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We’re not just here to bring you the best web dramas — we’re also part of a powerful wellness network for men that cares about your performance both on screen… and in the bedroom.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00There's some part of your human nature that just wants you to believe.
00:16He's going to close the shop up.
00:19They're not going to murder him, and he's going to walk out alive.
00:25But that's not what happens.
00:30I know two of the three people that know what happened, and they're not talking, and they're not giving us any information.
00:39Her attorney approached us and said, she wants to talk to you.
00:46Dan and I knew that something was very wrong.
00:51Once we saw these text messages, we saw the deliberate plan that was being formulated.
00:56We have a potential kidnap for ransom.
00:58There's something bigger is going on here.
01:03The coroner was able to determine that this was a homicide, but they were not able to determine a specific cause of death.
01:11What she ended up telling us, I never saw coming, and I would never have guessed it in a million years.
01:17The Mojave Desert.
01:37It is a vast and forbidding landscape.
01:50The terrain, the habitat is brutal.
01:54There's no shade out there.
02:00It's hours and hours of just desert.
02:06And you have everything.
02:07It's very private, if you want it that way.
02:10The Mojave Desert.
02:11The Mojave Desert.
02:12It is known, bodies do get dumped there.
02:16The Mojave Desert.
02:17It is unknown.
02:25The initial information we got pointed us in a direction just north of Barstow, off the 15 Freeway.
02:30In my career, I've been a city detective.
02:33It's all shooting scenes, stabbing scenes.
02:35I've never had anything where we had to go out and search the Mojave Desert.
02:40The amount of space, it was just overwhelming.
02:46We had helicopters.
02:48We had ATVs.
02:50We had 40 people looking for a body.
02:53One of the dogs alerted and ran to a barbed wire fence
02:59that's almost collapsed right next to the road.
03:03Once we got there, got out of the car, you could smell death before you.
03:09The remains were not identifiable.
03:12There was some sand covering the body.
03:15You could see kind of half of a torso kind of sticking out.
03:21I think there was only one arm.
03:23I couldn't see any legs.
03:29The animals in the area had partially consumed the body.
03:35From just being there, standing there,
03:37I didn't have a clue as to the cause of death.
03:40You can try to get away with murder,
03:43but the truth always seems to catch up with you.
03:53When people think of Los Angeles,
04:05they think of, you know, big names.
04:07They think Hollywood.
04:08They think stardom.
04:10But in reality, it's a lot of working-class people
04:13who are trying to survive and make a living.
04:16From downtown Los Angeles in the West Adams neighborhood,
04:20it's just south of the 10 Freeway,
04:22a bit west of USC.
04:23Our neighborhood is family-oriented, a lot of children.
04:31It's friendly, it's welcoming.
04:34It's a very close-knit community.
04:36I got separated from my husband almost 10 years ago,
04:44and, you know, I chose to keep the kids and raise them,
04:48and I had to work hard.
04:50In 2020, my oldest son, Joseph, was 22 years old,
04:56and was attending USC.
04:59Gabriel, 18, a senior in high school.
05:01And then Juan was 21 at El Camino College,
05:04transferring to USC.
05:10I made it an effort since the beginning
05:12to be involved in my son's lives.
05:15We spent as much time as we could together.
05:18We have a love for running,
05:21so we did a lot of marathons.
05:24We're very close and very connected.
05:26We all live together.
05:29I love all my three kids,
05:31and we all have a great bond.
05:33But the bond that Juan and I had was different.
05:35He was always closer to me.
05:44In 2020, Juan attended El Camino Community College.
05:48He was studying to become an electrical engineer.
05:51He had hopes and dreams.
05:54He was working to make a better life.
06:02Breaking news.
06:03Los Angeles County now joining San Francisco
06:05and ordering people to stay at home.
06:0710 million more people being told now to shelter in place.
06:10These are the empty freeways of Los Angeles during rush hour,
06:16which would normally look like a parking lot.
06:19Juan became unemployed, just like thousands of other people.
06:24One day he came home and said that he had found a job
06:27at a dispensary.
06:29The dispensary was about 20 minutes from home.
06:37He would work five days, six days a week,
06:40from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the shop.
06:44It was an ideal job.
06:45I wasn't the happiest of moms.
06:47But he had to work.
06:49He was trying to save up for school,
06:50so all I could do was support him.
