A yoga expert who was driving a car when it plunged 200 feet off a Maui cliff has been charged with murder in the death of her twin sister, who was in the passenger's seat. Alexandria Duval, who is also known as Alison Dadow, intentionally caused the death of her sister, Anastasia Duval, also known as Ann Dadow, prosecutors say. The 37-year-old sisters, who run a yoga business called Twin Power Yoga, were traveling south on Hana Highway on May 29 when their Ford Explorer crashed into a rock wall, plunging onto a rocky shoreline, police said. Anastasia Duval was pronounced dead at the scene. Her sister was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Court documents say the vehicle's air-bag control module shows the driver didn't attempt to brake before accelerating, making a hard left and crashing into a wall. Witnesses saw the two women arguing while the vehicle was stopped and said the passenger was pulling the driver's hair, Maui Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Emlyn Higa said. Then they saw the vehicle 'accelerate forward and then take a sharp left over the cliff,' he said.
Hana resident Margie Aumaier said she was surprised anyone survived the crash after seeing that the vehicle landed on its side. Emergency workers used her yard as a helicopter landing zone for the complicated rescue, she said. Alexandria Duval's defense attorney says she wasn't trying to harm herself or her beloved sister. But she was arrested on Friday because authorities found out she was trying to leave the state.
'We had information after she was discharged from the hospital she attempted to fly out of the jurisdiction Wednesday night,' Higa said, adding that she tried again Friday, prompting police to arrest her.
'All we know is she was trying to leave the state. We were afraid she would try to leave the country as well.'
She appeared in court on Monday with her arm in a sling, said her defense attorney, Todd Eddins. A judge ordered that she continue to be held without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
The identical twins changed their names after moving to Hawaii, Higa said. Their Hawaii driver's licenses are in their new names, bearing the same Haiku address, he said. They're originally from Florida, where they ran a successful yoga business, and moved to Hawaii in December from Utah, Eddins said.
'They were in the process of building a business plan and were aspiring to open up studios here,' he said. 'They had an extremely close bond.'
However, reports say the women closed their Florida studios abruptly and their time in Utah was fraught with financial and legal problems. The twins were well known in Palm Beach, driving around in matching Porsches and shopping on Worth Avenue, the Star Advertiser reports. They opened their first yoga studio in Palm Beach Gardens in 2008 and another in West Palm Beach in 2011. But they left the state after closing the studios with no notice in 2014, according to the newspaper, without paying employees or reimbursing customers. They resurfaced in Park City, Utah, and opened another studio – but filed for bankruptcy that year too. Both sisters have lengthy criminal records too.
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