Aramazd Andressian: California Dad Who Cracked Jokes During Hearing For Son’s Murder Case Pleads Guilty


Aramazd Andressian Sr. pleaded guilty to the murder of his own son earlier today during a court appearance. The California dad made international headlines when laughing and telling jokes during his earlier extradition hearing.

Andressian Sr., 35, admitted to killing Aramazd Andressian Jr., his 5-year-old son. Ana Estevez, the boy’s mother, was divorcing Andressian Sr. at the time. Law enforcement officers spent two months searching for the remains of the 5-year-old boy around Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County.

During the court hearing today, Aramazd Andressian Sr. was surrounded by both Ana Estevez and visibly weeping family members, the Daily Mail reports. The grieving mother clutched an urn containing her 5-year-old son’s ashes while seated in the front row of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Los Angeles law enforcement investigators reportedly believe the little boy was murdered about six hours after he left Disneyland with his father on April 21. The pair traveled toward Lake Cachuma, which is located approximately 150 miles away from the theme park that is commonly referred to as the “happiest place on Earth.”

When Andressian Sr. did not return the boy to his mother during a scheduled custody exchange on April 22, Estevez immediately called the police and reported her son was missing.

The remains of Aramazd Andressian Jr. were ultimately discovered on June 30. Neither the official cause of the little boy’s death nor information about how the California police investigators linked his father to the horrific crime has been shared with the public.

According to police reports, Los Angeles law enforcement investigators believe Aramazd Andressian Sr. tried to kill himself after murdering his son. The California dad was found a day after the child was reported missing in Arroyo Seco Park.

Andressian Sr. was found passed out after taking prescription pills inside a vehicle that had been doused with gasoline. The California man was not able to account for his whereabouts since leaving Disneyland, according to police reports. Investigators also think the murder of the little boy was pre-planned and motivated by the divorce from Ana Estevez.

Andressian Sr. was arrested in connection with his son’s disappearance, but barring the presence of enough evidence to make an arrest, he was released from custody. He relocated to Las Vegas after being let go by the police in California.

Nevada police Lt. Joe Mendoza described Andressian’s behavior as being inconsistent with the what one would expect from a grieving father.

“I can only speak for myself. If my son was missing, I would be doing things that [the boy’s mother] was doing. Circulating fliers, looking for your son. He was not doing that. He was socializing in Vegas,” Lt. Mendoza said, adding that Andressian had not been cooperative during the investigation.

Ana Estevez said justice will not return her beloved son to her. The distraught mother also said her ex-husband will “pay tenfold” for everything he has done.

“My heart is shattered and I will miss my son immensely each and every second of every day for the rest of my life,” Estevez said after her son’s father pleaded guilty to his murder.

Andressian Sr. will be sentenced to spend 25 years to life behind bars when he returns to court later this month, the Los Angeles Times reports. He initially pleaded not guilty in the murder case and was held in custody on $10 million bail. Today, he pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of his namesake.

[Featured Image by Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock]

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