Um, it hit all of us very, very hard. [00:20:06] Benita: We had kind of quietly gotten engaged, but we weren't telling anybody um, because I mean the complicated thing about this is that there's a sort of unwritten rule in journalism that everybody understands, that, you know, there's, there is a line you just don't cross a kind of sacred line where you don't, you can empathize with a story subject, you can sympathize, but you don't become personally involved with a story subject for, for the reason, obviously, that your objectivity could be compromised, right. TV & Film Producer, Director, Writer, Correspondent, Narrator. [00:34:42] Matthew Christopher: We were going to meet later, so we just discussed the idea and it started with the wedding gown itself, and then had dinner at her house, and made dinner, and it was fun, and we were discussing things and how all these pieces were going to grow. It was an excellent place. Exploring the troubling tales of people manipulated by claims and promises that proved too good to be true, it reveals how the perpetrator fooled their victims and made them pay the price for their misplaced trust both emotionally and financially. And right about then, across the Atlantic Ocean, Bo is about to find out the real truth about Paolo too. In September 2020, Swedish prosecutors announced charges against Macchiarini for aggravated assault in connection to three surgeries that he had performed at the Karolinska University Hospital, including Cetir's. The 56-year-old actually has a podcast appropriately titled Benita & the Berracas for the same, and she continues to be an active advocate on the matter. Previously considered a pioneer for using both biological and synthetic scaffolds seeded with patients' own stem cells as trachea . This story is extremely personal and difficult for me to share, but the journalist in me couldnt let it be, Alexander says in the release. He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. I had tried, at one point I pushed him away, and we didn't see each other for about three months. But Bo at the time had no idea who it was. Learn how vehicle tech like blind spot warnings and drowsy driving alerts can help make driving safer. I still remember my first day walking in there too, especially with, with all the art, the art deco and everything. I had to understand what happened and why. After sweeping Alexander off her feet by taking her to jet-setting and romantic locales all over the world for months, Macchiarini proposed. We were sitting together on the, on the plane, and I just sort of started pouring my heart out to him, and he was a very good friend. [00:19:03] Benita: (laugh) Yeah, yep, yeah. ET on ABC. And it was, when I walked back to the motorcycle, he kind of, he just got off the motorcycle and I walked up to him, and I had tears streaming down my face, and he, he just grabbed me, you know. "As furious as it makes me what he did [to me and] my daughter, the thought that this is a man who has people's lives in his hands. A presence. "That's when he told me that there was this kind of clandestine network [of doctors] who are on call, basically, for these people.'". His work, if controversial, is also groundbreaking. What to tell her. Corbascio called the decision "absolutely insane.". And so does anyone who has anything to do with the wedding. He was dying and Macchiarini became someone Alexander could lean on. And, and so we pivoted the story a bit to make it a little bit more about some of Paolo's other patients and more about, you know the field of regenerative medicine. The Karolinska Institute commissioned an external investigation into the allegations. And when we went to Boston to interview Dr. Macchiarini, when he came in, it was um, I was with a colleague, and he, he came into this bar where we had arranged to have a coffee with him just to say hello the night before the interview, and you know there's, he's a very charming, good-looking man. Benita Alexander is an American television producer, director, writer, and reporter. The emotions of the moment overwhelm her. It said he'd be in South America and that the "trip had been planned for quite some time," Alexander said. "She had suffered at least two strokes; she had lost much of her vision, so she was partially blind; she couldn't walk," Pinto said. (chuckle). "It was the weirdest thing," Alexander said. "And then I want him to be held accountable. You know, the equivalent of going to a drugstore and buying whatever, you, they, the idea is ultimately we'll get to the point that, you know, you have a failing organ or you lose a body part, you just order up a new one. [00:01:28] Benita: I grew up in Australia, and I had an uncle, my mother's brother, who worked for Radio Free Europe. [00:35:01] Matthew Christopher: No, no, just her friends who are so much fun. The slip from "Prince Charming to pathological liar" took place over just two years, she said. Who lost her dad. 5. Alexander was in head over heels for Macchiarini. Firstly , on a personal observation , girl , you absolutely need a makeover. That's next week on The Perfect Scam. She was 100% Daddy's Little Girl, and he utterly adored her. And that presence was really something, it was really something. It just never stopped, to the point that I would come home from these trips, and all my friends were hanging on the edge of their seat. Read More: Where Is Paolo Macchiarini Now? I mean it was, I felt butterflies, you know. Benita is the Executive Producer of the documentary film, He Lied About Everything, which premiered in the U.S. in 2018 on Investigation Discovery, and continues to be broadcast around the world. