The Disappearance of Bethany Decker
For this case I watched an episode of Disappeared. It’s season 6 episode 2, titled ‘The Soldier’s Wife.’ I’ve also seen almost every other show about this case, and it’s so sad.
A 21 year old pregnant wife and mother goes missing.
Background
Bethany Decker
Bethany Decker was born on May 13, 1989. She attended school at George Mason University, and was still attending classes when she disappeared.
Bethany was described as a very happy person, someone who always had an upbeat personality and lit up the room. However, before she disappeared, her family said she seemed stressed out and was not acting like herself. Her family wasn’t too worried though, and thought maybe she was stressed about her marriage and school.
Marriage
When Bethany was a freshman, she met another student named Emile Decker. They fell in love, and got married in 2009 after 3 years of dating. Bethany got pregnant with their son Kye, soon after.
The couple soon became stressed with everyday life, especially when it came to their finances. Bethany got a job as a waitress at an Italian restaurant called Centreville, and Emile was training to be deployed to Afghanistan.
Before Emile left, the marriage started to fall apart. However, Emile was determined to make things work because he loved Bethany and he loved their son.
Bethany and Emile
The Disappearance
On January 28, 2011, Bethany went to visit her grandparents Evelyn and Ed, in Columbia, Maryland. Evelyn and Ed were interviewed in this episode and they said she was stressed out the whole night. Evelyn also kept asking Bethany what she wanted in life and Bethany didn’t know.
Emile also went to Ed and Evelyn’s that night, and joined them for dinner. Emile was also interviewed in this episode and he said that Bethany kept getting text messages throughout the whole night and seemed paranoid.
Ed and Evelyn invited the couple to spend the night, but Bethany said she needed to leave. Emile tried to stop her from leaving, but she said something bad would happen to her if she didn’t leave. This was the last time anyone would see or hear from Bethany.
A Few Weeks Later
On February 2, 2011, Emile had to return to his post. He was about to be shipped out to Afghanistan, and he was hoping Bethany would meet him at the airport, like she usually did. She didn’t show up or answer any messages. Emile tried calling her job, and they said Bethany hadn’t shown up for a week.
Emile was very suspicious and he called Bethany’s family to report his suspicions. Bethany’s family was concerned, but they said it wasn’t unlike Bethany to go weeks without talking to them or leaving their son with them. They weren’t concerned, and it wouldn’t be another several weeks until they filed a missing persons report.
They filed a report after Sara, Bethany’s friend, called and said she had received messages from “Bethany” on Facebook. Sara was interviewed and she said the person who was pretending to be Bethany wasn’t talking the way Bethany would talk. Sara also asked this person questions that only Bethany would know, and the person was either avoiding the questions or just not answering.
The police, especially Sgt. Jeff Brown, with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, was confused as to why Bethany wasn’t reported missing earlier, but they began their investigation right away.
Suspects
Obviously the first person that the police want to interview is the husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. So, Emile was the their first suspect. Emile was overseas, so he had to contact police through email. He said he had nothing to do with Bethany’s disappearance.
There was another suspect that the police found out about later on. Bethany had a live in boyfriend, a man named Ronald Roldan. Bethany had met Ronald at Centreville, and they became an item even before Emile left for Afghanistan.
Bethany’s family and friends also knew about Ronald, and they didn’t like him. Sara said Ronald was abusive, and Bethany would tell her many stories about how she was slammed into walls and screamed at. Bethany’s mom, Kim, said that Ronald would show up at her house and watch Bethany to make sure she was where she said she was. Emile also said once he found out about their relationship and that Bethany was missing, he knew Ronald had done something to Bethany.
Ronald Roldan
The police obtained a warrant for Ronald’s house, he moved out of Bethany’s apartment and was now living with his mom. The police took computers and cell phones, to see if Ronald had been the one to impersonate Bethany online. However, their search came up empty.
Ronald said he had seen Bethany the day after she had gone to her grandparents, and she had disappeared after she said she was going to work. So now Ronald was the last person to see Bethany, and they had to let him go because there was no evidence that he had done anything to her.
The police began an extensive search of a field behind Bethany’s apartment complex. Nothing was found, even after the search was extended.
By early August 2011, the police started calling hospitals to see if Bethany had gone in to have her baby. Nothing came of that either. Bethany’s cell phone records, bank records and passport were also untouched. Bethany was missing and the police had no leads.
Bethany and Ronald Roldan
Getting Some Answers
At the time that the Disappeared episode aired, they had no answers to what happened to Bethany, but Ronald Roldan wouldn’t stay out of trouble.
Ronald stayed in Virginia, and started dating another woman named Vickey. He went back to his old ways, and started abusing her. Vickey had been able to leave and move to North Carolina, but Ronald caught up to her.
One night Vickey pulled a gun out to defend herself, but Ronald was probably bigger and stronger, and he ended up shooting Vickey. She was shot three times, once in the head. She lost an eye, but she survived.
Ronald Roldan was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. In 2015, he was charged with the attempted murder of Vickey Willoughby.
In 2016, he was able to take a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to two charges of felony assault and was sentenced to six to eight years in prison.
In November 2020, the Loudon Sheriff’s office obtained a warrant for Ronald’s arrest for the disappearance of Bethany Decker. He still has not had a trial, and still has not given any answers as to what happened to Bethany and their unborn child.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case kind of reminds me of the Scott Peterson case. A pregnant wife, an affair and a twisted psychopath. Ronald 100% has no emotion and is probably dead inside. How could he hurt someone that he once had a relationship with and was carrying a child? It’s so sad!!! I hope one day he will give Bethany’s family and the police some answers.
One note, I still think it’s weird that Bethany’s family didn’t report her missing for several weeks. I guess I wouldn’t know how to handle it unless I was in their situation, but it’s still weird. The only person that was suspicious right away was Emile, and they didn’t even listen to him. This is no way means I think they had anything to do with it, it’s just a note I have.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Bethany_Decker
