A California father pleaded guilty to killing
his 5-year-old son in a bid to get back at his
estranged wife while they were going
through a divorce.
Aramazd Andressian Sr., 35, killed his son,
Aramazd Andressian Jr., after a family trip to
Disneyland. When Andressian Sr. failed to
hand his son over during a planned custody
exchange on April 22, his estranged wife,
Ana Estevez, reported her son missing.
Officials believe the boy’s father had
attempted suicide after he was found alone
the following day in Arroyo Seco Park,
passed out from prescription pills in a car
doused with gasoline.
Andressian Sr. was unable to account for his
son’s whereabouts and this led
investigators to believe something was
amiss. A search for the boy’s body lasted for
two months with officers repeatedly
combing the area surrounding Lake
Cachuma in Santa Barbara County. His
remains were found on June 30 near Lake
Cachuma, about 145 miles away from
Anaheim, where Disneyland is located. It
remains unclear how he was killed or what
evidence linked the father to his death.
After Andressian Jr. went missing,
Andressian Sr. was arrested but later
released when police didn’t have enough to
keep him behind bars. He later moved to Las
Vegas. Investigators also noticed that he
lightened his hair and appeared to be
making plans to travel outside the country in
order to avoid extradition. In late June,
Andressian Sr. appeared carefree and made
national headlines when he cracked a joke
during his extradition hearing. Lt. Joe
Mendoza said his behaviour was
inconsistent with that of a grieving parent
“I can only speak for myself. If my son was
missing, I would be doing things that (the
boy’s mother) was doing. Circulating fliers,
looking for your son. He was not doing that.
He was socializing in Vegas,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza also said: “He has not been
cooperative, whatsoever.”
Andressian Sr initially pleaded not guilty to a
murder charge and was being held on $10
million bail. On Tuesday, he entered the plea
to first-degree murder in Los Angeles County
Superior Court in Alhambra. The deceased’s
mother, Estevez, was in the front row of the
courtroom while holding the urn with her
son’s ashes. Surrounded by sobbing family
members, Estevez wept as her estranged
husband pleaded guilty.
After the bizarre court appearance, Estevez
spoke to NBC4 and said: “No justice in the
world will bring my Piqui back. However, Ara
will pay tenfold for all that he has done.”
She also released a statement saying: “My
heart is shattered and I will miss my son
immensely each and every second of every
day for the rest of my life.”
Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators
believe the boy was killed in the six-and-a-
half hours after he left Disneyland and
headed to Lake Cachuma about 150 miles
away with his father on April 21. They also
believe the murder was pre-planned and
motivated by the divorce from Estevez.
