Netflix has already introduced us to exes and roommates we’d love to forget, and the streamer has expanded its portfolio of unusual characters with the first season of Worst Neighbor Ever.
As of July 7, the four-part series remains in the platform’s Top 10 and offers shocking true tales of explosions, harassment, and other more dastardly crimes.
Arguably the most shocking is the finale, “The Executor,” which details the case of Caroline Herrling. The California-based businesswoman initially seemed like an affable neighbor, but, in reality, helmed a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that involved a death cover-up.
Here’s what we know about Herrling’s case and life in prison today, as well as what happened to other key players.
Who Is Caroline Herrling?
Caroline Joanne Herrling lived in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She also went by alternate names Carrie Phenix and Caroline Phenix. Little has been made public about Herrling’s educational and professional background.
Bella Baskin, a neighbor in the same apartment building as Herrling, described her as “very smiley and cheery and very normal” with a “vibe of being business casual,” according to Oxygen.
However, Baskin claimed Herrling’s personality began to change around 2020. She stopped making eye contact and being friendly, and had dark circles under her eyes. She allegedly hosted loud parties and had a series of unusual visitors. In Worst Neighbor Ever, another neighbor, Ashley Lee, claims she overheard Herrling discuss keeping methamphetamine in her apartment.
Eventually, it would be discovered that Herrling was involved in an extensive scheme to illegally seize properties—through forged documents, identity theft, and the use of paid impostors—belonging to vulnerable victims. Herrling used online mapping and drove through neighborhoods looking for unkempt bushes and swimming pools—signs the owner might have been isolated or unable to maintain the location, according to A&E.
One of these instances, involving victim Charles Wilding, turned deadly.
What Happened to Charles Wilding?
Charles Howard Wilding Jr. lived his entire life at a home located at 3860 Kingswood Road in Sherman Oaks, California, according to court documents. His father died in the late 1960s, and he lived at the property with his mother until her death in 2017. Neighbors described Wilding as reclusive, and he never received company at the home.
In December 2020, a neighbor reported Wilding hadn’t been seen in three months, prompting a welfare check. After arriving at the residence, officers spoke with Herrling and an alleged assistant named Hadley Pelletier. Herrling identified herself as a trustee of Wilding, and said he was currently living in Carpenteria, California, while she worked to remove black mold from his house.
In reality, Wilding was dead. A coconspirator of Herrling, Matthew Jason Kroth, had burglarized the home in summer 2020, according to the Los Angeles Times. Returning months later, he discovered Wilding had died at the residence. Kroth provided Herrling and other coconspirators with Wilding’s personal information and mail so they could impersonate him and steal his assets.
According to a sentencing memo in Herrling’s case, she and coconspirators removed Wilding’s remains from the house and attempted to dissolve them in acid and lye on the rooftop of her apartment. When that was unsuccessful, they dismembered the body and crushed Wilding’s teeth and bones to make them more difficult to identify.
Kroth and Herrling were also part of a scheme to use forged documents to sell the home of another man, Robert Tascon, out from under him for $1.5 million in 2021. The following year, Tascon, who had a history of mental illness, died by suicide.
What Was Caroline Herrling Charged With?
Search warrants were executed at Herrling’s current and prior residences in January 2023, according to A&E. Investigators found stolen and counterfeit documents, Social Security cards, and more, as well as a computerized device that could regenerate signatures.
Only two months later, Herrling pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In March 2024, she was sentenced to 240 months (20 years) in prison and ordered to pay $3,887,051 in restitution. This total includes more than $1.7 million in assets she intended to steal from Wilding, as well as the approximately $1.5 million from the sale of Tascon’s home.
Where Is Caroline Herrling Now?
Herrling, now 46, is currently housed at Federal Medical Center Carswell, a facility in Fort Worth, Texas, with more than 1,200 inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Herrling has a predicted release date of March 3, 2039. Little is known about her daily life in custody.
Her coconspirator Kroth, who has been in federal custody since August 2023, was sentenced to 200 months (16 years, 8 months) in federal prison on February 5, 2026, and ordered to pay $1,947,051 in restitution.
Watch Worst Neighbor Ever on Netflix Now
You can discover even more details about Herrling and her case in the fourth episode of Worst Neighbor Ever, titled “The Executor.”
All four parts of the popular series are now streaming on Netflix.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
