Left: Derek Bollwinkel (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Right: Linda Baran (Dignity Memorial).
An Arizona man with a history of scamming people was arrested after his criminal tendencies allegedly became violent.
Derek Bollwinkel was arrested on June 2 after being brought back from Salt Lake City, Utah. He had left Arizona following the alleged murder of his former neighbor, 82-year-old Linda Baran, in February. Baran was discovered dead in her car on Feb. 11, with police believing she was shot while surrendering.
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Bollwinkel used to be Baran’s neighbor but was evicted three weeks before her death. Detectives noted that Baran was last seen alive on Feb. 9, and Bollwinkel had been pressuring her for money. Witnesses saw the suspect parking near Baran’s property on the day of the murder.
Baran’s family requested a welfare check, leading to the discovery of her body in the back seat of her car in the garage. Medical reports revealed she had been shot on her left side. It was concluded that she had her hands up in a surrendering position when the fatal shot was fired.
A neighbor saw Bollwinkel pull up at about 6:15 p.m. — he was then reportedly seen running away from the home and back to his van at about 7 p.m. He then drove away. Police said that cellphone data put Bollwinkel at the scene.
According to the court documents, Bollwinkel was then caught using Baran’s debit card at an ATM about 20 minutes after the alleged murder. He allegedly attempted to withdraw $10,000. He successfully withdrew $4,000.
According to KPHO, police did not provide details about how Bollwinkel was tracked down in Salt Lake City. The suspect was arrested when he arrived at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on $1 million cash bond. He was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Bollwinkle was previously sued for consumer fraud in connection with a housing scam he conducted along with his wife. He was later convicted and served prison time for forgery and criminal impersonation.
