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Did dad kill son after Disneyland trip in divorce revenge plot? · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Armas Senior and his wife Anna had split up and
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  Speaker 1: had a custody battle going when Junior disappeared while in
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: his dad's custody. They say the murder was a planned
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: event away for him to get back at her. The
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  Speaker 1: father was found passed out at a royal park next
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  Speaker 1: to his car. The child was nowhere to be found.
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  Speaker 1: This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Investigators told us
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  Speaker 1: that are a massed and dressing and had been hanging
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  Speaker 1: out here in Las Vegas for about the past month
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: and a half. He was taking part in activities and
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  Speaker 1: display mannerisms that were not consistent with a grieving parent.
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  Speaker 1: When it looked like he was getting ready to possibly
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  Speaker 1: flee the country, they moved in and made the arrest.
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  Speaker 1: He has significantly attentive to change his appearance by shaving
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  Speaker 1: his beard and dyning his hair. The body of Armas
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  Speaker 1: Andresi Jr. Has been found. Unbelievable. There are no words
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  Speaker 1: to describe how devastated and heartbroken I am. The body
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  Speaker 1: of a missing five year old little boy has just
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  Speaker 1: been found near a Santa Barbara lake. This is the
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  Speaker 1: day after his father is caught on camera mugging and
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  Speaker 1: joking cracking jokes when discussing the disappearance of his son,
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  Speaker 1: his five year old little boy. Could it be that
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  Speaker 1: after taking his little boy, his namesake Peaky Aaron and
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  Speaker 1: Rosia Jr. Taking him to a fun field trip to Disney,
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  Speaker 1: he kills his own child. I Nancy Grace, this is
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  Speaker 1: crime stories and I want justice. How dare he joke
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  Speaker 1: and laugh and mug for the cameras the courtroom when
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  Speaker 1: his son is lying dead cold, his five year old boy,
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  Speaker 1: his namesake Alan, What happened? It's unbelievable. The kid, Peaky,
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  Speaker 1: the cutest five year old, had a week with dad.
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  Speaker 1: This is the summer visitation in their child custody agreement.
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  Speaker 1: They were still in Oh whoa, whoa wait? Oh just yesterday,
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  Speaker 1: yesterday a friend called me crying in tears because her husband,
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: her strange husband, is throwing yet another fit over custody.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, he's the one that up and left and
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  Speaker 1: now fighting with a mom about custody, another contentious custody thing.
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  Speaker 1: I you know, I don't know how I missed that fact.
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  Speaker 1: Alan Duke. So he has a visit with dad. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: it's his first week long visit. They had some hurt
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  Speaker 1: that had some weekends here and there, but this was
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  Speaker 1: the first big one. So you know, Uh, the father's family, really,
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  Speaker 1: you can tell, loves this kid. They went along with
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  Speaker 1: the dad to Disneyland. They spent all day Saturday at Disneyland.
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  Speaker 1: We've got video that the grandmother took of these this
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  Speaker 1: kid having such a great time at what's called the
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  Speaker 1: happiest place on Earth. They wait a minute, Alan, Alan,
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  Speaker 1: I remember when I was out in California for Dancing
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  Speaker 1: with the Stars. See I still I'm like Disney freak.
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  Speaker 1: I love Disney. You know, it ain't cheap, Okay. I
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  Speaker 1: would get the children. It's like a dream country to
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  Speaker 1: me because I had never been. I had never spent
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  Speaker 1: time at Disney. It's awesome, and we would spend We
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  Speaker 1: would get there in the morning, me and it would
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  Speaker 1: be dark at night, in time for the fireworks show
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  Speaker 1: before we left, and we'd be boned. How we could
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  Speaker 1: hardly even walk anymore, and we wouldn't want to leave.
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  Speaker 1: That's the way Disney is. So he takes the five
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  Speaker 1: year old boy to Disney that, you know, I think.
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  Speaker 1: Let's see, the twins were I can't remember anymore. I
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  Speaker 1: think they were four when we were out doing dancing
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  Speaker 1: with the stars. Oh my stars, just thinking about the
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  Speaker 1: day at Disney and then okay, I'm sorry, go back
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  Speaker 1: back to you, Alan, go ahead. This this child apparently
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  Speaker 1: didn't want to leave, because they finally left Disneyland in
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  Speaker 1: Anaheim at one o'clock in the morning, and the boy
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  Speaker 1: they stayed for the parade and the fireworks. I would
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  Speaker 1: always drive the children to the car and take him home,
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  Speaker 1: and they'd be all like, well, I want to do
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  Speaker 1: the fireworks. Yeah, they didn't even know what they were saying.