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Her mother was Korean, and her dad, Canadian. Benita Alexander-Jeune started her career as a journalist for a few minor television stations. Benita Alexander, and swept her off her feet with a marriage proposal and promises of a wedding . And, and then he would tell me the priest won't marry us, and this went on and on and on. [00:31:32] Bob: I mean that sounds like a very special process. I want to focus on work. She said she'd never fantasized about a "Prince Charming." Um, maybe I felt like that at some point when I was really young and I had a, had a crush in school, I don't know, but I don't, I don't ever remember feeling like that. [00:15:28] Bob: As Hannah's story becomes more intense, the news on Benita's ex-husband, John, gets worse. . Benita Alexander-Noel was born on April 21, 1966 in Australia. You know, part of it is you meet so many different people that you would never meet otherwise, but when you can tell a story that actually makes a difference in someone's life, that, to me, that's one of the most beautiful things about journalism. And Hillary Clinton got involved, different people in Congress got involved, but ultimately, after many trips back and forth to Brazil and a lot of emotion, he got his son home. They set their wedding for 11 July 2015 in Rome. She works in Rockefeller Center and flies all around the world, and on one of these trip, she meets the man of her dreams. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. I was just kind of like, um, 'cause Benita's so awesome and like, you know she was totally in love with him. Copyright 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. "The surgeons in Turkey tried to repair it and there were some complications," said Rosemary Pinto, a personal injury lawyer later hired by Cetir's family. [00:31:56] Bob: Benita sees a dress made by Christopher in a New York City store, but it isn't quite right. I just, I felt like somebody punched me in the stomach. Previously, Benita Alexander had created a documentary called He Lied About Everything, where she opened up about Paulo Macchiarini and how she got love conned by him. And I had seen paperwork that he had done work at the Vatican, consulting work. Both have covered Macchiarini in their work. Hearings are expected to begin in 2022. [00:24:07] Bob: For many months, Paolo plays his cards very close to the vest as Bo starts asking questions about the patients Paolo has worked on. "I went full on into investigator mode as I knew he wouldnt tell me the truth," Benita said. What is happening? The two-part special details how Alexander, an award-winning investigative news producer, met Dr. Paolo Macchiarini while she was producing an NBC News special about the renowned surgeons work in the field of regenerative medicine. When her ex-husband died, Macchiarini helped Alexander cope. [00:32:14] Matthew Christopher: She actually came to my private showroom which was really cool, and um, I had my whole staff there, and we had to sign a nondisclosure agreement, and I was like, what is going on here? [00:36:00] Matthew Christopher: On Valentine's Day, I met him. Oxygen.com interviews filmmaker and reporter Benita Alexander, an executive producer of the 90-minute documentary "Seduced by Evil," about con man Derek Alldred. You know the, the invitations talked about needing a password, a secret password to get into the wedding, and you couldn't get in unless you had the invitation with you. Soon afterward, he took her on an "over the top" romantic trip to Italy, where they ate extravagant meals, went shopping and island hopped on a private boat, she said. I also believe that exposing what happened, and exposing him, might keep him from hurting others. None of the promises Alexander said her fianc Paolo Macchiarini had made for their wedding day would come true. Benita has to keep a secret. Creating artificial body parts. I'll take care of it." Macchiarini claims the synthetic trachea didn't shorten Tuulik's life or the lives of any of his other patients, or cause their deaths. She is an executive producer, narrator, writer and director known for her work in the true crime genre. And Paolo had said to me, "You, you need to find a way to say good-bye to him," and he said, "I'll help you." An astonishing true story of love, betrayal and unimaginable deception. It hired Bengt Gerdin, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, who spent six months examining some of Macchiarini's papers for evidence of research misconduct and in May 2015 determined that he was guilty, writing in his report that Macchiarini had made false claims about his patients' conditions improving, failed to report severe complications in some patients and made it seem as if some patients had been healthier for longer than they'd actually been following their surgeries. [00:09:12] Bob: And so, Benita travels to Boston to meet the miracle worker for herself. How to, what do we do now? But everything else, I'm planning everything, and you can't ask me any questions." Lindquist said the documentary sparked outrage in Sweden, and weeks later, new investigations into Macchiarini began. And he came to visit us in Australia, and I was just, I was only 8, but I was ab--, absolutely infatuated with what he was doing and asked him all these questions. [00:13:10] Benita: When I met Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, and when I was working on this story, I was at an extremely vulnerable place in my life. We need to be pointing the finger at the con man.. He worked at the place that awards the Nobel Prize in Medicine, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden. They become engaged and plan a lavish dream wedding, to be attended by celebrities and officiated by none other than Pope Francis himself. But when it comes to the wedding, Paolo takes the lead. What do they discover? [00:40:30] Benita: Paolo lived in Barcelona, and so we had talked about what were we going to do after the wedding. I was, I was conflicted about it. Well actually, dresses. In 2015, she served as a co-executive producer on Breaking the Silence, which featured DWTS pro Cheryl Burke, and Counting On alums Jessa Seewald and Jill Duggar Dillard. Paolo says to me, "I want to take over the wedding planning and I want to surprise you with everything. [00:02:15] Bob: Still a young journalist, she found her way to the top of her profession very quickly. You know we went on this incredibly romantic trip to Greece, and he was always videotaping me. She reflected on their relationship and wondered how she could've missed all the red flags. