Samantha Wohlford: YouTube Star Turned Murder Suspect | Prime Crime | A&E

in Prime Crime oh there are no stairs, do you know what they were hitting with the desperate search for a husband and father who did this and I think you're afraid and the investigation that leads to an unthinkable conclusion Chris Durant calls dispatch and it turns out that Hello Everyone, I'm Jesse Weber and welcome to Prime Crime. This is where we delve into the most notable and memorable True Crime cases, what

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ts as a terrifying home invasion and turns into. something completely different Todd is coming in what is your emergency I have a house warning my nieces tied up she is tied up she is tied up and dead it is February 20, 2015 in Titus County Texas Ginger Kesterson is on the phone with the police explaining that someone broke into your niece's house I'm untying her I can't understand the noise what's the victim's name uh Samantha Wolford according to Wolford she managed to free herself from her restraints and called her mother who then contacted Kesterson to come to the house during the attack, her five children were all asleep, however, as for her husband, the father of three of those children, Ernest Ernie Iberra Jr, is not in sight, only saying that her husband was hit in the face and that the police quickly arrive on the scene, so explain to me what happened.

I honestly don't know what happened. I was in bed sleeping well and we heard a noise and the moment I was able to open my eyes someone grabbed me, pulled me out of bed, threw me on the floor and

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ted tying me up. Upstairs they didn't recognize anything they had done, like no, come on, Boykin was covered. Home invasions are rare among average people due to the fact that there is a lot of risk involved, because when you enter a home invasion, you barge in with weapons, you are holding people at gunpoint, the situation can easily get out of control.

It was a very heartbreaking story and very dramatic when they dragged me downstairs because they had him downstairs and they were separating us. I went downstairs and discovered this place to play. Do you know what they were hitting him with at one point? Samantha says they brought her under her and put her in front of him while saying, how can you not appreciate what you have here? You have this beautiful woman here, but how could you not? I appreciate this, how could she treat her so badly that she was exposed and used to mock him while they continued to beat him?

Why would someone attack this couple and where exactly is Ernie? Let's take a step back after meeting at a tattoo shop in 2008. Samantha and Ernie began dating Samantha, already a mother of two, ends up having three more children with Ernie and the couple married in 2014. However, the Things between the two were not perfect. I don't think they had a very good relationship, it seemed. to me like he was doing everything he could to keep the family afloat financially he had two jobs she wasn't working so what was she doing? She always wanted to be an actress.

I think it's very funny, one of the most incredible. art forms ever being able to express yourself in that way Wolford spent her days posting numerous videos on her own YouTube channel when you first saw the YouTube videos you know it was more like she was nice and she was trying to do types of instructions . of videos Hello guys, today I am doing a makeup tutorial. It's the first one, so don't be too harsh. But as time went on, they saw her videos become much darker and much more complaining about her relationship, really putting her personal life at the forefront.

Street Hey YouTubers, today really pissed me off, so you guys can listen to it. Her father doesn't have much to do with this pregnancy and that sucks. I'm a little screwed when it comes to dating because I think I date losers. that Samantha had this perception that other people really cared about her life and she fed into that perception. I think this was a source of excitement for her and she wanted attention. The problem is that this really became this kind of tunnel vision for her. It was her only focus and her family was really abandoned.

What do you think of me making YouTube videos well? I guess I don't care. It takes a long time for this desire for Samantha to become a YouTube star or some kind of influence. It really started to impact the relationship between her and Ernie and Ernie felt a little forgotten I'm not going to light up a cigarette oh yeah I forgot about it because you have that iPad in your hands everywhere you're at least paying attention but only because A Hilarious Episode Is Coming Samantha sits down with the authorities and realizes who may be behind this attack.

I feel like there's something he hasn't been telling me, but I don't know what I shouldn't do. with this dab they would have to be familiar with the place to be able to do all that and know where they were sleeping. In February 2015, authorities in Titus County, Texas, are faced with a strange situation, a woman named Samantha Wolford explains that unknown masked intruders broke into her home, attacked her and her husband Ernie Iberra, and then kidnapped him. while their children slept upstairs. However, it is what Wolford remembers about the attackers' comments that provides a new clue: did she hear him say anything else besides what she told us?

