Episode Three of Homicide: Los Angeles, titled “Murder at the Beach,” revolves around the murder of Teresa Boudreaux, a case that remained unsolved for 37 years. Her body was found at RAT Beach, and her husband, Ronnie Femmatt, was the first suspect. Imagine how tough that was for Ronnie, being accused for so long! But Ronnie wasn’t the murderer. Detective Ralph Hernandez reopened the case and finally solved it. He found new evidence and re-interviewed people which led to the real killer being arrested. This cleared Ronnie’s name after all those years. Episode Three shows us the long road to justice and how the truth can finally set someone free. But who was the real murderer? How did the detectives solve the crime? Let’s find out about it from this explainer of the third episode.
Why was Ronnie a suspect?
Murder at the Beach revolves around the tragic murder of Teresa Boudreaux, a 20-year-old woman found assaulted and murdered at RAT Beach in the Palos Verdes area on March 8th, 1980. A place like Palos Verdes was known for its safe community, where only wealthy people used to reside. So, having a crime take place there was a huge shock to everyone. Teresa’s dead body was discovered with her purse. It was the only clue for the detectives to identify her. Teresa was severely wounded, with her entire body covered in injuries, a deep wound on the back of her head, and her face almost unrecognizable. With very little evidence and no eyewitnesses, the investigation was tough from the beginning. Naturally, the first person the police interrogated was her husband, Ronnie Femmatt. Ronnie lived with Teresa and her four-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, whom he loved like his own. But their relationship was rocky; they fought a lot. Ronnie had a history of bad habits like drinking, drugging, and gambling. When Teresa got pregnant, she gave Ronnie an ultimatum, and he chose to be with her, so they got married. But the quarreling continued. On the night of the murder, Ronnie and Teresa went to a friend’s house to get drinks. As the night went on, Teresa wanted to go home, but Ronnie didn’t. After arguing, Teresa left as she was really angry with him, and Ronnie assumed she was going to her sister’s house to vent about him. He stayed back with his friends. The next morning, he got a call saying Teresa had been found dead at the beach. Given their troubled relationship, Ronnie was questioned and became a suspect. But since he was with his friends all night, he was ruled out. With no other evidence and no other suspect coming forward, people believed Ronnie was the murderer for years, even though he was innocent. He had to live with everyone accusing him of a crime he didn’t commit. It was a heavy burden for him to carry.
Why was the case reopened?
The case was reopened in 2013, 33 years after the murder, when Detective Ralph Hernandez took it on. From Ralph’s investigation, it was discovered that after leaving her sister’s house, Teresa wanted some time alone and went to the beach in the middle of the night. The beach was far from her sister’s house, so she must have hitchhiked. But no one knew who the stranger was who picked her up. In 2013, when Ronnie contacted Ralph with new information when the case reopened he mentioned that a woman had come forward with crucial details. She claimed that two Hispanic males had drugged her and assaulted her severely. They had mentioned dumping her in the same place they dumped “Terry”, and she thought it must be Teresa. She ran away from the scene and met with Ronnie and gave him this information. However, the names that they retrieved from Ronnie didn’t match the DNA profiling they had. So, they did another DNA test. Science had advanced a lot in those 33 years. Using evidence collected from Teresa’s body, they did a new DNA profiling, and a name came up – Robert Yniguez. They decided to interview him.
Was Robert Yniguez found guilty?
When Robert Yniguez’s name came up through the DNA evidence, Ralph Hernandez and his team did some digging into his past. They found out Robert had been to prison before for sexual assault. After serving his time, he was out but had to register as a sex offender on his birthday. The detectives knew they couldn’t just approach him out of the blue. They had to do it carefully. So, they waited for four months until his birthday when he was due to register at the police station. When Robert showed up at the Harbor Station, Ralph, the chief investigator, approached him. Ralph started by asking him nicely about his previous crimes to make him feel comfortable. Robert talked about how he did those terrible things and said that he forced himself on the victims until they gave in like it wasn’t completely his fault. At least, that’s what he seemed to believe. Then Ralph showed him Teresa’s picture. Robert was visibly shocked. He started stammering, his breathing got faster, and it looked like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. But he claimed he didn’t know her and wasn’t at any Palos Verdes beach in 1980. Ralph suggested that Robert cooperate by giving a DNA sample, and despite his nervousness, Robert agreed. The DNA sample matched perfectly with the DNA collected from Teresa’s body. After matching Robert Yniguez’s DNA to the crime scene, the police decided to dig even deeper. They reached out to one of Robert’s previous victims. She shared some critical information: when Robert assaulted her, he threatened to kill her if she didn’t give in, so she did. This made the detectives think that maybe when Robert made the same threat to Teresa, she didn’t back down and fought back. This could be why she met such a terrible fate, being killed by Robert.
This piece of information helped the detectives understand Robert’s MO and gave them more insight into what might have happened to Teresa. They were now even more confident that they had the right person and were ready to bring justice for Teresa after all those years. Armed with this evidence, the detectives went to confront Robert at his house. In front of his wife, Robert kept denying everything and said he wasn’t there and had no connection to the case. But his continuous denial and avoidance of eye contact made it clear he was lying. When Ralph and another officer, John, asked Robert if he would believe his own lies if he were a police officer, Robert surprisingly said no, he wouldn’t have believed those lies. With enough evidence in hand, the detectives knew they could prove in court that Robert was guilty. And yes, he was found guilty at last. He was sentenced to 15 years to life without parole. The most touching part was seeing Ronnie finally breathe a sigh of relief after all these years. It’s a moment that will definitely bring tears to your eyes. Justice was served not only for Teresa but also for Ronnie. After carrying the burden of being wrongly accused for so long, he finally got the closure he deserved. Honestly, Ralph did it all for Ronnie. He even called a press conference on Ronnie’s behalf to let the world know that Ronnie was innocent. You could see how incredibly grateful Ronnie was to Ralph. It was a powerful moment of redemption and justice.
