Ailing suspect to be extradited to Hawaii in theft case

| 15/06/2018 | 37 Comments

(CNS): An ailing 60-year-old local woman who absconded before she faced trial in Hawaii on theft and fraud charges is to be extradited to the United States after a magistrate ruled on Friday that there was no reason not to grant the request. Rosmarie Dellatore Bodden is accused of stealing some $70,000 from a 86-year-old woman in her care between 2006 and 2008 when she lived in Hawaii. Charged by the US authorities and due to stand trial in 2011, Bodden, who is also a US citizen, fled the Pacific US state using her Cayman passport well before the case was due to start.

Since Bodden absconded, the victim she accused of stealing from has died and the American authorities did not catch up with Bodden, who has changed her name a number of times, until last year, when an extradition request was filed. She was arrested last August by local law enforcement.

However, Bodden is suffering from an array of medical problems, including lupus, hypertension, thyroid problems and fibromyalgia, for which she takes around a dozen different medications. She has also been diagnosed with depression and adjustment disorder, which has been worsened by the stress of the impending extradition. The court heard how she has been talking increasingly of taking her own life.

Defence attorney Jonathan Hughes, who is representing Bodden, argued that his client was far too sick and frail to be extradited and she needed the support of her family and medical team because both her mental and physical health is deteriorating. He urged the court to balance the ailing woman’s health situation against allegations that are some ten years old and where the victim is deceased. Taking into account her poor physical and mental health, Hughes said it would be “unjust and oppressive” to extradite her.

But with information supplied to the court from the US Marshals Office and the department of public safety in Hawaii detailing the facilities and the medical expertise they can provide to Bodden if she was returned to face trial, the magistrate said there was nothing to suggest that Bodden would be less well cared for in custody in Hawaii.

The magistrate said that, given the quality of services in the US state, which are at least equal to, if not better than, those available to her here, there was no reason to believe it would be unjust to extradite the woman, given all of the other circumstances of the case.

The magistrate said it was important to consider the public interest and importance of respecting international treaty obligations as well as the seriousness of the crime when there was no justification not to return Bodden to face trial. She found that it was not unfair or oppressive as all of her medical needs would be met.

The extradition will not be immediate. The certificate will need to be signed by the governor and Bodden still has one route of appeal left at the supreme court in the UK.

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Comments (37)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Let her have her day in court.

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  2. Concerned Citizen says:

    Roy Borden, by commenting on this case, you have certainly tarnished your own reputation.
    US authorities do not charge suspects unless there is ample evidence.
    Perhaps you believe her story. Any father would given the love of a daughter.
    However love is blind and she could be telling you a story to cover her ass and use your political influence to save her own skin.
    If she is truly innocent, she will be exonerated as per the law.
    This story does nothing but damage the reputation of the Cayman Islands on a world stage
    given the negative press with so many other corruption scandals lately.
    Best for you not to attempt to influence the outcome.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    It will be good for her health to acknowledge the lives she destroyed, the death she accelerated, her own direct responsibility, and use her remaining time to plea for the forgiveness from the victim’s survivors. That there is still no contrition in all these years for what she did, and that there could be anyone in our community supporting that damage, are what make this kabuki so flabbergasting.

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    • Roy Bodden says:

      You self righteous people are so anxious to jump to conclusions without knowing the whole story and yes she is a Christian woman. I’m sure you will find fault with that too! The whole truth will be known soon. If you were frightened and all alone in a foreign country what would do?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Seek legal counsel and not make things worse for myself by fleeing the country.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Em its not a foreign country as she has US citizenship

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      • Anon. says:

        I don’t think most people commenting here are jumping to conclusions.
        Absconding is a crime.

        You said she is a Christian woman but she didn’t have faith that God would help her and not let her be wrongly persecuted.

        I very much doubt God told her to run.

        Unfortunately Mr. Bodden, you are already seen as biased despite your stellar career and recognition from the Queen.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What country was she scared??? She lived in Hawaii for years!! She lived in Florida for years…..so sorry Roy we all know she is your daughter, but right is right wrong is wrong…why did she flee before her trial date?

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  4. Roy Bodden says:

    My name is Roy Bodden and you people making evil comments about my daughter don’t know the whole story. She was framed by the daughter of the deceased. The daughter is the guilty party. My daughter has no property or anything here in Cayman. You self-righteous individuals are so quick to come to conclusions about a sick woman whose roots are here in Cayman! I am the Roy Bodden who was with Radio Cayman 1991-2003. In 1997 I was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Certificate and Medal of Honor. The charges against my daughter is a gross miscarriage of justice.

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    • Anonymous says:

      She fled trial rather than let due process decide that. She then tried to evade justice by using medical excuses. We are judging her on these facts that you choose to conveniently ignore in your post. Quite what your radio career has to do with anything is not readily apparent.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Mr. Roy, just because you were the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Certificate and Medal of Honor doesn’t mean your daughter is not guilty. There are many people in this world who commit crimes and their parents are good people…don’t think this one was your fault.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Charges against someone is not a gross miscarriage of justice. If she is found guilty of something that she didn’t do, or acquitted for something that she did, then that is a miscarriage of justice.

      Of course, there is also the right to appeal any decision, but being unwilling to face the evidence and respond to the charges is inexcusable in my mind.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’m not pre-judging anybody. I know nothing about the case, however she still needs to stand trial. If it is as you say, that will come out in the trial.

      Who you are, or what you represent means nothing.

