Kriti Mehrotra
In early 2011, when 21-year-old Bethany Anne Littlejohn Decker disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a worried family, an estranged husband, a boyfriend, and a young son. As explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Bethany Vanished,’ what ensued was an extensive investigation that had local officials suspecting none other than her then-partner, Ronald Roldan, of murder. However, it wasn’t until late 2014 that they got a break as he was arrested for assaulting his new girlfriend, Vickey Willoughby, which played a key role in connecting him to the former case.
Vickey Willoughby Once Tried to Escape Her Relationship With Ronald Roldan
Born around the mid-1960s in Summit County, Ohio, Vickey Willoughby is a native of The Buckeye State and was doing her best to lead a good, stable life by the time the 2010s came around. She was a daughter, sister, aunt, and single mother, so her priorities were to be there for her loved ones in whatever way they needed, to care for them, and to help fulfill all their dreams. She was doing precisely that at age 48 in 2014 by serving as a full-time waitress at a steakhouse in Manassas, Northern Virginia, when she first came across Ronald Roldan at work.
Since Ronald was new and Vickey is deeply compassionate and naturally bubbly, they ended up having a good conversation that quickly developed into a great friendship. What the latter never expected was for their bond to evolve into a romance shortly thereafter, per the aforementioned original, yet she genuinely always believed they were just casual. According to the show, he was initially charming and kind. As they grew closer over time, Vickey alleged he became controlling, manipulative, threatening, and physically abusive.
Vickey later told officials he allegedly threatened her life and the lives of her children – stating “I will get your kids” – at the drop of a pin, which is why she was scared to report him. Yet, the 48-year-old knew she had to get away, so the moment she learned she could get possession of a house she had previously purchased in Pinehurst, North Carolina, she left. She never told him where she was going or why, in hopes of escaping the relationship for good, but, according to records, he found her within a few weeks and followed her there.
Vickey Willoughby Was Assaulted and Shot at the Hands of Ronald Roldan
Vickey and Ronald were living together in her North Carolina home in early November 2014 when everything came to a head in the middle of the night after she refused to get intimate with him. According to her own accounts, she was watching television in the living room when he came out and kicked the ottoman from under her before turning all her anger on her. According to Vickey’s account of the attack, he kicked her, dragged her around the room, punched her, and at one point even placed his knee right on her neck, all the while screaming, “Don’t get up. Don’t get up.”
Vickey had been in fear for her life for a while, so she had placed a revolver underneath the couch for protection. She thus did everything she could to reach there while enduring continuous blows to her head and without seeming suspicious. She ultimately managed to grab the weapon with her left hand twisted backward, resulting in pulling the trigger with her thumb. Despite the uncomfortable position, she hit him twice in the chest, only for him to subsequently wrestle the gun from her hands.
Ronald turned the revolver on Vickey and shot her twice before continuing to assault her with his bare hands when she tried to escape. She pleaded with him to call 911 for their injuries, but he refused to do that, leaving her no choice but to figure out a way to flee, which she soon managed to do. Since it was the middle of the night, she was barely conscious, and had her dog in tow, it took her a while to find an awake neighbor willing to help without pause. When officials arrived at the scene, they immediately rushed both Vickey and Ronald to a local hospital, but the latter was also placed under arrest for assault.
Vickey Willoughby is Trying Her Best to Move Forward in Life Today
Although Vickey had experienced severe trauma – he had bitten her, kicked her, punched her, ripped her clothes, shot her once in the arm, and shot her once in the head – she remembered everything. Therefore, she relayed everything to local officials and detectives from Virginia investigating Bethany’s 2011 case, while still in the hospital, because it was indeed very relevant. After all, among the events of the fateful night and a few other prior alleged incidents she could recall, she indicated her now ex-boyfriend was responsible for Bethany’s murder. She claimed he once told her he had made “one girlfriend disappear,” and allegedly implied “I can do it again.” Vickey stated she believed Ronald made that statement to scare her, noting he seemed extremely confident and behaved as though he had gotten away with murder.
In the end, he was charged with one count of attempted murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with his actions in 2014 in North Carolina. It was in May 2016 when he pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of felony assault in exchange for 6 years in prison, following which he was to be deported back to his homeland of Bolivia. Around 4 years later, in 2020, he was arrested in connection with Bethany’s murder, and he ended up pleading guilty to second-degree murder on November 17, 2022.
By that point in late 2022, Vickey had made some progress in her journey of survival, so she gave an interview and revealed that she feels relieved that justice is being served. She wasn’t happy with the minimum sentence that Ronald received in her case, but his re-arrest gave her some perspective as it helped her “realize that maybe God used me in this crazy way to make sure that Bethany got her peace.” As for her personal standing, since Vickey had broken her neck in two places, lost her right eye, and suffered traumatic brain injury from her assault, she experienced a lot of pain in the years to follow. She had to undergo outpatient rehabilitation, additional surgeries to regain motor function, and eye surgeries for reconstruction/prosthetics. The family woman thankfully had the unwavering support of her loved ones every step of the way, so we’re happy to report that she appears to be doing as well as she can today. From what we can tell, she has since gotten back on her own two feet, established a career in real estate, and now goes by Vickey Iarussi.
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