dr. arturo lizano-vincent is ann s psychiatrist. i thought that they must have been both psychotic. and in that case they feed off each other s manic moments? yes. shared craziness. shared craziness, yeah. i know that there is definitely something to the concept of the two of us having gone mad together. ann was also physically deteriorating. she says at times she was too weak to walk. during this time, ann flew to the u.s. on a trip for their gems business. she says they had been buying and stockpiling precious stones as an investment. while she was gone, ann received a startling e-mail from an angry and despondent john. he wrote, i wish i were [ bleep ] dead, i deserve to [ bleep ] die, i feel so utterly ill that there aren t even words. i haven t felt this bad in
was responsible for john s death. i was officially charged august 3rd of 2011. so that s almost two years? 20 months later. 20 months after john s death. ann then hired the attorney to take over her defense. translator: she wasn t satisfied with the attorneys that were representing her during that year and a half. ann had begun to question the honesty of waunl juan dedias alvarez, the man who had hired the attorneys. something was wrong, but i did not know exactly what. alvarez had played an important role in the benders realizing their dream, helping them acquire dozens of properties that make up the refuge. he is also the man they turned to when they decided to funnel most of their fortune, about $70
the retrial and it ends there yes. what do you want to do with the rest of your life? where do you go from here? i know what john wanted me to do with the refuge, and a lot of that will depend on the resources that are left. he wanted me to start helping people with mental illnesses and to create an aspect of the refuge that would allow for retreats for people with mental illnesses. what do you want for you? i want peace for john. because i know he s not at peace now. john bender s ashes are in an urn at what ann says was his favorite view, looking out from the refuge. a refuge she s trying to save, a paradise that will never be the same.
i did not shoot my husband. you can tell me right here and now you did not kill john? i did not shoot my husband. i tried to stop him. on january 14th, 2013, three years after john bender s death, in a courtroom in san ysidro, costa rica, ann bender went on trial, charged with murdering her husband. [ speaking in foreign language ] her lawyer asked about her claim that she saw john holding a gun to his head. [ speaking in foreign language ] [ question answered in foreign language ] on cross-examination, ann
devastated. he told me the day after, he said, the house has betrayed me. so this will be here for 200 years. paul myer has a tree farm next to the benders property. i remember ann very well, from the first meeting, beautiful woman, hair up in a ponytail. white tank top, tanned two-way radio on the hip. okay, i m living next to lara croft, tomb raider and investing legend. myers remembers his last get-together with the benders in 2009. six months before a bullet would end john s life. ann didn t look good. she looked pale, like she had lost weight. both of them seemed sad or depressed. the last six to eight weeks i was not eating, i was not drinking, i was not bathing, i wasn t doing anything to take care of myself. john began talking suicide. ann says she had to repeatedly take part in what she calls dress rehearsals.