06:53September 22nd, 2020, about 2 p.m.,
07:01I came home to find Juan getting ready to go to work.
07:05I said, baby, I'm not going nowhere.
07:08Take my car.
07:10We said our goodbyes with a hug and a kiss,
07:14and I love you.
07:17I woke up to a text about 10 p.m.,
07:20and it was Juan texting me.
07:23Mom was up with my shift.
07:25I'll see you soon.
07:26I replied, okay.
07:32Wednesday morning, I woke up,
07:34realized that I fell asleep,
07:36that I didn't see Juan,
07:37so I go to his room.
07:40I open the door, and the bed is still made.
07:43I run downstairs to my parking structure,
07:52and then I realized my car's not there.
07:55And then that's when all red flags went up.
08:01I think the world stopped for me in that moment.
08:05He'd never not come home,
08:07never leave me stranded.
08:08We share locations on our cell phones.
08:13His location is off.
08:15This is not normal.
08:17So I called LAPD,
08:19and I said my son to make him home.
08:22This is not in his character to do.
08:24I can't get a hold of him.
08:27I want to follow a Mrs. Persson report,
08:29and I'm told I have to wait 72 hours.
08:32It was heartbreaking
08:37for me to sit there for three days
08:43and just wait.
08:45Just the thought of it was driving me crazy.
08:48This is a college student
08:49who's 20, 21 years old,
08:51who's only been missing for eight hours.
08:55It's very likely that he could have just gone somewhere
08:57and forgotten to tell her.
08:59That first night, I go on social media,
09:01and I make a post.
09:03Juan hasn't come home.
09:05He's driving this car.
09:06If anybody was with him,
09:08please reach out to me.
09:10And hours went by,
09:12and no one reached out.
09:14We were all at home, worried.
09:17My sons were overwhelmed.
09:20Emotions were everywhere.
09:23That was the worst night of my life.
09:26It's like, how do I go to bed
09:28not knowing where my son is?
09:30The next morning,
09:35I called the dispensary multiple times,
09:38but they're not answering.
09:41And I start thinking,
09:42I won't wait 72 hours.
09:44So I go to the police station,
09:46and it was closed due to COVID.
09:49So I'm on the phone,
09:51and I'm outside,
09:53and there was an amazing officer
09:54that answered the call this time.
09:57He said, you know what, ma'am?
09:58This sounds serious.
10:00I'm going to push this
10:01to the missing persons unit now.
10:03The missing persons unit begins
10:11checking hospitals,
10:13checking the jails.
10:14It's not something you can kind of
10:16answer or kind of finish immediately.
10:18It takes time,
10:19especially during COVID.
10:20I'm thinking of every little thing
10:29that could have happened
10:29or went wrong.
10:33So I went to the dispensary.
10:36As I go in there,
10:38I talk to the security guard.
10:40He reached out to someone
10:42that at the time I knew as E.
10:45Juan had mentioned this person before,
10:47said that he kind of managed the shop,
10:50gives him my number,
10:51and then E calls back.
10:54Again, I repeat the whole story.
10:56My son didn't come home,
10:57and he says,
10:58we closed the shop,
10:59and he left.
11:00I said, I see you have cameras.
11:02Let me check your recordings.
11:04And he says,
11:05oh, the cameras are live.
11:07They're not being recorded.
11:08Wait a minute.
11:11You're selling marijuana.
11:13It should be mostly cash transactions.
11:17You don't want to keep an eye
11:18on your business
11:18when you're not here.
11:20And he said,
11:21no, I told you.
11:22It's live feed.
11:22I don't want to have problems
11:23with the police.
11:24I can't help you.
11:30While missing persons
11:31continue to do their standard checks,
11:34Ms. Hernandez was vocal
11:35in the community.
11:36She was out there.
11:36She was passing out flyers.
11:38I start calling family.
11:42I start reaching out to friends.
11:44We post it on social media.
11:46The message starts going out,
11:48and 1,000 shares,
11:49and 5,000 shares,
11:51and 10,000 shares,
11:52and people are reaching out
11:54from everywhere.
11:55Unfortunately,
11:56it doesn't seem like anybody
11:57has an idea
11:58as to where Juan might be.
12:08Thursday morning.
12:10Thursday morning,
12:10I remember my phone in my hand
12:12and a message comes through.
12:14They said they had Juan.
12:17If I didn't give them $7,000,
12:19they would kill my son.
