Naman Shrestha
The episode titled ‘Bethany Vanished’ of Dateline NBC takes us right in the middle of the disappearance and murder case of Bethany Decker. The 21-year-old was not only a single mother to a toddler named Kai at the time, but also 3 months pregnant. It chronicles how her then-boyfriend, Ronald Roldan, killed her in January 2011 in her Ashburn, Virginia, apartment and the decade-long investigation that followed.
Ronald Roldan and Bethany Decker’s Relationship Was Allegedly Abusive
Born in the early 1980s, Ronald Roldan is a Bolivian national who moved to the States when he was 11 years old. He met Bethany Decker when he started serving as a waiter at the same place where she worked, and by then, he was a father to at least four children from three different women. According to records, Bethany was estranged from her husband when she and Ronald became friends in 2010. Therefore, the two reportedly helped each other look after their kids whenever needed, which led them to grow even closer over time.
When one of Ronald’s children tragically passed away, supposedly of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Bethany was there for him through the tough time. This resulted in them growing closer and forming a relationship despite the fact that the former was married. However, as their relationship grew, Bethany allegedly learned that her new partner was controlling, manipulative, and abusive, as a result of which even her parents often advised her to leave him. Although the relationship had fizzled out, as per records, Ronald refused to get out of her apartment. After her parents changed her phone number, he ended up buying her a new phone altogether.
When Bethany went missing on January 29, 2011, a day after she had spent the evening with her estranged husband and her maternal grandparents, Ronald admitted to seeing her that afternoon, making him one of the last persons to see her. Soon after her disappearance, Ronald moved on and started seeing waitress April Snyder, whom he accused of cheating after he saw some text messages on her phone. Court papers revealed that in a fit of rage, he spat on her face, threw her belongings onto the front lawn, grabbed her arm, and pushed her down the stairs. He was charged for this conduct, but he paid $2,500 in compensation and got the charges dropped.
Ronald Roldan Was Arrested in the mid-2010s For Assaulting a New Girlfriend
When the ship with April sailed, Ronald got into a relationship with mother-of-three Vickey Willoughby, both of whom worked together at Malones Restaurant in Manassas, Virginia. After they started living together, she asked him about his involvement in Bethany’s disappearance, only for him to grow angry and defensive. As the days passed, he allegedly became more controlling towards her before straight out threatening to hurt her. When she decided to quit her job and move to a house in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in hopes of escaping, he found a way to follow her. In the end, within a few weeks of the move, Ronald reportedly became physically abusive as he had allegedly started having some dark, violent flashbacks.
One particular night in November 2014, Ronald and Vickey got into a nearly deadly gunfight inside the North Carolina home she owned and shared with her boyfriend. They got into an argument after she refused to become intimate with him, leading to a physical altercation that terrified Vickey. She thus grabbed the gun she kept for self-protection and fired at him twice, injuring him right above his heart and on his gut. Instead of slowing him down, it enraged him further, so much so that he emptied the remaining bullets from the chamber, aiming at her. He hit her once in the arm and once in the head, as a result of which Vickey lost her right eye, was diagnosed with severe brain injury, and was in the ICU for five days.
A couple of years after this incident, in January 2016, Ronald pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon and then attempted murder, but he pleaded in exchange for the minimum sentence – 6 years in prison, after which he would be deported to Bolivia. A few years later, in November 2020, the 40-year-old was charged with abduction by force or intimidation in connection with Bethany’s case.
Thanks to further evidence, it was clear he was involved, even though her remains have never been recovered. He was later handed down a sentence for murder, so he pleaded to the lesser count of second-degree murder. He also confessed that they had gotten into an argument. When he pushed her, he claimed, she hit her head on the windowsill in their home. When he checked for signs of life, he got really scared when he couldn’t find any. Instead of doing the right thing and calling 911, he decided to put her body into a Christmas tree disposal bag and dispose of her body in the trash compactor at their complex.
Ronald Roldan is Incarcerated in a State Prison Today
A couple of years after his arrest, Ronald Roldan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder concerning the disappearance and death case of Bethany Decker. Several months later, on February 21, 2023, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison in a Leesburg courtroom, with 12 and a half years of his sentence suspended as part of a plea deal. According to the deal, he later also went on record explaining how the murder took place. At one point, it was also agreed that if he committed another crime or violated other conditions, including refraining from contact with his victim’s family members, he would serve the full sentence. With a scheduled release date of November 24, 2031, he is currently being held at Greensville Correctional Center, a prison facility located at 901 Corrections Way in Jarratt, Virginia. When released from prison, he will immediately be taken in by ICE and deported to his home country of Bolivia.
Read More: Emile Decker: Where is Bethany Decker’s Ex-Husband Now?
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