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    • Anonymous says:

      There is no honour is fleeing and changing identities to elude recapture. Answer the charges and clear the family name.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Rosemarie was charged with forging 16 checks made out to herself from the victim’s First Hawaiian Bank account for amounts ranging from $600 to $2,750. The checks were presented from October 2006 to September 2008 and deposited into her own account at the same bank. The Maui County grand jury (looking at the evidence) indicted her on 22 charges, including first-degree identity theft, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. She also faces charges of two counts of first-degree theft, 16 counts of second-degree forgery, two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and second-degree theft. We should assume first degree bail jumping will be added to the list, which in this case would be an additional Class B felony. These are all very serious charges requiring evidence.

      Our Governor must sign off on sending her back to answer these charges for the good of Cayman Island’s reputation. Hopefully, if you’re right, she can clear her name, and counter sue Maui County for malicious prosecution.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Explain though if she was arrested in 2009 how did she leave Hawaii and come to Cayman to live?

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    • Gray Matter says:

      Then Roy Bodden… Explain to us why! She left the jurisdiction of Hawaii USA. With out going to court to clear her name. Also the different alias…

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    • Anon. says:

      With all due respect Mr. Bodden, I don’t know you but I guess by stating you previously worked for the Government and received some kind of recognition from the queen, you want us to know you are a man of integrity.

      However, do you know for a fact that your daughter was framed or is that what she told you?

      Her absconding and coming home to the Cayman Islands and continuing to live life like nothing happened is not a sign of someone with integrity.

      Why didn’t she stay and fight the charges, prove she was being framed as you say and clear her name?

      Running just makes her look guilty.

      I have children and I want to believe I have raised them with integrity and I want to believe that they are honest and would not lie but if any of them told me they were being framed and had run away, I would have encouraged them to go back and clear their name, did you?

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    • Anonymous says:

      I don’t know anything about this fray, but you had a great country music show on the air years ago. That is all.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What has you being the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Certificate and Medal of Honor have to do with anything?

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    • Anonymous says:

      If she was “framed”, I imagine upon realizing that checks from the deceased had been deposited into her bank accounts, she immediately returned the money to its rightful owner and alerted authorities, right? No? She kept the money and ran away? Good luck convincing the court of her innocence then. She deserves everything that is coming to her.

  5. Tim says:

    She must face the music as she DID break the law. If she didn’t go US court then caymanians think they are untouchable. British court won’t help either. You can run but you can’t hide.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Remember now, it’s a BOTC passport issued by the Cayman Islands, and she is from Cornwall !

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  7. Sandra says:

    How come she ended up here and undetected for so many years? How many like this lady is amongst us? When is every residence going to be finger printed? We need to clean house and know who is who.

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    • Roy Bodden says:

      She ended up here because this is her home.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Mr. Bodden, where I know and respect you, of course you are blinded by your child. If she didn’t do wrong, then why did she flee Hawaii after she was charged???? If the courts found her “forging cheques” was it the daughter who “forged the cheques”? I don’t think so. Again, if she didn’t do wrong then why did she flee Hawaii after she was charged?

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Sounds like a very manipulative person. It’s particularly hard to sympathise after reading the honolulu press article below by another poster.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Q. Why didn’t we send her back 10 years ago?!? We need to immediately send her back to face the music, and seize her home and any assets in favour of the victim’s heirs. The amount taken from the deceased victim and surviving family was possibly more than $120,000. It cleaned them out financially, they lost their home, and ability to support themselves. We can’t be shielding scum like this. Despite similar health protestations, she was well enough to flee trial, on a passport she was supposed to have surrendered – the court having identified her as a flight risk!

    http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Mar/14/br/hawaii303140016.html

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    • Anonymous says:

      Just to let you know. She hasn’t had any property here in cayman. The article was a he say she say by the daughter only. A private investigator was hired? That’s such bull. She sold her house here in 2003 to move to Maui. If she had stolen all this money so they say…her family wouldnt need to send money to help and also she wouldn’t be living in a low end apartment and wouldn’t have a crappie car which wasn’t insured or licensed.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    The quality of healthcare is many times confused with access to healthcare.
    Both here and in the us, the quality is to be considered excellent. The access though, to it, is fat far from optimal.
    You have to have a 1000 a month insurance or deep pockets.
    The majority of people have NO access to proper healthcare.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    stealing again??? cheez! well, if you cant do the time, dont do the crime….i rather starve than steal…?

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Shouldn’t have stolen if she didn’t want to face the penalties.

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  13. True blue says:

    Congratulations to the magistrate. This woman’s alleged crime was despicable and the fact it occurred 10 years ago and the victim has since died does not have any impact on the extradition.All these claimed medical conditions did not stop her stealing from an 86 year old woman, fleeing the U.S. and changing her name numerous times. Now she has to pay the piper.She should be aware that it is extremely rare for the British Courts to refuse a properly substantiated extradition warrant from the U.S.

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    • Concerned Citizen says:

      Having read the article shared by a CNS poster I have to agree with my fellow posters.This woman stole from an unsuspecting elderly and is using her illness to manipulate the system. She need to go and face the music. We need to set a precedent. She changed her name in the process of hiding. Her father got an MBE because he lived his life differently. He cannot swear for his daughter. The evidence has warranted her extradition. The stealing around our beloved Islands from our very own and nationalities living here has become incomprehensible.we each have our financial challenges but if we all get up and steal we would never really be in a Royal mess.

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