12:21And in that moment,
12:25I stopped breathing.
12:36Do I pay?
12:38Do I not pay?
12:39Do they have them?
12:39We believe that his life
12:41could be in danger.
12:43Three people,
12:44they're cleaning up something
12:45the morning of the 23rd.
12:47That's what we said.
12:48Something bigger is going on here.
12:50I'm getting ransom messages
13:04from multiple members
13:06saying that if I didn't give them $7,000,
13:09they would kill my son.
13:11And my mind just starts racing.
13:13So I called LAPD.
13:16The supervisor called me,
13:18and he told me,
13:19he goes,
13:19hey, we have a potential kidnap
13:21for ransom going on.
13:22It was Ms. Hernandez
13:23who reported her son Juan Hernandez
13:26missing a few days earlier.
13:30We communicated with Ms. Hernandez
13:32and we had her meet us at our office.
13:37Obviously, there's that,
13:38do I pay?
13:38Do I not pay?
13:39Do they have them?
13:41We believed that there was a potential
13:42that his life could be in danger.
13:45So immediately,
13:47we prepared search warrants
13:48on his phone records,
13:49on his credit cards,
13:51his social media,
13:52just so we could find out where he's at.
13:55from search warrants on Juan's phone.
13:58We knew the last place that it was
14:00was in the area of the dispensary.
14:02A little bit after 11 o'clock,
14:03his phone shut off
14:04and it never turned back on.
14:07That's concerning and suspicious.
14:0920, 21-year-old kid
14:11constantly in contact with his mother.
14:14His phone's not going to be off.
14:15Dan and I knew that something was very wrong.
14:21We start our standard procedure
14:23to verify the messages.
14:25We learn Ms. Hernandez's car had been found.
14:28So, at that point,
14:30we have multiple things going on with the case.
14:33But really,
14:33our best lead is the car.
14:36Ms. Hernandez's car was found
14:38two to three miles from the dispensary.
14:41And that area where it was located,
14:42it's a very high crime,
14:45prostitution,
14:45gang area.
14:46It's a rougher part of town.
14:48Could this be some sort of gang involvement?
14:51Could he have left and been robbed?
14:53We didn't know at this point.
14:56We processed the car
14:58and we ended up getting
15:00nothing of evidentiary value,
15:02no fingerprints of an unknown person,
15:04no viable samples of DNA to test.
15:09And then we received results
15:11on the extortion.
15:13And we found out
15:15some of the senders
15:18were on another continent
15:19and another state.
15:20And we've seen
15:22the exact same verbiage
15:24and the exact same
15:25texting nuances before
15:27in other extortions
15:29or kidnap for ransoms.
15:31Based on that,
15:32we were confident
15:33it was all just a scam.
15:35It's actually very common.
15:37We explained to her
15:38how the scam works.
15:39Of course,
15:40she wants to find her son
15:41and puts flyers up.
15:43But when it's
15:43a personal phone number,
15:45that's what opens it up
15:46to these people
15:47who are preying
15:48on vulnerable people.
15:51Scams are coming in.
15:52But at the same point,
15:53I'm like,
15:53how do I differentiate
15:54a scam from reality?
15:57I need to know
15:58my son's okay.
15:59It was hard
16:00to ignore the messages.
16:02I was just overwhelmed.
16:04At that time,
16:05we knew that
16:06that kidnap investigation
16:07was not going to go anywhere.
16:09She was receptive,
16:10but at the same time,
16:11she's still frustrated
16:13because it didn't fix
16:15the main problem,
16:16which is Juan is missing.
16:17From the beginning,
16:22we knew that Juan
16:23had been at work,
16:24but from there,
16:25we didn't know
16:26what had happened to him.
16:27But what we were focused on
16:29was Ms. Hernandez
16:31had spoken
16:31to someone
16:33at the dispensary.
16:34He said,
16:35the cameras don't record
16:36and don't get
16:37the police involved.
16:38For someone to say
16:39don't get the police involved,
16:40it concerned us
16:41very much.
16:43We had taken a drive by
16:44to see what
16:45the dispensary looked like,
16:46so I knew that
16:47there was a lot of cameras.
16:49We needed to get in there,
16:51get that camera system,
16:52and see what we had.
16:54So that day,
16:55I started writing
16:55a search warrant
16:56for the location
16:58of the dispensary.