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  Speaker 1: They're like two little worms. I and I could just
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  Speaker 1: hear him right now and I'd be thinking, oh my stars,
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  Speaker 1: how how long will it take me to drive them back?
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  Speaker 1: And of course with all the bags of the cups,
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  Speaker 1: you know they give you big you buy big memory
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  Speaker 1: cups and they will get a slurpy or something in it,
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  Speaker 1: and they want to take them home to drink their
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  Speaker 1: milk out of You'd be walked out with bags of
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  Speaker 1: stuff dragged to the car and they're having a little
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  Speaker 1: fit the whole time because they want to stay. Well, obviously,
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  Speaker 1: Peeky got to stay for the fireworks in the parade.
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  Speaker 1: So it's one am Okay, they want happened? The dad
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  Speaker 1: drives his son about three hours to the northwest to
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  Speaker 1: Santa Barbara County, early in the morning at Kachuma Lake.
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  Speaker 1: Now this is uh in Santa Barbara County and not
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  Speaker 1: far from Neverland, Michael Jackson's Neverland. That's how far away
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  Speaker 1: it is from Anaheim. It's a hundred and forty miles.
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  Speaker 1: So early in the morning, after a long did he
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  Speaker 1: do that? Why did Well, he's got a home he
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  Speaker 1: could go to, could spend the night and then go. No,
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  Speaker 1: he doesn't have a home up there. That's a camping area. Well,
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  Speaker 1: you're asking why, and so are the investigators. He's seen
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  Speaker 1: up there. He says, he took the kid up there,
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: and then after that he took the kid back to
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  Speaker 1: the Los Angeles area, to South Pasadena. And that's where
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  Speaker 1: it gets weird. But nobody it's already weird. Put that
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  Speaker 1: out there. I don't understand why he drove from Anaheim
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  Speaker 1: three hours away. What did he spend the night at home? No, No,
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  Speaker 1: they just it's pretty clear he drove up to Chuma
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  Speaker 1: Lake and people, witnesses did tell cops investigators that they
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  Speaker 1: saw him there and he acknowledged that he had driven
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  Speaker 1: the boy up there, but he didn't say anything about
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  Speaker 1: the witnesses see the boy. No, nobody saw the boy.
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  Speaker 1: So then in like four or five o'clock in the morning, yes,
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  Speaker 1: well sunrises, what witness is walking what witnesses walking around
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  Speaker 1: in the morning. Well, first of all, uh, they got
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  Speaker 1: there about four We don't know how long they were there.
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  Speaker 1: But that morning after sunrise, Hi, the body there, you think,
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  Speaker 1: so they see him, but they don't see the kid.
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  Speaker 1: He is next seen the next morning, on the twenty
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  Speaker 1: one April, at a park in South Pasadena, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's a lovely area. He's out in the park. His
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  Speaker 1: BMW was there. He's unconscious next to the car. The
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  Speaker 1: car is soaked with gasoline inside and outside they find
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: a gas soaked rag there. They see matches, but the
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  Speaker 1: car was never never burned. But the father is unconscious.
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  Speaker 1: He's rushed to a hospital. They don't even know anything
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  Speaker 1: about the kid at the time. But Peaky, as his
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  Speaker 1: his family calls him, was not to be found, and
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: immediately they started a missing did the move are at
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: this point now anything was amiss? Or was it still?
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  Speaker 1: The visitation that night was when was supposed to go
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  Speaker 1: back to back yes, and of course never showed up.
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  Speaker 1: She got all alarmed. She started making calls. We actually
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: have a little bit of her statement. She hey, let's
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: listen to My name is annaest Davis and Automas Andresen
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  Speaker 1: the second is my son. In this time of despair
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  Speaker 1: and heartbreak, I want to begin by expressing how deeply
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  Speaker 1: grateful and indebted I am too many individuals who want
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  Speaker 1: to bring Adama's home as much as I do. I'd
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  Speaker 1: like to begin by thanking the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
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  Speaker 1: Department and other law enforcement agencies for their ongoing efforts
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  Speaker 1: and trying to locate my son. My son Automas, also
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  Speaker 1: known to many Speaky. I thank the Los Angeles County
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  Speaker 1: Board of Supervisors for acknowledging this tragedy and approving the
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  Speaker 1: dollar reward for information leading to the apprehension ah and
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  Speaker 1: or conviction of the individuals who are concealing my son.
