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The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.

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All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.

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Listener discretion is advised.

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I'm your host, Ali McLaughlin-Sulkowski.

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And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.

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And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.

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Welcome back to Cold and Missing.

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I'm Ali.

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And I'm Eli.

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Welcome back, everyone.

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We are on episode 89 this week.

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Yes, and this week we are covering a cold case.

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Okay, do you want to just take us into it?

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Let's do it.

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So just as a bit of a content warning at the top, this case does involve a young person

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and there are mentions of sexual assault.

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And while all of the crimes we cover are horrible, this one is especially heinous.

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Today we are covering the cold case of Alexandra Anaya.

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And this takes place in August of 2005 in Hammond, Indiana.

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But first a little bit about Alexandra.

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Alexandra also goes by Alex, so you'll hear me refer to her as both Alexandra and Alex

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throughout the podcast.

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She is 13 years old in 2005 and the seventh grader at Clark Middle School in Hammond,

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Indiana, which is just outside of the city of Chicago.

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In school, Alex is a popular student.

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She loved playing music and she particularly loved Usher at this time.

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She also was an animal lover.

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When she grew up, she wanted to become a veterinarian.

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She had all sorts of different kinds of pets.

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Alex also has two younger twin sisters.

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While Alex's dad was not in her life, the twins father, Rudolfo Heredia, was in and

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out of their lives for the last several years.

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At this point in 2005, Alex's mother, Sandra Anaya, has broken up with Heredia.

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The girls and their mom lived in Hammond, Indiana while Heredia lived in nearby Chicago.

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Alex's younger sisters love her and look up to her in a lot of ways.

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Alex steps into their lives to nurture them while their mother is working.

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Years later, one of the sisters will say, quote, she would feed us, teach us stuff.

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She taught us our colors, our ABCs, our numbers.

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I know we would get on her nerves.

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She had to take us everywhere she went because mom was at work.

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We were her annoying little sisters, end quote.

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As we get into the timeline, it's important to map out the relationship between Heredia

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and Sandra as it will come into play quite a bit.

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Rudolfo Heredia and Sandra Anaya had broken up in the spring of 2005, just a few months

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before this.

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According to reports, Alex had told her mother that Heredia had been sexually assaulting

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her for years, since she was seven years old.

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When Sandra went to kick Heredia out, he grew angry, threatening Sandra and the girls.

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Sandra sticks to her guns and kicks him out and insists that he stays out.

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Over the next few months, Heredia will continually watch the family, according to local media.

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There are reports that Sandra would come home to find him standing on the roof of a car

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to peer into a second story window.

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And there's one story that Alex was scared because she saw Heredia on the roof of a nearby

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building watching the home.

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It's also reported that Heredia will get a key made for Sandra's home.

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And when Sandra has the locks changed, he'll make another copy of the new key.

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He'll enter the home and go through Sandra's bedside table.

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He ends up finding a pack of condoms and he takes them to her to confront her at her work.

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This is all starting to come to a head towards the end of the summer of 2005.

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Which brings us to our timeline.

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So Saturday, August 13th, 2005.

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This is happening in the early morning hours, Friday into Saturday morning.

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Sandra has a date and she ends up spending the evening out.

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She comes home around 3am and Alex is still awake.

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The two of them share some white castle and french fries.

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Sandra was going to head back out for the evening and Alex was headed to bed.

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It is believed that Sandra left the home around 4am-4.30am.

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When Sandra arrived back a few hours later, the first thing she notices is that the door

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is unlocked.

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This was unusual as she was sure that it was locked when she left.

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When she enters the home, Alex isn't in her bedroom.

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She checks her two younger daughters who are still asleep in their bed.

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As Sandra searches the home, she realizes that Alex is missing.

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She and her family lived on Pine Avenue in Hammond, Indiana and she was last seen wearing

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navy plaid pajama pants and a red Echo t-shirt.