17:04Juan's mother
17:05continues her efforts
17:07throughout
17:07this period of time.
17:10I'm here today
17:11enticing the public
17:13to come forward
17:15to give us
17:16any information
17:17in regards
17:18to my son, Juan.
17:21It's still COVID,
17:23but the community
17:23came out of hiding.
17:26And that's where
17:28I gathered the strength
17:30to keep going.
17:37When the warrant came in,
17:39we knew if we show up
17:41at the dispensary
17:42and they're open,
17:43they would secure
17:44the location
17:44and we'd never get in
17:45and evidence
17:45could be destroyed.
17:47We purposely went there
17:49very early
17:50and waited a few hours.
17:52We wanted people
17:53to show up
17:54with the keys,
17:55but nobody showed up
17:57at Juan's dispensary
17:58at that time.
18:00We didn't know
18:00any of the employees
18:01that worked there
18:02to get in touch with them.
18:03The door was so fortified
18:05that we could not
18:05get it open.
18:06We had a forced entry
18:08into the dispensary.
18:10Once we got inside,
18:12we had fanned out.
18:13We saw the DVR
18:15took it
18:16and we left
18:18our search warrant
18:18information
18:19in the dispensary.
18:20The dispensary
18:26had video.
18:28He told Ms. Hernandez
18:29they only have live feed,
18:31so it was obvious
18:32he lied to her.
18:34There's no video
18:35before September 22nd.
18:37It starts on the 23rd.
18:40Obviously,
18:40that's suspicious.
18:42Why is there no video
18:43before the 22nd?
18:44The night Juan
18:45goes missing.
18:45And I see
18:49in the video
18:49from the morning
18:50of the 23rd,
18:51three people
18:54and two are cleaning
18:55up something
18:56off the ground.
18:58I'm like,
18:58wait a minute,
18:59what am I looking at here?
19:00What is this?
19:01We get the video
19:19from the dispensary
19:21where Juan Hernandez
19:22worked.
19:23And there's no video
19:25before September 22nd.
19:27It starts
19:28on the 23rd.
19:29And I see
19:30a video
19:31of three people
19:33cleaning up
19:36something
19:36in the dispensary
19:37the morning
19:38of the 23rd.
19:41That's when we said
19:42something happened
19:43in there.
19:43Something bigger
19:44is going on here.
19:48Based on the video,
19:49the very next day
19:50we went back
19:51to the dispensary
19:52to process
19:53the location
19:54as a potential
19:55crime scene.
19:59We came with
20:00our forensic technicians.
20:03We had them
20:04fingerprint,
20:04we had them
20:05photograph,
20:05we had them
20:06use luminol
20:07to test
20:07for blood trace.
20:11There was not
20:12a spot of blood
20:12in that dispensary.
20:15But what were
20:16they cleaning up?
20:18We were back
20:19at square one.
20:21At this point,
20:22we needed facts
20:23on Juan.
20:23The only thing
20:24we knew for sure
20:25is that his phone
20:26died at that location.
20:28So we knew,
20:29okay,
20:30something happened
20:30at the dispensary.
20:35Behind the employee
20:36counter,
20:36they had phone numbers.
20:37And so we got
20:38the phone number
20:39to the security guard
20:40at the location.
20:41We called them.
20:42From the beginning,
20:43we had suspicions
20:44about everybody
20:45that was at this dispensary.
20:47Also the security guard,
20:49he told us
20:50Ethan Estefan
20:51was the manager.
20:52We learned
20:53Ms. Hernandez
20:54had spoken to Ethan.
20:56She described him
20:57as E.
20:58And we were able
20:59to tell that he was
21:00one of the people
21:00in the video
21:01from the cleanup.
21:04We saw
21:05an alarm system
21:06at the dispensary
21:07and we did a warrant
21:08for the account holder.
21:11It had two people
21:11on the account,
21:13Ethan Estefan
21:13and James Payne
21:15as owners of the location.
21:22Talking to the security guard,
21:24we had found out
21:25that he was
21:26one of the last people
21:27to see Juan alive.
21:29He said he was
21:29working that night.
21:30He left the location
21:31and Juan had remained there
21:33with Ethan
21:33and James.
21:40Looking into
21:40James' background,
21:42there wasn't much.
21:43He was
21:44of Chinese descent,
21:46had never been arrested
21:47for anything.
21:48It was the same
21:50with Ethan.
