Aramazd Andressian Jr., Remains Of Missing 5-Year-Old Boy Found In California, Father Suspected Of Murder

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Saturday that they had found the body of a 5-year-old California boy named Aramazd Andressian Jr., who went missing since April, when he was last seen with his father, also named Aramazd Andressian, while leaving Disneyland in Anaheim, California..

According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, they found the boy’s remains based on "additional leads" developed in the case. The body was discovered Friday near Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County, California, just hours after his father was extradited from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for his murder.

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"Based on additional leads developed in the Andressian case, Homicide detectives returned to the Lake Cachuma area of Santa Barbara County on Friday, June 30, 2017 in an effort to locate additional evidence," the statement from the sheriff's department read.

The boy's father was arrested last week in Las Vegas for the child’s murder. Although the body was not discovered then, police authorities had claimed that they had enough evidence to arrest the father and have submitted them to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. They also obtained a murder filing against him.

The 5-year-old boy had been missing since April 21, when he was last spotted with his father while leaving Disneyland in a video footage obtained by the sheriff’s department. The father was found passed out at a park near his residence in South Pasedena on April 22. Police said that he might have attempted suicide as his car was soaked in gasoline and prescription pills were also found nearby, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Police had detained Andressian after he gave "convoluted and contradictory" statements. "The father was … not very forthcoming with information, was not very specific on his timeline, where he was with the child, where he was when the child was lost," South Pasadena Police Chief Art Miller told reporters then, according to CBS News.

However, he was released after a few days as the authorities did not have enough evidence to prosecute him then. He was finally arrested on June 21 in Las Vegas and charged with his son’s murder and on June 30 he was extradited back to Los Angeles.

On April 22, Andressian Sr.’s estranged wife reported to the police that her son was missing as the father did not drop him off as scheduled. He and his estranged wife, Ana Estevez were sharing custody of the boy as they went through a divorce. Prosecutors have argued that the father killed his son in order to take revenge from his earlier wife.

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During a press conference by L.A. County coroner officials Saturday, Assistant Chief Ed Winter said the remains were flown to Los Angeles for autopsy, full exam of the body and also likely match dental records to confirm the identity of the body, according to ABC 7 News. No other details have yet been released by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

Ambrosio Rodriguez, the criminal defense attorney who is representing Andressian Sr., issued a statement saying "all thoughts and prayers are with the Andressian family."

Another part of the statement read: "This is a sad and solemn day for the Andressian family, one they all hoped would never come."

Rodriguez said he met his client Saturday in jail for the first time, stating: "My client is heartbroken, like anybody else." Rodriguez also mentioned that his client intends to plead not guilty during his arraignment on Monday, according to the Associated Press.