It was then, yeah, okay, I considered that her father hit someone and had his man thrown behind bars and now they were getting revenge by taking someone away from him. Could Ernie's father somehow be involved in all of this? Wilford then tells the detectives that he thinks he just might be that his father has trouble getting involved in things that he doesn't need to get involved in, those are the exchange yards as authorities worked to verify this lead, they notice that some things They are wrong, although I don't really see it. for someone who was pistol-whipped, no, they all wear black shoes, no identifying marks, there's also the thing about Wolford being tied up, calling his mom, so instead of calling 9-1-1, yeah, You called your mother, how do you press 9-1? -1 with your face, well, what did you call your mother with your face?

I didn't call my mom, I just pressed the first thing that was there, it

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out she was my mom, well I think you know exactly who did this I think. the story is made up about, well, your dad, her dad and things like that, you know, I think you know exactly who did this and I think you're afraid that Samantha sees herself as an actress, but I think she exaggerates her own abilities . and the investigators really see through it the only other thing, okay, look, I knew it, you know, you know, Sam, you know, I'm not here lying to you, you know, I know the only other thing that I don't know, I don't even know, it HE.

Okay, I was in the hospital with my French father. Okay, she has a guy there and I swear to God I can't go there because I said some of this. It's okay, because they have a lot of friends around here. My life will be in a passive take you well, I have a problem talking to my friends about our problem and he is talking about how a man should not treat a woman that way and how you don't do those things to a person with the that he's going to deal with. situation I didn't take it seriously, okay, you say, sam, you know who did this, okay, who is this guy?

His name is Jordan, his Facebook is Rebel John Rebel as time went by his story began to change because reality is when you tell the truth. the truth doesn't change and when the details start to change that is definitely a sign to the authorities that there is more going on here and they need to dig deeper. What did you say when he said he was going to take care of that problem? I just laughed at him, I thought he was joking, so now all of a sudden why are you bringing it up? Because you know it was him.

I have a feeling that the next thing that would happen is to find out who this John Rebel is and also what happened to him. Ernie and them never told me why they just told me they were going to kill this guy. Evidence was found at the scene. It just doesn't match. I don't think you're going to hurt this guy, but I think you know who. It was in February 2015 and the young mother and YouTuber Samantha Wolford admits to the Texas police that she may know who is behind the kidnapping of her husband Ernie Iberra. She explains that one day she had complained about her marital problems to her friend's boyfriend, who cryptically said he was going to deal with the situation a statement that at the time Wolford said he did not take seriously as this man was now identified as Jonathan Sanford.

Jonathan Sanford had recently been released from prison for sexually abusing his cousin since high school he enjoyed, you know, extorting kids for lunch money, he's that kind of guy and he doesn't really apologize for anything he did, um, illegal, wrong, immoral, the police quickly arrest Sanford and his brother-in-law, José Antonio Ponce. Jonathan Sanford and José Ponce were arrested the next morning and were arrested. Because of the information Samantha eventually revealed to authorities, she had previously described there being three, so I think authorities believed there was at least one more person involved. Police also arrest Octavius ​​Lamar Rhymes, whom Sanford recruited for the attack on Ernie Octavius.

Rhymes was from the nearby city of Pittsburgh, he had been in the military, he was doing drugs, methamphetamine specifically, he wasn't doing anything productive and that's what put him in this situation pretty quickly after the sheriff's department stopped and arrested José Ponce and Jonathan. Sanford those two individuals spoke Sanford decides to open up to the police and explains how and why they attacked Ernie talking about her relationship with me trying to talk to her and help her and all that because she seems like a good person to me and she was explaining to me how she treats children and all that, if I ever see it or if I'm around or if I ever see her like that and life in the hospital I'll put you down and make sure you can't get back up, it's almost like her attitude was good, You got me, so I'll make it clear to you.

Sanford says that after kidnapping Iberra they took him to the woods and killed him, so Jonathan Sanford took the sheriff to where the body was. Sanford in Say and Rhymes. He had taken Ernie to a remote place, they accompanied Ernie through the forest. He was only in his underwear. They beat him to the point that he's just moving. I actually don't think you'll hear anything else. Jonathan Sanford had told us. that his plan initially was to shoot Ernie and then he decided not to, that he would slit his throat and then before he had a chance to do so, Ponce shot him, he definitely did right what we have to do now, oh yeah, John Sanford He said that, uh, he.