21:51He had minimal
21:52rap sheet, if any.
21:54We put a tracker
21:55on his car.
21:56We just wanted
21:57to keep tabs on him
21:58at that time.
22:00But we learned
22:01that on
22:02September 30th,
22:04the week after
22:05Juan disappeared,
22:06that James Hang
22:07traveled to Turkey
22:08with his girlfriend,
22:09Sunita Hang.
22:14We also learned
22:15that he bought
22:16the ticket to Turkey
22:17the same day he left.
22:19I was thinking,
22:20James fled.
22:23I couldn't prove that yet,
22:24but that was
22:24what I was thinking.
22:27Once we identified James,
22:28we were able to tell
22:29that he was also
22:30one of the people
22:31in the video
22:31from the cleanup.
22:38There was a female
22:40in the video
22:40that was doing
22:41some cleanup,
22:42and we were trying
22:43to figure out
22:43who she was.
22:44LAPD detectives
22:46got video
22:47from LAX
22:49that James Hang
22:50had a companion,
22:50and he bought
22:51a ticket with a companion,
22:53and that was
22:53his girlfriend,
22:54Sunita.
22:55She was the third person
22:57in the video
22:58from the dispensary.
23:01Not long after that,
23:03we find out
23:05Sunita Hang
23:05comes back
23:06to the United States
23:07without James.
23:09We knew where she was.
23:10We didn't want to
23:11talk to her quite yet,
23:12because we still didn't
23:14know what we were
23:15looking at in the video,
23:16and we needed
23:17more information.
23:23At this point,
23:24our world stopped.
23:26Nobody was going to work.
23:28Nobody was going to school.
23:30My sons felt helpless.
23:33It was hard.
23:35I'm just thinking
23:38where my baby is.
23:49There was video
23:50before September 23rd,
23:52but LAPD didn't have
23:53the proper equipment
23:54at that time
23:55to recover
23:56that video.
23:59It was frustrating.
24:00Then one of our
24:05civilian employees
24:06said,
24:06I have the right person
24:07for you,
24:08call Juan Geraldo
24:09at Glendale.
24:13In 2020,
24:15I was a detective
24:16assigned to the
24:17Glendale Police Department.
24:18We got the DVR,
24:20and the following day
24:21is when we started
24:22the process.
24:23It took us
24:24eight hours
24:25to recover
24:26all the data
24:26that was on the DVR.
24:27There were
24:28over one million
24:30files that were
24:31recovered,
24:32but only one
24:33to two frames
24:34from one clip
24:35captured September
24:3722nd when
24:37Juan went missing.
24:39Just less than
24:40a second of movement.
24:43We start seeing
24:44a camera
24:45that is pointing
24:47down towards
24:48the dispensary
24:49display case.
24:51And we see
24:52a male behind there
24:53who looks like
24:54Juan Hernandez.
24:55And we continue
24:57to shoot on that
24:57camera.
24:59And then we actually
25:00saw him being taken
25:01down to the ground.
25:03This is when it happens.
25:08We start getting
25:09a clear picture
25:11of the night
25:13Juan went missing.
25:15This is a smoking gun.
25:18What she ended up
25:19telling us,
25:19I would never have
25:21guessed it
25:21in a million years.
25:27at the dispensary
25:35where Mr. Hernandez
25:36was working,
25:38there were
25:39over one million
25:41files that were
25:42recovered.
25:43I was confident
25:44those files were
25:45intentionally deleted
25:46from the DVR.
25:48on September 22nd
25:53is where we started
25:56seeing the two
25:57individuals struggling
25:58with the young man
26:00that was behind
26:01the counter.
26:05It was one still photo.
26:07I couldn't tell
26:08that Juan at that
26:10point was dead
26:10or alive.
26:12But in that moment,
26:13I knew we were going
26:13to solve this case.
26:15It meant everything.
26:19Wow.
26:20This is it.
26:22This is a smoking gun.
26:27LAPD was able
26:28to identify the two men
26:29that were on top
26:30of Mr. Hernandez.
26:32We knew it's just
26:33Juan, Ethan Estefan,
26:35and James Pang
26:36inside.
26:39While Ethan Estefan
26:40is choking
26:42Juan Hernandez,
26:42you see James Pang
26:44leaned down
26:45and there's something
26:46weird in his hand.