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As Sandra continues to search, she starts calling family and Alex's friends to see if anyone

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knew where she was.

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When she couldn't find anyone who had seen her daughter, she calls the Hammond police

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to report her missing.

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The police treat her case as a runaway.

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While Alex had never done this before in the past, her mother Sandra acknowledged that

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it could be possible as she was reaching her teen years, but the two hadn't been fighting

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and there was nothing wrong.

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However, as each day creeps by with no sign of Alexandra, police and her family grow increasingly

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worried.

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On Saturday, August 20th, 2005, it's been a week that Alex has been missing and it starts

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hitting the newspapers for the first time.

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Hammond police chief Brian Miller is quoted as saying, we're concerned.

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She has a decent relationship with her mom.

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There's no evidence that we're finding, so the circumstances are unusual.

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End quote.

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Alexandra's mother Sandra does not believe that her daughter would run away, but also

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does not believe that she would stay gone this long.

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Witnesses have come forward over the last week saying that they saw Alexandra in a red

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car, possibly a four door Toyota.

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She was in the company of an adult man.

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Witnesses say that he was white.

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Her mother has no idea who this person could even be behind the scenes.

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Hammond police and the Chicago police department are working together to see if a recent discovery

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in the Little Calumet River had been related to Alexandra because a few days after Alexandra's

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disappearance, this is Tuesday, August 16th, 2005, only three days since she disappeared.

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A family is voting on the Little Calumet River on the south side of Chicago.

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In around 1130 AM, they find the torso of a girl's body in the river.

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The torso is nude.

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The body had been wrapped in heavy chains and straps around the waist and connected

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to a piece of concrete used to weigh it down to the bottom of the river.

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The body is missing her head, arms, and legs from the knee down.

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The body was found near 135th Street and Indiana Avenue.

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To date, her limbs and head have never been recovered.

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The next day, Wednesday, August 17th, 2005, there is an autopsy conducted on the torso.

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At this point, they have not been able to ID the body.

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The autopsy does reveal that the injuries are consistent with sexual assault.

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The case is quickly ruled a homicide.

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The exact cause of death is not disclosed.

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It's unclear if the medical examiner is able to tell from the autopsy.

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The medical examiner does find her last meal in her stomach, which included french fries.

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Additional details about Alex's murder are never revealed.

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Years later, an investigator will say, quote, the really horrifying stuff is what he did

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to her.

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I just couldn't believe he was that vicious, end quote.

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Investigators begin contacting police departments about missing person cases that could fit.

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They arrange to have a technician come down to extract DNA to try to enter into databases

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to see if there is any hit.

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Until then, she's labeled as morgue case 290.

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It's unclear exactly when, but within days, the Hammond police are asking Sandra for a

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sample of her DNA to compare to the torso found in the river.

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Sandra's mother is skeptical that it's Alex.

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The local papers have described the torso as a woman's body and possibly white.

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However, the rest of the family is suspicious.

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The body was found just blocks from her ready as home.

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On Wednesday, September 7th, Alex has been missing for three weeks.

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The DNA results come back and it's confirmed that the torso found in the little Calumet

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River was that of Alexandra and Naya.

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Police tell her family.

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According to the police, Sandra quote, she just fell apart, went down to her knees and

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crawled on the floor, crying and screaming, just lost it.

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End quote.

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When police announced to the local media that they have a DNA match, they also confirm that

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they have a suspect in custody related to Alexandra's case.

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In the next few days on September 10th, police arrest Rudolpho Heredia.

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Ultimately, he is charged with stalking and he does not have any charges related to Alexandra's

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murder.

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During police interrogation, it's reported that he did admit to police that he had been

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recently following Sandra and Alexandra, watching them both in their Hammond home.

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He also admitted to getting an unauthorized key made for the home.

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But a few weeks later, in October of 2004, Heredia will plead not guilty to the federal

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stalking charges.

