Snapped on Oxygen: Where are Rosalina Edmondson and Richard Manthie now?
Rosalina Edmondson was a Filipino who married multiple men in the US in the late 1970s and early 80s to secure a place in the country. Her journey, however, ended when she was found guilty of the murder of her third husband, Bill Edmondson, a US Navy serviceman. The strange part was that she tricked her former husband, Richard Manthi, who has a history of violence, into committing the crime.
Both Edmondson and Manthie were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and are currently serving time at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor and at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, respectively, both located in Washington.
An upcoming episode of Snapped on Oxygen will revisit the decades-old murder case of Bill Edmondson from 1981. The episode, titled (after his wife and mastermind behind the killing) Rosalina Edmondson, will air on the channel this Friday, February 3, 2023, at 8 pm ET.
The synopsis states:
"As investigators search for the vicious killer of a Navy yeoman in Kitsap, Washington, they come across the troubling realization that the victim may have expected his own demise."
Rosalina Edmondson's husband US Navy serviceman Bill Edmondson's body was found in a wooded area in late December 1981
Bill Edmondson's body was discovered on December 29, 1981, lying face down in a puddle in the middle of a remote wooded area of Kitsap County. He was shot four times in the head with .22 caliber bullets, and his body showed signs of a vicious assault, given that his nose was completely shattered all over his face, his eyes were swollen shut, lips were cut, and his teeth were broken.
The serviceman's chest was "stomped in" with cowboy boots, which broke his ribs, ruptured his liver and spleen, bruised his heart, and broke his sternum. A detailed examination further revealed that injuries to his body had been inflicted after his death. Moreover, reports stated that his body was discovered days after he was murdered.
According to reports, Bill Edmondson was last seen alive on December 21, departing with his wife, Rosalina Edmondson, from their newly purchased home near Lake William Symington, Washington. He then failed to show up for work the following day, and his body was only found days later after authorities received a call reporting a dead body in the woods.
Bill's wife, Rosalina Edmondson, and her former husband, Richard Manthie, were implicated in the vicious murder
Initially, Rosalina Edmondson told authorities that her husband's co-worker, Michael Cogswell, may have committed the crime, while also implying that her husband was a drug abuser.
But Cogswell adamantly refuted the accusation and maintained that Bill never used drugs. He also revealed that the victim was last seen alive with his wife and brought up a previous incident in which Bill was forced to take some pills, which caused an allergic reaction and nearly killed him. The near-death experience occurred a week after he purchased a $150,000 life insurance policy.
Investigators subsequently discovered the victim's journal, in which he wrote about his fear that his wife might kill him some day. They also learned that Rosalina Edmondson had applied for her former husband Richard Manthie's release, claiming that she was still his wife, loaned him a car, and provided him with shelter in her home on Long Lake Road.
When the police caught up with Richard, they found incriminating evidence, including blood splatters all over the wall of Rosalina's house, where he was residing at the time. They also found Bill's hair and .22 caliber bullets in his car, and a pair of cowboy boots matched the wounds on Bill's chest.
Both Rosalina Edmondson and Richard Manthie were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
Richard Manthie was arrested and charged with murder on January 14, 1982. At his trial, a former cellmate testified that Manthie had talked extensively about the killing and how Rosalina Edmondson sent a case of beer the night of the murder, knowing he was violent when drunk.
A few hours later, she showed up at the house with Bill, which provoked Manthie, who then viciously attacked Bill, shattering his nose in the process. But things only got worse when Bill told Rosalina that he was going to remove her as a beneficiary from his insurance policy. She then told Manthie to "kill this son of a bitch or I will," who then shot him twice as they sat in the car.
The two then dumped Bill Edmondson's body in the woods, and Manthie shot him two more times and stomped on his chest to make sure the work was done.
Richard Manthie was then convicted of aggravated first-degree murder in June 1982, and given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Soon after, Rosalina Edmondson was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. She was found guilty in a March 1983 trial and received a similar sentence.
They are both currently serving time at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell and at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, respectively.
Learn more about the case on Oxygen's Snapped this Friday, February 3, 2023.
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