26:49We all thought
26:50it was a cell phone
26:51being held by James,
26:52but we had no idea
26:53what this item was.
26:59It looked like
27:00they killed Juan
27:01in this video,
27:02but I still didn't prove it.
27:04Was Juan
27:05just knocked unconscious?
27:06We know
27:07who was involved,
27:08but we still didn't
27:09have a body
27:10and we still didn't
27:11know why
27:12this happened.
27:14Part of us
27:14were thinking,
27:15what would they
27:16do with them?
27:21So we also
27:22do search warrants
27:24on their phones.
27:26Ethan Estefan,
27:27James Pang,
27:28and Sunita Hang.
27:28they were asking
27:33for information
27:34and so is
27:35every other law
27:36enforcement agency
27:37in the country.
27:38So it takes time
27:39and it's frustrating
27:40because obviously
27:41we want the information
27:42right now.
27:42I think that by the third week
27:51I accepted the fact
27:54that I wasn't looking
27:55for my son.
27:58My son wouldn't
27:59have gone three weeks
28:00without contacting me.
28:03So I knew that
28:04something had happened to him
28:06and I
28:08for a fact
28:10knew that
28:11at this point
28:12I was looking
28:13for a body.
28:24Grief?
28:25I would have never
28:27imagined how hard
28:28it hits a person.
28:34I'm communicating
28:35with the detectives
28:36but I'm not getting
28:38any information
28:39other than
28:39we're working on it
28:41and in my mind
28:42that
28:42that wasn't
28:43enough.
28:47It was hard
28:48not being able
28:49to share information
28:50because
28:51we're doing our job,
28:52we're detectives
28:53but
28:53we're also human.
28:56We couldn't bring her
28:57into the fold
28:57because it's just
28:58it's very sensitive
28:59and we're not sure
29:00what direction
29:01it's going to take us
29:01and we didn't want
29:02to release some information
29:03that later on
29:05could compromise
29:05the investigation.
29:07I felt bad
29:07not being able
29:08to tell her
29:08but that's
29:09it's just the way
29:10it works.
29:16In early November
29:18phone records
29:19start trickling in.
29:20We start getting
29:22a clear picture
29:23of
29:24where
29:25James,
29:26Ethan
29:26and
29:27Sunita were
29:28the night
29:29Juan went missing.
29:31The phone records
29:32led us straight
29:33to the Mojave Desert.
29:36When we got
29:37the phone records
29:37that they had gone
29:38to the Mojave Desert
29:39in the middle of the night
29:40right after Juan's phone
29:42had turned off
29:43this is the Mojave Desert
29:45bodies are dumped
29:47there
29:47so we knew
29:48that Juan was dead
29:50and now our focus was
29:51we need to find him.
29:52We talked to
29:54the detective
29:55that does
29:56our phone analysis
29:57and we
29:59came up with
30:00a plan
30:01of where we were
30:01going to start searching.
30:03Jennifer and I
30:04gassed up
30:05and we headed out
30:06there that afternoon.
30:07The phone towers
30:09in Mojave Desert
30:09are 10 miles apart.
30:1210 miles
30:12is huge.
30:14We needed to find Juan.
30:16His body
30:16was the key
30:17to this whole case.
30:18The odds of finding him
30:20were probably minimal
30:20to zero.
30:38Seven weeks
30:39after Juan's disappearance
30:41forgetting the cell phone records
30:42the Sonitas
30:43forgetting the cell phone records
30:45the Sonita hang
30:47Ethan and James
30:48and James' phones
30:52are pinging
30:53out in the desert
30:54that night
30:55that Juan disappeared.
30:58We had a plan
30:59of where we were
31:00going to start searching.
31:02We made a grid
31:04of the 10 miles
31:06in between
31:07the two exits
31:08the two cell towers
31:09that we knew
31:09that they were
31:10in the area of.
31:11We brought
31:1240 detectives.
31:15We went out there
31:16from early morning
31:17until almost dark
31:18and we came up like
31:21after a couple days
31:26on November 15th, 2020
31:28our analysts
31:29had narrowed down
31:30the scope
31:31to an area
31:32that we hadn't covered.