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It's also revealed around this time that the night that Alexandra disappeared, Heredia

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had called the Naya house five different times and also had tried to call Sandra on her cell

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phone a number of different times.

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On Christmas 2004, it's been over four months since Alex's murder.

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Her mother Sandra writes a small letter to her in the newspaper.

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It reads, quote, it's going to be our first Christmas without you.

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Christmas will never be the same without you.

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We didn't get to say goodbye.

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We wish you were here.

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I still search for you and wish you would come home.

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I am so sorry.

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It should have been me.

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I don't know how to let you go.

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I love you.

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End quote.

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There were a few delays in the trial, but it finally begins in January of 2006.

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The first witness in the trial is Sandra.

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She's later quoted as saying, I was scared.

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I didn't want to make him angry.

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End quote.

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She tells the jury that she found Heredia standing on the roof of the car to look into

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their windows and Alexandra was scared after seeing him on the roof.

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Even with all of these allegations, Rodolfio Heredia is acquitted of the stalking charges.

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He's found not guilty.

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The jury was not told about the murder of Alexandra.

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Sandra tells the local paper, quote, they made me lie.

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They said, you have to say you have three daughters, like she's not dead.

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I wasn't allowed to tell him that he was a suspect in my daughter's death, the only

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suspect.

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I know why I was there and why I wanted him kept in jail.

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Now he's out and walking around free and my daughter's not.

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I'm getting an order of protection right now.

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I don't want him coming near me.

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End quote.

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When the not guilty verdict is read, Sandra curses at the jury.

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On what should have been Alexandra's 14th birthday, February 10th, 2006, her mother

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writes another letter to her in the paper, quote, we met 14 years ago this day.

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I tried to make this day special for you every year because you are so special to me.

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And today there's a cake waiting here for you and you're not here to blow out your

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candles.

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But I will wish every day you were here.

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We love you and miss you on your birthday.

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End quote.

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Sandra and her twin daughters moved to Texas to be closer to family in the months that

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follow after Alex's murder.

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As the months continue to pass, the case starts to fall out of the media.

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The police who worked the case are haunted by it, but none more than her family.

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Her mother still hopes that they can recover the rest of Alex's body to put her to rest.

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Her mother says, quote, I feel that my daughter doesn't rest in peace.

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Her hands are somewhere else.

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Her head is somewhere else.

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End quote.

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In March of 2009, so it's been about three and a half years since Alex's murder, Chicago

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police are still considering everyone in this case as a suspect.

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However, police feel confident that they just need that one tip from the public to close

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the case.

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Police talk about the case as if they're on the verge of solving it.

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But in February of 2010, on what should have been Alex's 18th birthday, her family writes

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another message to her in the paper.

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Simply quote, we love and miss you.

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End quote.

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In September of 2016, 11 years since the murder of Alexandra, the FBI announced that they

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are reviving the cold case.

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They're taking over the case as part of the newly created FBI Chicago Homicide Initiative

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Task Force.

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At this point, investigators are no longer saying that Alex left her home on Pine Avenue

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in Hammond, Indiana.

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They now are rephrasing it as she disappeared between 430 and 645 AM.

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However, they do say that they have witnesses that saw Alex leaving early that morning.

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The FBI believe that Alexandra was targeted, that this was not a random act.

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Investigators plan to submit evidence for scientific testing.

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The FBI also reveal a few new details in the case.

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When Alex went missing, she was wearing a round gold religious medallion.

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The chain was not with her body when it was discovered.

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Investigators think it could be possible that the killer had been holding onto it all these

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years.

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Investigators don't reveal if Heredia is still a suspect in the case, citing that it's

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an ongoing investigation.

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They do say quote, we're asking for the public's assistance in bringing the individual responsible

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for this crime to justice, giving Alex and her family peace of mind and closure.

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End quote.

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However, during the press conference, the FBI say that this is quote, one of the most

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heinous murders we have ever seen involving a child.

