The yoga teacher who drove her twin off the cliff

09 June 2016 - 09:11 By ©The Daily Telegraph

An American yoga entrepreneur was to appear in court in Hawaii yesterday charged with the murder of her identical twin after she drove their 4x4 over a cliff, smashing into rocks 61m below and killing her sister.Alison Dadow, 37, has insisted that she would never harm Ann, with whom she began a yoga business in Florida. She has pleaded not guilty to murder.But witnesses said that before the May 29 crash, the pair were seen arguing in the middle of the road. And, despite their glossy appearance, the twins' past might hold clues to a surprisingly troubled path.Early in the 2010s, the Dadow twins were yoga entrepreneurs, running their Twin Power Yoga business in West Palm Beach.Their business was popular and funded their lavish lifestyle. They drove Porsches and were dubbed "the terrible twins of yoga".But by 2014 it was all over. They disappeared, closing their shops.They reappeared in 2014, in Park City, Utah, and opened a similar yoga studio.But that didn't last long either.Ann filed for bankruptcy in Utah in December 2014. Then they disappeared again.A year later they turned up in Hawaii, having changed their names to Alexandria and Anastasia Duval.On the afternoon of the crash they were seen driving their Ford Explorer.Witness Lawrence Lau claimed to have seen the white car stopped in the middle of the highway. According to court documents, the passenger was pulling the driver's hair."You could tell that she was swearing at somebody else in the car," said Lau."She was mad. She floored it and was in a rage as she sped past us."Alison allegedly drove straight off the cliff.Alan Akina said he also saw the incident."They just sped up, drove right past our van and turned off the cliff," said Akina.Court documents reveal in-car monitors showed that the vehicle experienced a hard acceleration and no braking, even after it went over a wall and plummeted to the rocks.Ann was pronounced dead and Alison was taken to hospital. On Monday she was charged with murder for Ann's death and is in jail without bail.Todd Eddins, Alison's lawyer, said: "They were extremely close, even by identical twin standards."Alison did not try to harm herself or the person she most loved and was closest to in the world."..

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.