He didn't expect Ponce to do that? He picked up Ernie, saw that he was dead, and said something to the effect that the game was over, and then they left. Ernie Ibera is found dead and the

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ers are arrested. You might think that the case is closed, no. You know, going through your phone records from the last few months. Anyone involved in this is connected to your phone. No, are you sure about that? Yes, when we return I need to know the truth. Did you have anything to do with the parents' disappearance? has something to do with this day not in 2015 Texas investigators make a chilling discovery in the woods the body of Ernie Iberra a young man who was kidnapped after a report of a home invasion police arrest three

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s Jonathan Sanford Octavius ​​​​Rhymes and Jose Ponce Sanford would eventually confess and lead police to the body he carried to his wife.

Samantha Wolford, an aspiring YouTube star and mother of five, says that despite her marital problems with Ibera she was not involved, although she admits that had complained about Iberra to Sanford, who by all accounts became angry with how Iberra treated her and her children is still the whole story is not even close, yes, authorities note that the scene of the home invasion is suspicious , no items were taken, the children were asleep the entire time, and the fact that immediately after undoing their restraints, Samantha called. her mother first, not 9-1-1. I think Samantha wanted extra eyes.

I think she wanted people to be able to corroborate her story. Until then, it could have happened as she said. Officers who arrived at the scene did not have any detailed information. Understanding how fragile the ribbons she was tied with were and she didn't have the information about how she got her phone and how she was making phone calls, where did she get that? Well we have to find a free phone the phone will be ours for a while things just don't fit your story it's the data on the phone that would reveal so much let's go back to the body camera footage from the night of the home invasion so he has his phone, that's what I'm talking about hey, okay, this is what we have to do, I need to make an emergency, uh, phone pain, and I have the cell phone number that Chris Durant calls, uh , office and when he does that, she asks if he can call or text her.

Mom, yes, Verizon gave us text messages from Octavius ​​Rhymes, a phone that showed some back and forth between Samantha's phone and Octavius' phone. We had messages from her to the co-defendants to try to help them evadelaw enforcement, so the first one was in 2 30 I'm comparing the timestamp on Durant's body camera and she asks him if he can call his mom or text her. At that time, he sent Octavius ​​Rhyme a text saying, generally, kill Dave's phone, turn off that day, it's a nickname that Ernie Iberra passed on, they're trying to do it right now, so it's that far , uh, they haven't heard back yet, then there was a second message, she hears over the radio something about an address in Pittsburgh, you know someone when he turns around, she's picking her up. phone at that time sent another text message to Octavius ​​Rhymes that said: get rid of phone movement and phone records.

She then showed a 30-second call between her and Octavius ​​Rhymes just immediately after the text messages showed very clearly that she was The Mastermind, who was planning this, this was no accident, she was an equal partner in all of this, not the innocent victim. who she claimed to be, she may have been frustrated with her life, you know, obviously, 24-year-old mother, five kids, money is a policeman, it was a constant struggle, you know, her husband had several part-time jobs. I've made a lot of people quit. Honestly, it's hard, it's really Samantha had this twisted way of thinking, this twisted state of mind, that this was going to be the way she was going to get out of her relationship with Ernie, the question is whether her plan was successful. . and she didn't get caught, then she would certainly be the YouTube star that she always wanted to be, this would get a lot of attention from her and she could play the victim and I think that's what she wanted.

Sanford and Ponce pleaded guilty to kidnapping and

murder

. Ernie Iberra and each were sentenced to 50 years in prison. Rhymes went to trial in two different counties, but she was convicted in both cases and ultimately received a combined 98-year prison sentence. In Wolford's case, she also had two trials. First we tried to kidnap what she was. what you are trying to do is distance yourself from the text messages the position you took the testimony you gave was that you had been prescribed Ambien for sleep problems and that you had taken an Ambien and you didn't really remember anything that happened and you don't remember sending messages of text to the jury.

I just didn't believe it and she was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to 50 years. A few months later we tried her for the murder case in Camp County and that jury gave her 99 years when the jury sees, you know, the still shots of the body can handle the same thing with her on her phone at the same time as the records phone calls show that she sent text messages to people you know who killed her husband, that is strong evidence that The jury appreciates it while Wolford appealed her cases, her attempts were unsuccessful and it looks like she will spend the rest of her life behind bars.

I can keep an eye on someone quickly if they've messed with me. Otherwise, I'm very friendly. I love people I like. People love me very well, but don't be angry, maybe that can be very bad, you know, sometimes you can't invent these things even as much as you want. For Samantha Wolford, she was looking for all the fame. and attention in the world and she definitely had her moment in the spotlight, but not how she imagined or wanted, that's all we have for you here at Prime Crime, leave us your comments on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag Prime

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As always, thank you for joining us. and until next time take care thank you