LOS ANGELES Authorities knew almost immediately that Orange County multimillionaire Peter Chadwick had run.
Back in 2012, he was arrested in his wifes killing and surrendered his passports. But as he awaited trial, he disappeared.
Investigators discovered several books in his home with advice about how someone could change their identity and live on the run. Chadwick also emptied millions from his bank accounts and took cash advances on his credit cards before he disappeared, police said.
It took four years, but police finally found Chadwick in Mexico and arrested him.
The search was long and frustrating, but was also aided by something novel: a podcast. Detective made the podcast to help generate new interest in the case, and officials said it did just that.
WHAT IS CHADWICK ACCUSED OF DOING?
Police allege that in October 2012, Chadwick strangled and drowned his wife 46-year-old Quee Choo Chadwick in the bathroom of their Newport Beach home, wrapped her body in a comforter and dumped her in a trash bin in San Diego County. The couple had been fighting over a possible divorce and related financial issues, police said.
The investigation began after a neighbor reported that the couples son had not been picked up after school. When police entered the home hours later, they found a broken vase and tiny droplets of blood in a bathroom. The homes safe had also been emptied, police said.
Early the next day, Chadwick called 911 from a gas station in San Diego County to report that his wife had been killed. Chadwick claimed that someone else killed his wife and forced him to load her body into a car and drive to the U.S.-Mexico border.
He later admitted to investigators that he made up the story, authorities said.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Chadwick had been unfaithful to his wife. In her closet, they found a list of topics Chadwick had allegedly searched for online, including escorts, a divorce attorney, abortion costs and, chillingly, how to inflict torture, police said.
Chadwick was released on $1 million bail shortly after his arrest in 2012 and agreed to live with his father in Santa Barbara as he awaited trial. He surrendered his British and U.S. passports, and showed up to hearings for roughly two years before authorities discovered he had vanished in January 2015.
WHAT DID HE ALLEGEDLY DO IN MEXICO?
When Chadwick first arrived in Mexico in 2015, he initially stayed at luxury resorts in various towns, authorities said. Eventually, those resorts began requiring identification that he couldnt provide, so he turned to more modest accommodations at motels and hostels.
Most recently, Chadwick had been staying at a residential duplex near Puebla, about 80 miles east of Mexico City. Chadwick used aliases including Paul Cook, Paul Craig and John Franklin while on the run and moved around frequently, doing odd jobs to supplement the wad of cash he brought with him when he fled the United States, police said.
Last year, Newport Beach police released the true-crime podcast Countdown to Capture, and announced a reward that investigators hoped would drum up interest in the case and lead to Chadwicks arrest. Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis said at a news conference on Tuesday that the podcast, along with good old-fashioned police work following a tip led to Chadwicks capture. The exact nature of the tip was unclear, including whether it came from someone who listened to the podcast.
Its our belief that we put pressure on Peter, which was something that we wanted to do, Lewis said.
Today is sweet: We apprehended a fugitive on Americas most wanted list. But lets not forget, its bitter, said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. Theres a victim a lovely lady married for 21 years with three kids who was murdered by her husband, who then mercilessly wrapped her up in a blanket and discarded her body in a dumpster.