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End quote.

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In 2021, 16 years since Alex's murder, a Hammond investigator who originally was assigned

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to the case laments about how little forensic evidence they still have on it.

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He says quote, all that we ever had was her torso.

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We never found what he cut her up with.

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I'm sure it was in the bottom of the river too.

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End quote.

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In 2023, the FBI announced that they're doubling their reward for information to $20,000.

240
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,920
The FBI is confident that someone out there knows something.

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00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,840
Quote, when someone commits a crime, it's very hard to keep it quiet, and they generally

242
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will tell at least one person.

243
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That person is out there somewhere.

244
00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:47,360
They already know they have what we need, and we want them to tell us.

245
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,360
End quote.

246
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:54,520
Alex's mother Sandra still has hope that she'll get the answers that she's looking for.

247
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,840
She says quote, I want to know what she said.

248
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I want to know what happened.

249
00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:03,600
That's the only way I will ever maybe have closure.

250
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,000
It's not fair.

251
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,800
She's gone and someone is walking around free.

252
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End quote.

253
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:16,280
But that is all we know about the murder of Alexandra Alex Anaya.

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00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:24,280
So if you know anything about the murder of Alex Anaya in August of 2005, please call

255
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:35,020
the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or you can submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.

256
00:16:35,020 --> 00:16:40,600
The sources for the timeline today come from the Chicago Tribune, The Times, SouthTown

257
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:46,760
Star, The Call Leader, The Sun, Omaha World Herald, the Taylorville Daily Breeze Courier,

258
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:51,480
WGN, Daily Beast, and ABC News.

259
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,760
So that is the case of Alex Anaya.

260
00:16:54,760 --> 00:17:02,540
I always appreciate the content warning at the top, but you know, cases like these never

261
00:17:02,540 --> 00:17:09,280
become easier to listen to, but I think that that's all the more reason to continue to

262
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:14,840
cover them, especially ones like this that are particularly heinous.

263
00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:19,360
But just to start, that she was an animal lover.

264
00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:24,880
I think that those are the most incredible people in the world, people who care for,

265
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:31,960
you know, animals and children and make it their life's work is always...

266
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:38,520
They're the good people in the world, so it's extra heartbreaking that she was extinguished

267
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:42,560
before she got the chance to flourish in that area.

268
00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:48,920
And hearing about her younger sister, or her younger sisters, and just her lot in life

269
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:54,480
and being an older sister, something I wrote down when I was listening to you tell her

270
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,760
story was, there's nothing like an older sister.

271
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:03,520
Because someone who has an older, amazing sister, the way you spoke about them just

272
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,240
really resonated with me.

273
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:11,600
Yeah, it seems like the oldest daughter in families really holds kind of like a sacred

274
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:12,600
place.

275
00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:18,840
And I think that's kind of being recognized more in culture of the eldest daughter.

276
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:26,080
I see a lot of memes about it, but it really seems like Alex was the big sister and filled

277
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:27,800
that role to a T.

278
00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:37,480
And while this was very unfortunate that her mom had to do this, had to kick the boyfriend

279
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:48,080
out when she learned of his disgusting behavior, I also wrote down, I love when moms do mom's

280
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,080
mom things, like putting their foot down.

281
00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:55,840
But I love that she just kicked him out.

282
00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,760
I think it speaks volumes about the type of person that she is.

283
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:05,400
I'm always really happy to see moms.

284
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:10,200
And I feel like if I'm not a mother, I don't have children, but any mom listening, I'm

285
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,360
sure is like, of course, of course you kick that person out.

286
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:14,880
Of course, of course, of course.

287
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:16,040
There's no questions about it.

288
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,320
But in this world, sometimes we see that not happening.

289
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:26,320
So to me, it is just always a relief when it's like moms do the of course thing that

290
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,680
happens for a child who is in danger.

