The disappearance of five-year-old Aramazd Andressian,Jr. made headlines in April after his father was found unconscious near his car in Arroyo Park in San Marino. Officials have been searching for the young boy ever since. As reported by People, his remains were finally discovered after homicide detectives had receive additional leads into the whereabouts of Aramazd which led to them finding his remains on Friday near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County.
Aramazd Andressian, Jr. went missing on April 20
Aramazd Andressian, Sr. was arrested within a week of his son’s April 20 disappearance from Arroyo Park in San Marino.
Father and son had visited Disney Anaheim two days before. Andressian and his wife are in the middle of a bitter divorce and custody battle. He was scheduled to return his son to his wife, Ana Estevez, that day as part of their custody agreement.
The body of a 5-year-old boy reported missing in South Pasadena several months ago has been found near a Santa... https://t.co/bgAx1rKrL0
— The AWARE Foundation (@aware_the) July 1, 2017
When the boy was found to be missing, Andressian Sr. was taken into custody, on suspicion of child abduction and child endangerment. However, he was released a few days later as police had insufficient evidence to hold him in custody. Andressian could not explain why he was unconscious when found in the park but told officials he believed he had been attacked, but had no memory of it.
He told police he had taken prescription medication that wasn’t prescribed to him that morning. Police found his car close by and discovered the interior had been doused with gasoline.
Aramazd Andressian Sr. arrested for a second time on June 23
Andressian was again taken into custody in Las Vegas on June 23 on charges related to the five-year-old’s disappearance.
He is still being held on $10 million bail. At the time of his arrest, it was unknown what further evidence officials had against Andressian. However, the discovery of Aramazd’s body came only hours after his father was extradited from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, where he is now facing charges for his son’s murder.
Father of missing 5-year-old South Pasadena boy arrested on suspicion of muder https://t.co/8Eab6zzu0i pic.twitter.com/1JbJ6JSfgx
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) June 24, 2017
Search had expanded to find the five-year-old boy
In April, the initial search for the boy was first conducted in the park where Andressian was found unconscious. Authorities then searched the father’s South Pasadena residence along with the homes of various other members of the family. The search was then expanded to cover Santa Barbara County with over 200 law enforcement officers involved in the search for the five-year-old boy.
As reported by CNN, law enforcement eventually deployed dive teams and helicopters to Lake Cachuma, located around 15 miles from Santa Barbara — Andressian had said he had been there with his son.
Officials uncovered surveillance footage showing him at the lake. However, there was no sign of the five-year-old in the footage and they could not prove Aramazd had been there with his father.
#LASD Homicide Dets continue investigation at Lake Cachuma Recreation in Santa Barbara Co for missing 5yr old Andressian Aramazd Jr.@LASDHQ pic.twitter.com/fkmfDOzILH
— Nicole Nishida (@lasdNicole) April 25, 2017
According to NBC4, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, Nicole Nishida stated that they had received additional leads on the case. Detectives returned to the Lake Cachuma recreation area on Friday. While searching the area for the second time, officers uncovered the remains of Aramazd.
NBC4 spoke to the boy’s mother, Estevez, soon after Andressian was arrested in Las Vegas. She told them “no justice in the world” would bring her son back to her, but said his father “will pay tenfold” for what he has done.