31:33we had helicopters
31:45ATVs
31:46we had off-road vehicles
31:48with San Bernardino
31:50search and rescue team
31:51had a team of dogs
31:52there was a slight hill
31:55that kind of went
31:55down the road
31:56so the team
31:57fanned out
31:58and went that way
31:59within an hour
32:01that morning
32:02I heard a call
32:03over the radio
32:04they had found something
32:07one of the cadaver dogs
32:14alerted
32:15and then
32:15she got a little closer
32:16and you could smell
32:17the remains
32:18if it was Juan
32:21he had been out
32:22in the desert
32:23at least two months
32:24some parts of the body
32:26were covered
32:27by sand or rocks
32:28but a substantial amount
32:29was exposed
32:30to the sun
32:32and animals
32:33they removed the body
32:36with a large sifter
32:37just to make sure
32:39nothing was being lost
32:40in the soil
32:41the state
32:43the body was in
32:44was almost skeletal
32:45there was only one arm
32:47partial torso
32:48in the head
32:49so there was not a lot
32:50we were able to see
32:53that there was one hand
32:55that might be salvageable
32:57to get fingerprints off of
32:58we notified
33:00San Bernardino homicide
33:01they called their
33:02coroner investigator
33:03and then he came out
33:04and they extracted the body
33:05San Bernardino was able
33:15to make a cast
33:16of the hand
33:17and then they roll
33:18those fingerprints
33:19in less than 24 hours
33:21we were able to
33:22positively identify
33:24Juan Hernandez
33:24the coroner was able
33:33to determine
33:33that this was a homicide
33:34but they were not able
33:36to determine
33:36a specific cause of death
33:38two days later
33:45we went and told
33:46Ms. Hernandez
33:47that Juan had been found
33:49I couldn't do it
33:53Dan did it
33:55and it was tough
34:02they came to my home
34:12and then they said
34:15we found your son's remains
34:18it destroyed us
34:25as individuals
34:27and it destroyed us
34:29as a family
34:30we're ready to move forward
34:43it's like alright
34:44let's finish this
34:45once Juan Hernandez
34:48was identified
34:49we had enough
34:50to get arrest warrants
34:52for Ethan
34:54and Sunita
34:55and James
34:56but he was still in Turkey
34:57on November 19th
34:59four days after
35:00Juan was found
35:01we end up
35:02serving search warrants
35:03at Ethan's apartment
35:05and Sunita
35:06Hang's apartment
35:07and arrested them
35:08when we arrest Ethan
35:12he has his cell phone
35:14on him
35:14in a murder case
35:16you often have
35:17to prove intentions
35:18and it's difficult to do
35:20you can't get
35:21into someone's mind
35:22up to that point
35:23we didn't have
35:25a clear motive
35:26but Ethan's messages
35:30offered
35:30a glimpse
35:32into the plan
35:33that he
35:34and James Pang
35:35had been formulating
35:36the text messages
35:38begin with
35:39a sort of investigation
35:40who is stealing money
35:43let's find our suspects
35:44and then they isolate
35:46on Juan Hernandez
35:48in their minds
35:50they believe
35:51that Juan
35:51was stealing from them
35:52there was never
35:57any evidence
35:58that anyone
35:59was stealing money
36:00especially not Juan
36:01finally on
36:04September 22nd
36:05James Pang
36:06told Ethan Esophon
36:07that he had a plan
36:09and that Ethan Esophon
36:11was going to be
36:12the muscle
36:12in that plan
36:13after Sunita
36:21and Ethan
36:21were arrested
36:23they are not talking
36:24but a month later
36:26DA Balian
36:28called me
36:29and Dan
36:29and said
36:30he had received
36:31a call from
36:31Sunita's lawyer
36:32her attorney
36:34approached us
36:34and said
36:35Sunita wants
36:37to talk to you
36:38what she ended up
36:39telling us
36:40I never saw it coming
36:42and I would never
36:44have guessed it
36:44in a million years
36:45once Juan Hernandez
37:02was identified
37:03that didn't solve
37:04the case
37:05there was still
37:06there was still
37:06one piece
37:07of the puzzle
37:08that we didn't have
37:09what was in
37:11James' hand
37:12in the video
37:12then DA Balian
37:16called me
37:17and Dan
37:17and said
37:18Sunita wanted to talk
37:19Sunita had heard
37:23a conversation
37:24between James
