Disturbing twist in glamorous LA divorcée’s killing – as boytoy lover’s trans secret ignites family

For all her family and friends knew, Carla Maribel Rodriguez’s much-younger mystery boyfriend was a ”sweetheart.”

But the 48-year-old was hiding a big secret that’s only been exposed by the shocking way her life ended, allegedly by multiple gunshots at the hands of the same man she’d been gushing like a teenager about.

Her alleged killer, arrested at the couple’s rented $2.4M Beverly Grove home Sunday, is Emily Emerald Vogdt, 27, a seemingly troubled, trans man who’d been bankrolling the couple’s flashy lifestyle.

Friends said Rodriguez gushed about her much-younger lover — calling him “the peanut butter to my jelly” as the pair lived a jet-set lifestyle. Facebook/Carla Maribel Rodriguez

Police had been called to the couple’s home on La Peer Avenue, near Third Street, Beverly Grove, just before 8:30 a.m. after reports of gunfire and found Rodriguez had been shot numerous times.

She would die a short time later in the hospital.

Her beloved dog, Prince, who she’d had immortalized on the wall as a portrait, was also allegedly shot dead.

Vogdt is being held at Century Regional Detention Center — an all-female jailhouse — in Lynwood on $3,075,000 bail, which was increased from an initial $2 million due to the seriousness of the crime.

Vodgt allegedly killed both Rodriguez and her dog, Prince. Facebook/Carla Maribel Rodriguez

Rodriguez’s brother Joshua Vasquez, 39, told The Post investigators have told his family that Vodgt used his middle name ”Emerald” and was transitioning to become a man.

Vasquez said investigators described Vogdt as “very possessive and obsessed” with his sister – and believes Rodriguez may have been planning to leave the relationship.

Police have alleged the killing stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Detectives were seen removing rifle cases from the couple’s black Lamborghini Urus.

The couple dated for nearly a year, sharing luxury trips and a flashy life that left friends wondering how it was funded. Facebook/Carla Maribel Rodriguez

The couple, who’d been dating for almost a year, embraced an extravagant lifestyle, with a lavish Christmas and New Year’s spent in Aspen and Solvang, followed by a sojourn to Mammoth in February, and a decadent three days at the five-star Ritz Carlton, with spectacular views over the cliffs of Dana Point.

Rooms at the hotel start at $1,000 – and her friends were quick to comment: ”Luxurious… that’s fancy… happy for you girl.”

Just three weeks later, Rodriguez would be dead, allegedly murdered in the most horrific fashion at the hands of the new lover she had described as the peanut butter to my jelly.”

The couple embraced an extravagant lifestyle — driving around town in a $250,000 Lamborghini SUV. Jonathan Alcorn For CA Post

Friends and family had assumed she was dating a man, heavily tattooed and with a wispy beard, always wearing sunglasses and trucker hats in photographs.

They were shocked to discover the caring, divorced massage therapist, who moved from Modesto to Los Angeles in December 2024, had a boytoy lover, saying she’d always dated men.

Close friend, Jacqueline Dobson, 64, told the Post: ‘I never met her boyfriend. I didn’t even get a name.”

‘‘She told me he was wonderful to her… “he’s peanut butter to my jelly” and “I’m in love.”’

Family members said they believed Rodriguez was dating a man, describing the mystery partner as tattooed and often seen in sunglasses and trucker hats. Facebook/Carla Maribel Rodriguez

But Dobson admits she’d grown suspicious of the couple’s extravagant lifestyle of holidays, fine dining – while jaunting through Los Angeles in a black Lamborghini SUV worth about $250,000.

”I was always trying to figure out how they were able to do all these extravagant things,” she said.

”They were living quite a rich and famous life.’’

Records show Vogdt stood to inherit a family trust valued at approximately $2.9 million, tied to a commercial property on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

The trust was established by Vogdt’s grandmother, Paula Vogdt, and passed to her daughter, Anita Vogdt, in 2013.

Anita died in 2022, leaving Vogdt as the sole heir. Despite this, Rodriguez had told her mother she was paying $1,000 per month to live in the Airbnb property the couple shared.

Vogdt is being held on more than $3 million bail following the fatal shooting, authorities said. Facebook/Carla Maribel Rodriguez

A dog sitter who had her own room at the home confirmed the couple’s odd relationship, with the pair living in separate bedrooms. She also said she had been unaware Vogdt was biologically female.

Vodgt has a husky called ”Lucy.”

Attorney Steven Tamer, who represented Vogdt in the trust matter and served as successor trustee, declined to comment.

“I don’t have authority to speak regarding the case,” he said.

Rodriguez’s aunt, Marcella Garcia, 59, said the family had never met Vogdt, and knew almost nothing about the relationship.

”No one in the family had met this person,’ she said.

Garcia said she had assumed her niece was dating a man and was alarmed by photos she later saw online.

”He was a little strange and weird looking,” she said.

Rodriguez had told her she was ‘trying something different’ but gave no further details.

‘I told her I was pleased for her as long as she was happy,’ Garcia said.

Vogdt appeared in court Thursday, but her arraignment was postponed to April 29.

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