Why Caroline Herrling Was Convicted of Fraud, Not Murder

Watching the final episode of Netflix’s Worst Neighbor Ever felt like watching a crime movie that skipped its biggest legal question. Caroline Herrling and her co-conspirators concealed and destroyed Charles Wilding’s remains, yet Herrling pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, not murder.

The public record points to a problem with the available evidence. Investigators proved the forged documents, stolen property and financial transfers. They could not determine how Wilding died or publicly connect Herrling to an act that caused his death. The Justice Department has not released a full explanation of every possible charge that prosecutors considered.

Why the Case Focused on Wire Fraud

Charles Wilding died at his Sherman Oaks home around September 2020. The Justice Department says investigators remain uncertain about how he died. They believe Herrling and others took control of the property while his body decomposed inside the house.

Instead of reporting the death, the group continued taking Wilding’s property and assets. Herrling used a forged power-of-attorney form to pretend she had permission to act for him. She was also listed as the trustee of a family trust that investigators found was forged.

Herrling told police that Wilding had moved away, even though he was already dead. Once she learned that police were investigating his disappearance, prosecutors say she and her co-conspirators moved his body to her apartment. They tried to dissolve it with chemicals, dismembered the remains and transported them to the Bay Area. Another member of the group helped dispose of the remains in San Francisco Bay.

Keeping Wilding’s death hidden allowed the group to continue acting as if he had approved the transfer of his money, home and other assets.

The case also covered other victims. Federal officials calculated the total loss at $3,887,051. Herrling pleaded guilty in March 2023 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In March 2024, she received 20 years in federal prison and was ordered to repay the same amount in restitution.

Court records and prosecutors attribute the concealment, attempted chemical destruction, dismemberment and disposal of Wilding’s remains to Herrling and her co-conspirators. Those facts affected the fraud case and her sentence, but they were not a confession to murder.

Why the Public Record Does Not Support a Murder Charge

Investigators never recovered Wilding’s remains, so there was no autopsy to establish how he died.

The death scene had also been changed. According to the federal prosecutor’s sentencing memo reported by the Los Angeles Times, parts of the bedroom were removed, including floorboards from the room where Wilding likely died. The prosecutor said Herrling’s actions made it impossible to examine the remains and the original scene for signs of murder or natural death.

That does not mean a missing body automatically prevents a murder case. The larger issue is the missing proof about the death itself.

Under California’s murder instructions, prosecutors would need to prove that the defendant committed an act that caused the death and acted with the required state of mind. Those points must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

In Wilding’s case, investigators could not publicly answer several basic questions:

• How did he die?

• Was his death caused by another person?

• Was Herrling present when it happened?

• Did any action by Herrling cause his death?

Matthew Jason Kroth, one of the co-conspirators, told investigators that he broke into Wilding’s home and found his body already decomposing. That was Kroth’s account in the criminal complaint, not a final finding about the cause of death.

Herrling’s defense attorney also told the sentencing judge that prosecutors had not accused her of causing Wilding’s death and had presented no evidence showing that she did. That was an argument made by her lawyer, not proof that she had no involvement. Still, it matches the Justice Department’s statement that investigators remain unsure how Wilding died.

So, Caroline Herrling was convicted of fraud because investigators had a clear trail of forged paperwork, stolen property, false statements and financial transactions.

Wilding’s death left no similar trail. The destruction of his remains and the changes made to his home removed evidence that could have shown how he died.

Herrling admitted guilt in the wire-fraud conspiracy. She did not confess to killing Charles Wilding. The fraud case is settled, but the most important question about his death remains unanswered.