 22-month investigation, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives were able to determine that Alberts was the victim of financial elder abuse by Pauline Macareno, 48, of Porter Ranch, as well as discovering a premeditated conspiracy that resulted in Alberts’s murder. 

Macareno emerged in 2022 as a primary suspect in Alberts’s murder after her financial and elder abuse crimes were discovered by Alberts’s attorney at the time, Alfonso Arturo Flores. Macareno, according to Brown, “capitalized on Alberts’s vulnerability that ultimately led to the fraudulent acquisition of her [Alberts’s] property,” valued between $4 and $11 million at the time of her murder. 

According to investigators, Alberts was in a poor financial situation after she aged out of her savings and had been relying solely on Social Security. It was then, in 2020, that Macareno approached her with promises of a reverse mortgage. Instead, Macareno forged documents and took advantage of Alberts for her valuable property.

Macareno was arrested in June 2022 for fraud, elder abuse, and manipulation of legal document charges, yet the investigation had not reached its conclusion at that point. 

Crucial details surrounding the circumstances ultimately culminated in the arrests of three more individuals — 33-year-old Henry Rostomyan of Tujunga, 41-year-old Ricardo Martin Del Campo of Los Angeles, and 58-year-old Harry Basmadjian of Van Nuys — who are all implicated in the conspiracy of Alberts’s murder. 

Evidence of a “scouting trip” conducted by Martin Del Campo and Rostomyan on May 24, 2022, as well as neighborhood camera footage of a suspect’s car, were pivotal discoveries that, Sheriff Brown said, “shed light on the premeditated nature of the crime, underscoring the perpetrators calculated efforts to plan their vicious and reprehensible actions.”

Brown also stated that Albert’s property and age were what presumably motivated her murder. 

“Let me put it this way,” said Sheriff Brown. “In the eyes of Ms. Macareno, Miss Alberts was living too long.“

While Macareno is considered the mastermind behind the financial crimes, the three other men face charges ranging from murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation of murder.

Rostomyan and Basmadjian were arrested on January 2 and February 27, respectively, while Del Campo was arrested on March 5. Brown noted that when Sheriff’s deputies attempted to place Del Campo under arrest, he and an associate fled and discarded firearms that were later found by deputies. Del Campo’s firearm was later “determined to be a Glock semi-automatic pistol that had been illegally modified,” essentially turning it into a pistol with a 30-round magazine that functioned like a machine gun. 

Macareno was recently sentenced to six years in state prison for her crimes in the matter, though authorities said she is facing additional charges that were not revealed during the press conference. Del Campo and Rostomyan remain in custody without bail on charges of murder and conspiracy at the Santa Barbara County Jail. 

However, Basmadjian, who was arrested while in federal custody in Los Angeles on an unrelated charge, remains under federal jurisdiction. According to Brown, Basmadjian suffered a life-threatening medical emergency while in federal custody that has left him “totally incapacitated and essentially brain-dead.”

Brown thanked the participating detectives, who were to his left and right during the press conference, and proudly said,  “In my 47th year in the law enforcement profession, this case is the finest example that I have ever seen.” 

He continued by calling it a “whodunit murder” that provided no upfront information, and instead relied on “the tenacious and unrelenting efforts of detectives.” 

When asked if there was a relationship between Macareno and the three men charged with murder-related charges, Brown responded that while he “couldn’t go there at this point,” that information will come as the case unfolds in court. 

Closing out the press conference, Brown further thanked the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department, Glendale Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Federal Marshals Service for their help in the investigation. 

He ended by offering a warning for those with intention to commit crimes in Santa Barbara County. 

“To any individual civil or criminal enterprise, that may be contemplating coming to Santa Barbara to commit crimes,” said Sheriff Brown. “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. 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.”

Sheriff’s detectives are still seeking additional information from the public to make the case even stronger and ask those with information to contact deputies at (805) 681-4150. For anonymous tips, visit https://www.sbsheriff.org/ or the anonymous tip line at (805) 681-4171.