Archives: Did Alexandria Duval Murder Her Twin Sister?

Jillian Jalali (0:00)

Hey, it's Jillian. One of my favorite things about doing this show is hearing from you. And one question I get asked is, which episode should I go back and listen to? So we're making it easy. Every other week, we're re-releasing a fan favorite, an episode from the Archive that listeners keep coming back to. This is one of them. Enjoy. It was Sunday, May 29th, 2016, and patrol officers in Hana, a small town located at the eastern end of Maui in Hawaii, were responding to an emergency call that came in at 4:41 p.m. A white SUV had been traveling south on Hana Highway when it collided into a wall and went over the cliff. When officers Ian Custer and Chase Bell arrived, they made their way down the terrain to the SUV at the bottom of the cliff. It had been a 115-foot fall, and the SUV was in bad shape. The rear was smashed and all airbags had been deployed. It was lying on top of lava rack surrounded by water. Officer Custer could see the drivers still inside the vehicle, but he wasn't able to open the door to get to her. The SUV was still running, and the smell of gasoline was quickly filling the air. Officer Bell went to the rear passenger side where the door was missing. He saw the passenger who appeared to have been thrown into the back seat and checked for a pulse, but there was none. The driver was still in the driver's seat. Her legs appeared to be pinned against the steering column. She was alive and conscious. By that time, a rescue crew and fire department had arrived. They started asking the driver questions, like what her name was and her birthday. She responded that her name was Alex, and she gave them her birthday. August 23rd, 1978 They asked her who the passenger was, and she said her name was Anna Duval. Officer Bell assisted the fire department with extracting Anna's body from the vehicle. She had major head trauma, broken bones, and there was foam coming out of her mouth. They then removed the driver so she could be airlifted to the hospital. Officer Custer caught a whiff of alcohol as they put her on the stretcher.

Hi everyone, this is Jillian, and you are listening to Court Junkie, episode 48

The driver was Alexandria Duval, and the passenger was her identical twin sister, Anastasia Duval. Alexandria was airlifted to the Maui Memorial Medical Center while it was determined that Anastasia had died at the scene of the crash. Officers responded to the hospital to let Alexandria know that her sister hadn't made it. She was being treated for minor injuries. It appeared lucky that she hadn't suffered a worse fate. After they gave her the news about her sister and what had happened, Alexandria seemed to be in denial and kept saying, No, that can't be. But when the officers started asking her questions about how the crash had occurred, they noted that she became defensive and refused to answer them. She also refused to answer any questions about who the next of kin was, so the officers could notify them about Anastasia's death. But although Alexandria seemed unwilling to speak with them, some witnesses to the crash weren't. Numerous witnesses told police that they saw and heard the twins arguing right before the crash, and a couple of them even said that it got physical. They saw the passenger pulling the driver's hair. Investigators thoroughly examined the vehicle, and when they looked at the airbag control module, they noted that at the time the SUV crashed into the wall and went over the cliff, the steering wheel had made a hard left turn, and instead of breaking, the vehicle had actually accelerated, leading them to question, was the crash intentional?

Meanwhile, Alexandria was released from the hospital the next day. Her arm was in a sling, but her injuries were minor. Investigators learned that she had purchased a plane ticket to her home state of New York, and so they decided to act. On June 3rd, 2016, less than a week after the crash, investigators found Alexandria at the Seaside Hotel in Kahului. She was placed under arrest and charged with second-degree murder. The prosecutor cited the eyewitness accounts, the airbag module report, and roadway debris at the scene. But just days later, on June 8th, 2016, a judge dropped the charge against her, citing no probable cause.

The prosecutor, John Kim, told reporters afterwards that he was disappointed in the judge's decision, saying that he believed that there was enough probable cause to show that the crash had been intentional. He said they would have to see what other evidence they could find, after continuing with their investigation.