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Nothing anybody could do for her, and then like so many of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini's patients, they did a google search and found this kind of a magician of a surgeon who said I can help your little girl. [00:00:03] He was incredibly generous, you know, and so romantic and just so wonderful. Macchiarini and Benita quickly started planning an extravagant wedding, she said. And then um, (sigh) oh her sisters, the two bridesmaids, and then two flower girl dresses. And I made it to this point. [00:26:36] Benita: Paolo wanted a big, Catholic wedding. [00:17:24] Bob: He was there when she needed somebody. In 2020, she appeared on the ABC documentary series The Con to discuss her personal life and narrate what happened between her and Paolo Macchiarini. What did he do this time?" [00:34:26] Matthew Christopher: You put your, I am going to make the most gorgeous dress you've ever seen. Benita Alexander is an award-winning investigative television producer, showrunner, correspondent, director, writer and narrator who has worked on a wide variety of film and TV programs. [00:05:44] Benita: Yeah, I mean the, we wanted to do a story about this field called regenerative medicine which added base core, the most simplistic way to define this is, it's sort of sci-fi, futuristic medicine where the, the goal is to be able to create body parts or organs in the lab, man-made. And this trip had been planned for a very long time. She said that in November 2014, they had planned a trip to California to spend Thanksgiving with her family, "and he had been really stressed in the weeks before, and he had been talking to me for some time about how there were people that were against him, and his 'enemies.'". But before the wedding can happen, Benita makes a discovery that may prove the doctor is not all he claims to be. Quack, quack, quack. A new two-hour "20/20" reports on Benita Alexander, a television producer who fell head over heels in love with world-renowned surgeon Paolo Macchiarini while producing a report on his revolutionary new surgery technique. But then I, and this was October of 2014, and I went and googled, the first thing I did was I went to my desk and googled, literally googled, Does the Pope marry people? And what popped up was an article from a month earlier where the Pope had just married 20 couples in the Vatican. "The headline is that it started out as a beautiful love story and it ended up as a total nightmare," said Benita. But before the wedding can happen, Benita makes a . It really affects you. But unfortunately, her personal life has been marred by a turbulent childhood in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and a series of unsuccessful relationships. For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. Benita has become a recognized love conned expert and along with speaking engagements, she is a regular guest correspondent on "The Dr. Oz Show." He told her opera singer Andrea Bocelli would be singing in the church during their wedding and that John Legend would be playing the piano at their ceremony. The famous surgeon, a miracle worker who gives hope to hopeless patients, who's rewriting the rules of medicine. We had 300+ people coming from all over the world. I had to expose him.". [00:08:01] Bob: Benita knows she wants to do a special about Paolo's work, but she needs a story, a patient that viewers can follow from beginning to end. These were made in a lab out of the very same plastic that a soda bottle is made out of, and then he would bathe this in the patient's own stem cells in something called a bioreactor, and then transplant that, this plastic windpipe into people. Excellent place. Megan Hilty on the Tony's, like she got best dress, or Debra Messing, or you know, Carli Lloyd, like the whole soccer team coming in, I'm dressing Carli Lloyd for all these, for the ESPYs, and, you know, all these amazing people that I've dressed over the years, even the Oscars and I'm, I mean it's going wow, I made it to where I love what I do. I see a woman and two kids," she said, adding that she knew about Paolo's wife in Italy. Alexander, an award-winning documentary TV producer, met Macchiarini in 2013 while working on a story about the surgeon's pioneering work transplanting synthetic tracheas, or windpipes. See the shocking new details about Paolo Macchiarini's alleged medical crimes, new interviews and new revelations Friday on "20/20" at 9 p.m. "The outcry was such that the Karolinska Institute had to do something," said Ritchie. And a very, very good listener and was giving me very wise, sage advice, you know, about all these questions; what to tell her, how to tell her, and I was sort of soaking it all up, and I was very touched by the fact that this man seemed so incredibly altruistic. And we first met in early 2013. Because the, in itself, more gowns were added into the wedding. That's pretty unusual too. related to AARP volunteering. I did not think that by pulling that thread, we would completely undo the sweater.". I literally felt like I was floating on clouds. Ole Petter Ottersen, president of the Karolinska Institute since 2017, told ABC News in a request for comment on Macchiarini, "It is obvious that KI's initial handling of this case was insufficient and inadequate on several points. At the time, Macchiarini was employed by the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden. That makes me crazy. This was, I didn't even know what to say. [00:22:38] Bob: What Benita doesn't know at the time, she couldn't have known, is that Hannah's death also sparks the interest of the European journalist named Bo Lindquist, a Swedish filmmaker, he's already working on a documentary film about Paolo, but it isn't designed with a happy ending in mind. Benita has spoken about her experience in numerous national and international TV and radio programs. And as they ride the motorcycle away from the river, the magic carpet ride takes off. "Then he said he had connections to the Vatican. I don't want you to do anything except find your dresses and just, all you have to do is show up and look beautiful. 5. [00:04:39] Benita: I think one of the things that can make you a good journalist if, is if you're able to put yourself in the other person's shoes, and if you're able to sympathize with them and empathize them and really try to understand what it is they're going through.

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