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  Speaker 1: Through the support of family and friends. Go fund me
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  Speaker 1: account under finding Auto must has been created with the
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: purpose of supplementing the reward. I also want to thank
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  Speaker 1: the news media for their patients for their respect they
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  Speaker 1: have shown for giving me the opportunity to share information
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  Speaker 1: with the public and to send a message to my son. Last,
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  Speaker 1: but not least mhmm. I want to express my deepest
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  Speaker 1: gratitude to my family and my friends, my employer, and
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  Speaker 1: the many volunteers for their unyielding support, kindness, love, generosity
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  Speaker 1: and prayers, and most important, their time. To those that
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  Speaker 1: I have met while distributing flyers who stopped what they
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  Speaker 1: were doing to say a prayer for my son, who
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  Speaker 1: gave me a reassuring hug, or a smile, who immediately
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  Speaker 1: took a photograph of the missing Child bulletin and posted
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  Speaker 1: on social media, or who simply asked, how can I help?
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  Speaker 1: I am eternally grateful and sincerely thank you from the
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  Speaker 1: bottom of my heart. My son's disappearance is my worst nightmare.
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  Speaker 1: It has been thirty two days, almost three hours since
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  Speaker 1: I last hugged my son, kissed him, or told him
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  Speaker 1: how much I love him. There are no words to
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  Speaker 1: describe how devastated and heartbroken I am. Although I do
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  Speaker 1: not know his whereabouts, I do believe that Bakie is alive,
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  Speaker 1: misses his family and desperately wants to come home and
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  Speaker 1: to my son Papa. This message is for you, my love.
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  Speaker 1: Be brave, Honey. I know that Mama and a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people are working very hard to bring you home.
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  Speaker 1: H Yeah. On April twelve, you asked me if the
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  Speaker 1: happiest day of my life was when you were born.
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  Speaker 1: My answer to you was, it was the happiest day ever.
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  Speaker 1: I want't you even know, Honey, that the second happiest
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  Speaker 1: day of my life will be when you come back home.
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  Speaker 1: You are missed more than words can say. Don't never
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  Speaker 1: forget that. Mamma loves you to the moon and the stars.
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  Speaker 1: I am counting the days until I see you again, Honey,
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  Speaker 1: and I will never stop looking for you. Oh my stars,
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  Speaker 1: just hearing the mom's voice. Yet you left a little
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  Speaker 1: something out, Alan. Isn't it true that when they find
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  Speaker 1: the father he has shaved his beard, lightened his hair.
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  Speaker 1: That comes a little bit later. Let's let's go to
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  Speaker 1: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Joe Mendoza. This is what
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  Speaker 1: he said about finding the father in the park in
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  Speaker 1: South Pasadena. We know that at the at the scene
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday morning, he was found unconscious. We also know
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  Speaker 1: that he admitted to taking some prescription drugs that did
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  Speaker 1: not belong to him. We also recovered a prescription bottle
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  Speaker 1: from inside the car. Are you speaking up to the
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  Speaker 1: condition of the car, There was a gasoline and the
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  Speaker 1: interior in Dallas all over the exterior there was matches
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  Speaker 1: in there. There was a gas container. As to how
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: those items play into what occurred, he has not been cooperative,
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  Speaker 1: so we don't know. Okay, So what happens next, Alan, Well,
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  Speaker 1: they didn't have They didn't know where this this boy was.
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  Speaker 1: The father saying, well, I became unconscious. I don't know
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  Speaker 1: where he went. Him unconscious and I don't know where
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  Speaker 1: he went. Basically that's it became. He says, where's my son?
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  Speaker 1: So there's this search that goes on for some wish
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  Speaker 1: I could have been there when he woke up and said,
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  Speaker 1: where's my son? Right? Well, so he finger necklace would
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  Speaker 1: be in order. He has no idea. He said where
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  Speaker 1: his son was, but it doesn't sound right. And they
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  Speaker 1: arrest the father several days later for child neglect and
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  Speaker 1: child endangerment because you were supposed to watch him, and
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  Speaker 1: it's all very suspicious because of the gasoline in the car. Uh,
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  Speaker 1: they don't have enough evidence. They release him from jail
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  Speaker 1: and the father disappears. He is later found to be
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  Speaker 1: in Las Vegas, Nevada. And as you said, he had
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  Speaker 1: shaved his beard, he had shaved his hair, and he
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  Speaker 1: had had turned it blond. Where have we seen that before? Right?
