UPDATE JUNE 9: The second-degree murder charge against Alexandria Duval, formerly Alison Dadow, has been dropped. The judge said prosecutors did not present enough evidence, and ordered for her release, according to the Palm Beach Post.
A bizarre tragedy has led to a second-degree murder charge for one woman from Haiku, Hawaii, who prosecutors say intentionally drove off a cliff, killing her twin sister.
On May 29, 37-year-old Alexandria Duval, aka Alison Dadow, was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition after her car was reported by witnesses to have driven off a cliff in Maui—her sister, Anastasia Duval, aka Ann Dadow, was killed instantly in the crash.
Alison is now facing second-degree murder charges and has been denied bail after attempting to leave the island on June 1, according to a Palm Beach Post report. She was arrested before her second attempt to fly out of Kahului, and is deemed a flight risk.
Alison is expected to appear in court for a follow up hearing on June 8.
Witnesses said the twins had been arguing in the 2016 white Ford Explorer prior to the cliff plunge, according to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser report. The witnesses said the vehicle hit a rock wall then veered off a cliff, falling 200 feet down to a rocky shoreline.
In the days following the accident, it was reported that the women’s names were actually Alison and Ann Dadow, and it remains unclear when they made the name change to Alexandria and Anastasia Duval—or if their names were legally changed.
The twins were born in Utica, N.Y., and moved to Palm Beach, Fla., in 2008. They opened a couple of yoga studios before vanishing in 2014 and reappearing in Park City, Utah, according to the Advertiser. In the same year, the twins filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, claiming to be hundreds of thousands in debt.
Jose Lambiet, a gossip columnist who knew the twins, told the Advertiser that the girls’ criminal records both indicate a number of prior arrests in Florida, Utah, and North Carolina—he believes the pair made it to Hawaii in December 2015, but it remains unclear when they changed their names to Alexandria and Anastasia Duval. Lambiet referred to the pair as “slippery,” and believes they may have adopted “Duval” as their last name after the famous street in Key West, Fla.
Alison’s lawyer, Todd Eddins, told District Court Judge Blaine Kobayashi that “Alsion did not try to harm herself or the person she most loved and was closest to in the world.”
The lawyer also claimed the duo planned to open another yoga studio in Hawaii.