Worst Neighbor ever: What did Caroline Herrling do to Charles Wilding, and where is she now?
The 'outrageous' story of the steps one woman took to commit fraud needs to be seen to be believed
Viewers are absolutely gripped by Netflix's latest true crime docuseries, Worst Neighbor Ever.
The four-part show began airing on July 1, and follows in the footsteps of the streamer's hugely popular Worst Roommate Ever, and Worst Ex Ever.
Each episode is dedicated to a different dreadful neighbour, with episode 1 looking at the obsession Frances Zaayer had with her neighbours, and the harassment she carried out that ended in murder.
Episode 2 delves into the part Moncy Shirley played in destroying her neighbourhood, leaving a peaceful community traumatised.
After tuning in to the third episode, viewers have been left frustrated at how one family reported ongoing harassment and threats from their neighbour which weren't taken seriously enough by police. This ends with a father not there to see his new baby after he's murdered before his daughter is born.
For episode 4, the series deep dives the "outrageous" case of fraudster Caroline Herrling and the lengths she went to in order to con people out of money - we look at exactly what she did, and what happened to her after she was caught.
What did Caroline Herrling do?
Caroline 'Carrie' Herrling lived in a small apartment block in the upmarket area of Beverly Glen in Los Angeles. Her neighbours describe her as initially being the model neighbour.
She told those who lived in her building that she handled trusts, wills and probate for a living. In October 2021, police received a call from somebody asking them to look into the whereabouts of a man named Charles Wilding.
They claimed somebody was using his identity for financial gain, and that he was dead as a result of foul play. When they arrived to his home for a welfare check, Carrie was at the property with her "assistant."
Carrie said she'd been friends with Charles' mother, June, who had asked her to be trustee of the family estate because Charles wouldn't have understood the paperwork involved and needed an external person to control the finances for him.
Carrie claimed Charles was out of town when the police called. They wanted to check Charles definitely wasn't in the property before they left, and did find the home empty, but in a state of disarray.
Charles' parents had purchased the house, in a very wealthy area of Los Angeles, in the 60s, and he had lived there all his life. Although he was described as reclusive, none of his neighbours ever reported any issues with him.
The police still needed to speak with him to confirm he was alive and well, and spoke to a man claiming to be him on the phone. When they arrived at the address given by the person, the man who answered the door wasn't Charles, but told them Charles was there and "left suddenly."
Charles then becomes officially a missing person and investigators are now very suspicious.
Meanwhile, Carrie's neighbours no longer find her to be the perfect person next-door. She starts having loud parties, and bringing people into the building who appear suspicious.
One neighbour believes she is taking meth. Packages from the building start going missing, and the building dwellers believe Carrie is taking them.
When the police visit Carrie again to ask if she can call Charles in front of them, she leaves the room to look for her phone. They then see a receipt on the table for a new phone purchase - and the number matches the one the man claiming to be Charles called from.
The case was handed to fraud investigators, and it was found that documents relating to control of Charles' estate being handed to Carrie had been forged, and she was also spending money his money when she had no right to.
Meanwhile, Carrie entered into another fraudulent activity, moving to another area of the city to open a so-called sober living facility. Problems arose there that drew yet more police attention to her, including drug use, noise complaints and people passed out in the street outside.
When police arrived to investigate, they found the house littered with guns and other weapons, evidence of drug dealing, and drawers filled with police badges and other counterfeit items. There was also paperwork linking Caroline to fraud relating to other estates, not just Charles Wilding's.
It transpires Carrie had been working with "career criminal" Jason Kroth. The pair met through their drug use and entered into a relationship.
Jason had been in the area where Charles lived, looking for homes he could burgle. He'd entered Charles' home to take some jewellery and found him dead and very decomposed on the floor.
He claims Carrie and her assistant removed his body so they could maintain the pretence Charles was still alive and be able to access his bank accounts - they couldn't have done this if he was proclaimed dead.
Eventually, Carrie admitted to taking Charles' body to her Beverly Glen home and trying to dissolve it in an acid bath. When that didn't work, she broke up what was left with a hammer and dropped his remains in a bay in San Francisco.
If it weren't for a neighbour of Charles' becoming suspicious about his whereabouts, investigators in the documentary say Carrie would have gotten away with wat she did to him.
Where is Caroline Herrling now?
In March 2024, Caroline Herrling pleaded guilty to one count o conspiracy to commit wire fraud and sentenced to 20 years in prison, where she remains.
She was also ordered to pay $3.8 million in restitution to her victims. Jason Kroth was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, along with intent to distribute methamphetamine and given a sentence of 16 years and eight months.
Caroline's assistant was not charged in relation to the crime.
All episodes of Worst Neighbor Ever are currently streaming on Netflix.
