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May 30, 2024

Cold and Missing: Alexandra Anaya

Cold and Missing: Alexandra Anaya
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Cold and Missing

In August 2005, 13-year-old Alexandra Anaya disappeared from her home in Hammond, Indiana, under suspicious circumstances. Despite initial assumptions of a runaway, the discovery of her torso in the Little Calumet River in Chicago, with signs of sexual assault, transformed the case into a homicide investigation. Alexandra's family faced ongoing trauma, exacerbated by the lack of closure as her limbs and head remained missing. Despite efforts by law enforcement, including the FBI's recent revival of the cold case, crucial details and her killer remain elusive. With her mother still seeking answers, authorities urge anyone with information to come forward, offering a doubled reward for assistance in bringing justice to Alexandra's memory.

***Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI 8-800 -225 5324 or submit tips online***

  • Follow us on instagram @Cold_and_Missing to keep up with active cases and see pictures discussed in the episode
  • Have a case you want us to cover? Want to tell us your thoughts about an episode? Email us at coldandmissing@gmail.com
Transcript
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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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00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:39,680
They do say quote, we're asking for the public's assistance in bringing the individual responsible

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00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:45,160
for this crime to justice, giving Alex and her family peace of mind and closure.

229
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End quote.

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00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:51,280
However, during the press conference, the FBI say that this is quote, one of the most

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00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:55,160
heinous murders we have ever seen involving a child.

232
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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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00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:10,680
to the case laments about how little forensic evidence they still have on it.

235
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,480
He says quote, all that we ever had was her torso.

236
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,640
We never found what he cut her up with.

237
00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:21,320
I'm sure it was in the bottom of the river too.

238
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End quote.

239
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:28,680
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.

241
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
00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:40,520
will tell at least one person.

243
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,580
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
00:15:57,840 --> 00:15:59,840
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
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:09,080
End quote.

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

254
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.