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  Speaker 1: Scott Peterson uh tad commins, you know, get rid of
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  Speaker 1: the grape whatever. So the day after he's supposed to
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: hand the boy back to mom. To the mommy it's
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  Speaker 1: supposed to be handed off pursuing to their custody agreement,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: the dad is found unconscious in a South Pasadena park.
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  Speaker 1: His great BMW beside him, drenched in gasolene. Okay. Then
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  Speaker 1: he goes to the hospital. He says he quote was unconscious,
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: went unconscious and doesn't know what happened to his son.
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  Speaker 1: Then a few days later he turns up near Vegas
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  Speaker 1: with bleach blonde hair and no beard. Okay. Now what
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  Speaker 1: they're thinking, and probably rightly, that this man is planning
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: an escape and dressian is in Vegas party and staying away,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: not searching for his son. I mean, nobody knows where
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: the sun is apparently him allegedly, but he's out in Vegas.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Where have we seen that before? When a missing child
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: is still missing, and the parent goes out parting. Do
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: you have any comparisons to have you ever seen anything
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: like that before? Nancy? Yeah? So what what explained to
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: me this was what a revenge killing over there? Tumultuous estrangement.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: So this is the ultimate get back at mommy, to
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: kill the boy, kill the baby. That's the allegation that
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: this thirty five year old man are Aramas Andressian was
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: was so set to get revenge against his ex wife
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: that he killed the five year old son revenge. Ever,
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  Speaker 1: what a divorce Uh, we don't know. They're not saying
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  Speaker 1: yet because they're keeping it close in the investigation. What
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: kind of threats there had been? Their only hints that
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: it was getting very very bitter with the child custody
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: and those things can get doing. The cause of death, well,
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: first of all, where exactly was that was? His body found?
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Just this weekend? Finally, Uh, the body is found. They're
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: not telling us much about the condition it was found in,
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: but Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonald announced Saturday that
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: this child's body was found in fact at that Lake Kachuma,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: which is a two hour drive away from the park
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: in South Pasadena. So yes, that is where the child.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: The child never left the lake, never made it to
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: the park in South Pasadena, as the dad had said,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: and they've they found it. They're doing the autopsy today
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: most likely, so they really don't know that. The l
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: A County Corner is going to be using dental records
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: and X rays to positively identify this tiny body, this
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: five year old boy's body. He spent his last hours
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: of life laughing and playing with family at Disney in
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: Anaheim before a brutal death. We will find out, I'm sure,
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: whether there is any trauma to the child's body and
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: the cause of death. Could you tell me what the
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: father was doing. He's in court in Vegas. I assume
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: at an extradition hearing to take him back to California,
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: which is like a three question process. Are you this person?
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: It's really it's not about guilt or innocence, is simply
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: identifying are you this person? Because if you are, you're
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: going back to your home jurisdiction. Why is he laughing
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: and making jokes? And you and I have seen you,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: and I have seen a lot of defendants in front
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: of a judge, and very few times do we see
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: people charge with killing kids. They're laughing, but he was joking.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: The judge was saying, okay, uh, they're probably he waived
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: his extradition. He says, yes, California authorities can come and
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: pick me up. And the judge was telling him they
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: probably won't wait very long because this is a high
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: priority case. And he was laughing about it and saying, yeah,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: I'm sure that they will. It wasn't funny, but he
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: was laughing, and that is not a good sign. But
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: he didn't have his lawyer there with him. By the way,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: his lawyer is a well, he's the main lawyer, Ambrosio
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: Rodriguez is a very prominent experienced lawyer. Actually kind of
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: reminds me of this guy who did a case in
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: Florida that you followed, Jose Bias. They kind of remind
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: me of each other in a way. And we're gonna
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: I'm sure we're gonna get him, and we're gonna talk
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: to him, say, well, right now, this is what I know.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: This Pasadena boys dad joking and laughing in court, you know,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: in the hours around the discovery of his little boy's
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: dead body, is set to plead not guilty to murder.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: The lawyer says he has met with the dad now
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: charged with murder. The remains of his child found near
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: that Lake Chumah. According to the l A County Sheriff,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: what I'm wondering is will witnesses come forward to place
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: him there around the time that the sun would have
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: been buried? Alan the tip line for potential witnesses, What
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: is it? Nancy? The crime stoppers number for the Los
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: Angeles County Sheriff's Department is one eight hundred two to
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: two Tips one hundred two to two, eight four seven seven.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: I'm Nancy Grace. This is the latest and the death
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: and disappearance of Little Peaky Aaron Andressian Jr. Our prayers
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: with his mom today. Nancy Grace crime story signing off
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Goodbye friend,