291
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:38,240
So I will just say no charges were ever brought against Heredia in regards to the abuse that

292
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,400
was alleged by Alex.

293
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:51,040
Whether he is guilty or not of that or the this crime itself of her murder.

294
00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:58,760
Ultimately, the dude was acting wild, well up into well up until her death, you know,

295
00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:03,840
innocent until proven guilty, like we've said before on this podcast, but like, that is

296
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:12,080
not how you behave after, you know, some very serious allegations have been said against

297
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:13,080
you.

298
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,480
Like you don't you don't stand on the roof of another building to peer into someone's

299
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:18,480
home.

300
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,880
Like what I wrote down was not normal behavior.

301
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:27,640
It is not normal behavior to go and make a second copy of keys that you are not supposed

302
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,320
to have access to.

303
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,880
All of that behavior is very odd.

304
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:36,760
You know, it's unfortunate that if he isn't guilty that his name was dragged into this,

305
00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,880
but also you shouldn't have been behaving that way.

306
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,120
He knows the difference between right and wrong.

307
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:47,920
And all of those decisions with the stocking was wrong, even if he wasn't found guilty

308
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:48,920
of them.

309
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,920
That doesn't mean he didn't do something wrong.

310
00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,640
So that's my opinion on him.

311
00:20:53,640 --> 00:21:02,080
I do have to say that yet again, we are in another case with a child where police from

312
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:07,960
jump have made the decision to decide have made the decision that the child is a runaway.

313
00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:09,840
It slows things down.

314
00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,480
And there was a window of time that maybe she could have been found if there was more

315
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:24,080
hustle put on her being someone who was abducted or missing versus a child who ran away.

316
00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:29,240
Yeah, the runaway allegation was very strange to me.

317
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:36,840
But I think police arrived at that decision because witnesses saw Alex leaving.

318
00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:43,840
That's where I thought it would have come from is that people saw her leaving, not necessarily

319
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,040
under duress.

320
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:52,800
But just considering everything that the family was going through with this separation and

321
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:59,440
trying to get this man out of their lives, it would feel odd to me that the police wouldn't

322
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,320
kind of immediately look into that.

323
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:08,480
Since according to Alex's mom, he had threatened her and Alex.

324
00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:14,480
So it's like, if this child comes up missing and an adult has threatened a child's life,

325
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:20,920
which is a coward thing to do, then I would look into that personally as an investigator.

326
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:21,920
And maybe they did.

327
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,040
And we just don't know about it.

328
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:29,320
But it's really sad because it seems like the window of time was small for Alex to get

329
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:30,320
home safely.

330
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:31,320
Yeah.

331
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:36,860
And to also have the information that hours prior to that, you know, I'm sure she said

332
00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:41,200
I was just with her, you know, hours before this we ate together.

333
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:47,720
So why would she quote run away as if to like, you know, get back in time before your mom

334
00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:48,720
gets home?

335
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:49,720
Yeah, I don't know.

336
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:51,120
It was all just a stretch for me.

337
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:54,840
And again, just really sad to see that that was that was the jump.

338
00:22:54,840 --> 00:23:00,800
But my my next question was what what was your opinion on on the red car?

339
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,520
Yeah, all things considered.

340
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:07,520
I think it's kind of an interesting detail.

341
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:13,240
It does like, leave the table open for me as like somebody like looking at this, like,

342
00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:18,520
of course, like I have suspicions about the mother's ex boyfriend.

343
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:24,840
But I would also want to look into this tip and see if I could run that down and rule

344
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:31,080
it out one way or the other, because that's a different description than the ex boyfriend.

345
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:36,120
So that's that's like an interesting point to me.

346
00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:40,440
And I think it's kind of an important point, because sometimes it is easy to get tunnel

347
00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,080
vision in these things.

348
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:48,560
And like, yes, Occam's razor, what is the most likely is usually the answer.