37:25and Ethan
37:27about killing
37:28Juan Hernandez
37:29I told him
37:31are you planning
37:32on killing someone
37:33and then he said
37:34yes
37:34because he
37:35took his money
37:37what happened then
37:37he pushed me
37:39to the bed
37:40and then he said
37:40I lift off him
37:41I have to do
37:42as he said
37:43what are you upset about
37:44because I was scared
37:45that James
37:46was going to kill me
37:47Sunita told us
37:52James injected
37:53Juan
37:54with a syringe
37:55of ketamine
37:55in the dispensary
37:57and injected
38:02Juan
38:03with more ketamine
38:04after they had
38:04already killed him
38:05on the drive up
38:06to the Mojave Desert
38:08he's injected
38:09in Juan's eyeballs
38:11Ethan was making fun
38:13of it
38:13he said
38:14I was trying to
38:15inject it to his eyeball
38:16to see
38:17if his eyeball's
38:18James
38:19what we all thought
38:22was like a cell phone
38:23being held by James
38:24that was a syringe
38:26of ketamine
38:26I called the coroner
38:34and I said
38:35hey look
38:35we need to test
38:36for ketamine
38:37initially as part
38:39of the autopsy
38:40a normal drug screening
38:41was done
38:42but it did not test
38:43for the presence
38:44of ketamine
38:44the coroner
38:46ended up finding
38:47that the cause of death
38:48was both strangulation
38:50and ketamine overdose
38:51equal parts
38:52what Sunita
38:55had to add
38:56to this case
38:57was extremely important
38:59but we didn't have
39:00James Pang
39:01James Pang
39:03was still out
39:03in Turkey
39:04we learned
39:05from Sunita
39:06that James
39:07was trying
39:08to get to China
39:09we knew
39:10that if he made it
39:11to China
39:11we would never
39:12see James again
39:13for over a year
39:15the US Department
39:17of State
39:17worked with authorities
39:19in Turkey
39:19to have him arrested
39:21and extradited
39:22back to the United States
39:23late November
39:25of 2022
39:26the US Marshals
39:28went to Turkey
39:29and delivered him
39:31to me and Dan
39:31at LAX airport
39:32February 9th
39:412024
39:42three years
39:43after the murder
39:44James Pang
39:45Ethan Escafant
39:46Stan
39:47accused of murder
39:48during the trial
39:52what the jury heard
39:53was on September
39:5422nd
39:552020
39:56Juan Hernandez
39:58went to work
39:59at the dispensary
40:00and around
40:0211 o'clock
40:03at night
40:04Ethan and James
40:05arrived
40:06and after everybody
40:07left
40:07Ethan
40:08choked Juan
40:10and James
40:12injected him
40:13with ketamine
40:14both of what
40:15they did
40:16killed him
40:17Sunita drove
40:18two and a half hours
40:19to the Mojave Desert
40:20and
40:21they drove
40:22two and a half miles
40:23on a dirt road
40:24dumped Juan's body
40:27and covered
40:29the body
40:30with sand
40:30back at the
40:34dispensary
40:35they clean up
40:36and they
40:38collected
40:39some items
40:41of Juan's
40:41Ethan
40:43got into
40:44Juan's car
40:45and
40:47he left it
40:47in a high
40:48prostitution area
40:49the next day
40:52they took
40:52Juan's belongings
40:54went to
40:55Newport Beach
40:56and they burned
40:57Juan's
40:58items
40:59the jury
41:05only took a few hours
41:06to deliberate
41:07Ethan
41:10Astiphon
41:10and James
41:11Pang
41:11were convicted
41:12of first degree
41:13murder
41:14Ethan Astiphon
41:17was sentenced
41:18to 25 years
41:19to life
41:19James Pang
41:21was sentenced
41:22to 26 years
41:23to life
41:24and in exchange
41:25for her
41:26providing
41:26her truthful
41:28testimony
41:28Sonita
41:29Heng
41:30received
41:30probationary
41:31felony sentence
41:32in 112 days
41:34in county jail
41:34I'm happy
41:42that we
41:43were able
41:45to give
41:45Ms. Hernandez
41:47some answers
41:47doesn't
41:49change what
41:50happened
41:50but
41:52we did it
41:53for her
41:54we
42:04remember
42:05Juan
42:06being kind
42:08and always
42:10being there
42:10for his loved ones
42:11I'm going to
42:13honor his life
42:14by trying
42:15to be better
42:15because
42:16these individuals
42:17took his body
42:19but his spirit
42:21and his love
42:22all of that
42:23remains in my heart
Recommended
51:39
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