- Alexandria Duval was found not guilty of killing twin sister Anastasia in 2016
- A judge found her not guilty after she opted for a judge instead of a jury
- Authorities said the sisters were involved in a hair-pulling fight over the steering wheel just moments before they crashed off a 200-foot cliff in Hawaii
By Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com and Associated Press
Published: 02:33 GMT, 2 February 2018 | Updated: 05:59 GMT, 2 February 2018
A woman accused of deliberately driving off a Hawaii cliff and killing her identical twin sister was acquitted of murder Thursday.
A judge found Alexandria Duval, 39, not guilty after a trial that started Monday. Duval opted to have a judge instead of a jury decide the case.
Authorities described the 2016 crash that killed Anastasia Duval as a hair-pulling fight over the steering wheel.
The sisters were seen arguing on the narrow, winding Hana Highway on the island of Maui before their SUV plunged 200 feet over a cliff.
Alexandria Duval (pictured in court on January 31, 2018), who was accused of deliberately driving off a Hawaii cliff and killing her twin sister, Anastasia Duval, has been acquitted of murder, a judge ruled on Thursday
Duval was seen wiping tears from her face as she stood to exit the courtroom on Thursday
Alexandria (right) was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty to killing her twin Anastasia (left) in 2016
The sisters were seen arguing on the narrow, winding Hana Highway on the island of Maui before their SUV (pictured) plunged 200 feet over a cliff
The crash was a tragic accident, Alexandria's defense attorney, Birney Bervar said in his opening statement.
Authorities said Alexandria was behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer when witnesses saw the sisters arguing on the perilously narrow, twisting route along a scenic stretch of coastline.
A witness cleaning a family gravesite on the highway shoulder told police that he heard a woman screaming in the vehicle and that the passenger was pulling the driver's hair and the steering wheel.
Anastasia was in the passenger seat and was killed, and her sister Alexandria Duval was arrested.
A judge later ordered Alexandria released after finding no probable cause for a murder charge.
She traveled to upstate New York and was arrested months later in Albany after a grand jury indicted her.
On Wednesday, it was revealed in court that Alexandria had dressed up in her dead sister's clothes and flirted with her boyfriend shortly after the fatal crash.
Anastasia's boyfriend Federico Bailey testified in court on Tuesday on the second day of the murder trial, revealing details of Alexandria's behavior in the days after the crash.
A judge later ordered Alexandria (left in June 2016 and right in November 2016) released after finding no probable cause for a murder charge. She traveled to upstate New York and was arrested months later in Albany after a grand jury indicted her
On Wednesday, it was revealed in court that Alexandria (pictured in November 2016) had dressed up in her dead sister's clothes and flirted with her boyfriend shortly after the fatal crash
'She began cuddling up on me, it seemed like she was flirting with me… she sat down beside me really close and lay her head on my shoulder,' Bailey said, according to the New York Post.
'She put on Anastasia's clothes. I started talking to her about what happened, she avoided answering any of my questions.
'When I saw her in Anastasia's dress it was disturbing. Anastasia had just worn that dress a few nights earlier.'
Bailey, who had been living with the twins, told the court he was on a camping trip with the sisters at the time.
He said the twins started arguing after Alexandria showed up unexpectedly on their trip.
Bailey told the court the two sisters drove off, still fighting, while he was in the bathroom.
The sisters, born Alison and Ann Dadow in the Utica, New York, area, operated popular yoga studios in Florida before they changed their names
They moved to Hawaii in 2015 from Utah. Anastasia is pictured left and Alexandria Duval is seen right
Witnesses also described seeing the women fighting and pulling each other's hair as they drove on the highway in the lead up to the crash. Alexandria did not testify.
Joseph Toleafoa, 17, said he saw the SUV stopped in the middle of the road with its hazard lights on.
'First they were arguing. It escalated,' he said, according to the Maui News.
He said he saw 'a lot of gestures, like they were going at it' and 'hair-pulling and punching'.
Toleafoa told the court that he heard the engine of the SUV rev before it 'sped up and then it jerked to the left' before plunging over the cliff.
Maui resident Chad Smith testified on Monday that while the women were passing him on the highway he could see them arguing.
Smith, who was headed to a church, said he couldn't hear anything but the women looked angry. He said he had to swerve out of their way.
'I'm disappointed,' Maui County Prosecuting Attorney J.D. Kim said after the verdict. 'The facts clearly show it was at least reckless behavior.'
The sisters, born Alison and Ann Dadow in the Utica, New York, area, operated popular yoga studios in Florida before they changed their names.
They moved to Hawaii in 2015 from Utah.
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