349
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,520
But like, when you're dealing with matters such as this, such as this, it has to be like

350
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,520
beyond a reasonable doubt.

351
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,240
So it's like you have to kind of look into that lead as well.

352
00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:02,280
So that's something that I would want to know if they ever found out about.

353
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,600
But we never hear about it again.

354
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:10,400
Yeah, it's always sad when it's only brought up one time, but it's something that someone

355
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,600
remembered.

356
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:17,040
So that's why I think it sticks out to me and why my mind was hanging on to it.

357
00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:24,800
Immediately, what I filled in, in my head was that the ex boyfriend and I guess, technically,

358
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:31,200
he is the father of the twins, right, that he basically sent someone else over there

359
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:38,760
that all of the girls maybe knew maybe, maybe another like a friend of his.

360
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:46,640
I filled it in in my head in that it wasn't just one person that got her out of the house

361
00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,080
to leave willingly if that's what happened.

362
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:57,240
So one thing I will say is, I really try to pick up clues in like what investigators do

363
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:58,240
say.

364
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:03,880
Sometimes there are breadcrumbs that are dropped in what they say to the public and it's usually

365
00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:05,680
very crafted very specifically.

366
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:12,960
So one thing I will say is that the FBI, again and again, refer to it as a singular person

367
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:14,920
involved in this case.

368
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:20,600
So that makes me think that wherever they think this case is headed, that it is just

369
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:25,440
one person that is involved in Alex's crime.

370
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:31,120
And if I remember correctly, the mom had no idea who that person could be.

371
00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:35,440
Like she didn't recognize like a white man with a red car.

372
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,240
Like that didn't ring any bells for her.

373
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:46,120
So I'm always a little reluctant to pivot to details and cases like this, but I think

374
00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:54,720
I'm mentioning it because I'd like to just discuss the personal versus not personal arguments

375
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,880
surrounding her being dismembered.

376
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:08,280
I think sometimes in certain cases, it can look very personal to do that to someone in

377
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,720
order to discard and get rid of and hide what you have done.

378
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:19,000
But also, you've seen it as not personal in any way.

379
00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:24,000
And I guess I just wanted to kind of get your take on that.

380
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:32,040
And this is not to discuss the morbidity of it, but more just why that?

381
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:36,320
Whenever I see a detail like that, they're trying to make it more difficult to ID the

382
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,880
victim by removing the head.

383
00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,440
You don't have dental records by removing the limbs.

384
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,120
You don't have any kind of fingerprint.

385
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:49,080
I think that that's what was happening here, that it was an attempt to make it more difficult

386
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,520
to ID the body.

387
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:54,560
And to some degree, that works.

388
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,920
It takes three weeks for them to positively ID her.

389
00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:03,240
I was a little shocked to hear that there was a whole hearing about him and he was found

390
00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:04,720
not guilty.

391
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:09,040
My insides just screamed out for her.

392
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:14,480
And I'm glad that she yelled at the jury at the courtroom.

393
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:19,440
It was, I think, a devastating blow to someone who had already lost everything.

394
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:20,440
Yeah.

395
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:27,400
I tried to track down the court transcripts to kind of try to figure out more of what

396
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,480
happened here.

397
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,680
How did the jury get to not guilty?

398
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,560
Because all I know about it is what was reported in the newspapers, which was the story of

399
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:43,520
him standing on the roof of the car, him on the roof making the keys, and him admitting

400
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,840
to police that he had been watching the family.

401
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:54,640
So based off all of that, maybe there was some weird loophole where it doesn't quite

402
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,120
meet this definition of whatever the charge was.

403
00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:00,440
Maybe it was something like that.

404
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:09,000
But yeah, I'm not sure where the reasonable doubt came in or what arguments were made

405
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,000
to get to the not guilty verdict.

406
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:15,280
But that is the verdict that was reached, was not guilty.

407
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,400
Not guilty is not innocence.

408
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,680
It is just not guilty.

409
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:27,040
Just again, to just drive it home, like he was not charged in any way with Alex's death.

410
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:33,040
So if police were ever to want to bring charges against him for that, they would be able to.

411
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:34,640
There wouldn't be a double jeopardy there.

412
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:41,640
But to date, he has never been charged with anything in regards to Alex's death.

413
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:52,160
All in all, what I walked away with was just a lot of sorrow and heartbreak for her mother.

414
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:58,320
The last thing that I wrote, you know, before you wrapped up the timeline was that this

415
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:05,320
is a very unfair truth to be forced to live with.

416
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:12,360
For me, I hope that in this case, we are able to get to a point where we do get answers

417
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:19,760
for Alex and her family because her mother is still very much wanting answers in what

418
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,000
happened to her daughter.

419
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,200
And the case is still with the FBI.

420
00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:34,240
And I am hopeful that they are able to access, you know, the latest technology as it becomes

421
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:41,720
available and it becomes reliable to try to test whatever evidence they do have to try

422
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:49,040
to get an answer and hold somebody responsible for what they did to Alex.

423
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,960
It's never going to bring her back, but somebody should be held accountable for what they did

424
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:54,160
to her.

425
00:29:54,160 --> 00:30:01,560
The FBI did mention that there's like a religious gold medallion that Alex wore quite a bit.

426
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,260
There's pictures with her with it on.

427
00:30:04,260 --> 00:30:07,120
So we'll have pictures of that on our Instagram.

428
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:14,880
But police are really kind of holding on to this necklace that it's likely that her killer

429
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,920
could have held on to it all these years.

430
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:22,320
So it's one of those things like if you think you've seen it in a drawer, in a cabinet,

431
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:29,360
maybe somebody wears it, like just call it in, give that tip in so that way Alex can

432
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:34,080
have an answer and like her family can have an answer because this is heinous.

433
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:35,200
It's just heinous.

434
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:42,320
And it's nobody who does this to a child should be out walking around without rehabilitation

435
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,400
and time served for their crime.

436
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:53,680
Again, if you know anything about the murder of Alexandra Anaya in August of 2005, please

437
00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,240
call the FBI.

438
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:58,080
At 1-800-CALL-FBI.

439
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:02,820
That's 1-800-225-5324.

440
00:31:02,820 --> 00:31:07,880
And we will have pictures of Alex on our Instagram as well as the gold medallion.

441
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,320
So that way that picture is out there as well.

442
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:12,560
So you can take a look at it.

443
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,780
If it jogs memory, please call the FBI.

444
00:31:15,780 --> 00:31:19,400
That will all be on our Instagram at Cold and Missing.

445
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:24,060
Thank you so much if you have left us a written review or rated us in your podcast app.

446
00:31:24,060 --> 00:31:26,000
We appreciate it so much.

447
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:30,160
And if you haven't yet, today is a new day and you can do it right now.

448
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,360
So thank you so much.

449
00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:39,300
It helps others find this podcast and it helps get stories out there and other people get

450
00:31:39,300 --> 00:31:40,820
aware of these stories.

451
00:31:40,820 --> 00:31:42,900
So that's all because of you.

452
00:31:42,900 --> 00:31:44,160
So thank you.

453
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,800
And then if you want to leave a review on our website, you can do that too.

454
00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:52,520
You can go to www.coldandmissing.com.

455
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:56,460
We also have transcripts there if you or someone you love is hard of hearing, you can follow

456
00:31:56,460 --> 00:31:58,740
along the podcast that way.

457
00:31:58,740 --> 00:32:00,940
But that is all that I have.

458
00:32:00,940 --> 00:32:03,300
Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.

459
00:32:03,300 --> 00:32:04,300
I'm Allie.

460
00:32:04,300 --> 00:32:05,480
And I'm Eli.

461
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,440
Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.

462
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:24,440
Stay safe, y'all.