A California man who admitted killing his five-year-old son amid a bitter custody battle has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Aramazd Andressian Sr. did not speak during the sentencing hearing Wednesday in the Alhambra branch of Los Angeles County Superior Court.
His estranged wife, Ana Estevez, called him a failure as a father, as a man and as a human being.
Aramazd Andressian Sr. (pictured in Los Angeles County Superior Court on earlier this month) pleaded guilty to killing his 5-year-old son after a family trip to Disneyland in April
He previously pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and was being held on $10 million bail
The 35-year-old Andressian pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the April death of his son, Aramazd Andressian Jr., after a family trip to Disneyland.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators believe the boy was killed in the six-and-a-half hours after he left the theme park and headed to Lake Cachuma about 150 miles away with his father on April 21.
When Andressian Sr. failed to hand the boy over during a planned custody exchange on April 22, Estevez reported her son missing.
Officials believe the 35-year-old had attempted suicide after he was found alone the following day in Arroyo Seco Park, passed out from prescription pills in a car doused with gasoline.
The boy’s body was found on June 30 near Lake Cachuma outside Santa Barbara – about 145 miles away from Anaheim, where Disneyland is located
California authorities believe Andressian Sr. killed his son on April 21. The 35-year-old was found alone the following day, passed out from prescription pills in a car doused with gasoline
While Andressian Sr. was unable to account for his son’s whereabouts, investigators believe the murder was ‘pre-planned’ and motivated by the divorce from his wife Ana Estevez.
Investigators searched the area surrounding Lake Cachuma several times before the boy’s remains were finally discovered on June 30.
Authorities said Andressian killed the boy in a plot to get back at his wife.
The boy’s remains were found in Santa Barbara County two months after his disappearance after Andressian told investigators where to find the boy’s body although it is unclear how he died.
Andressian’s attorney said his client pleaded guilty partly to avoid the possibility of prosecutors adding a charge that could result in the death penalty.
Earlier this month, Andressian’s ex-wife, Estevez was surrounded by sobbing family members as she wept in the front row of the courtroom while holding the urn with her son’s ashes
Investigators believe that Andressian Sr. killed his son to get back at Ana Estevez, pictured, with their son
He has said Andressian told investigators where to find the boy’s body.
Andressian Sr. was arrested and released when police didn’t have enough to keep him behind bars.
He later moved to Las Vegas, where Lt. Joe Mendoza said his behavior was inconsistent with that of a grieving parent.
‘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,’ Mendoza said. ‘He was not doing that. He was socializing in Vegas.’
Investigators also noted that he lightened his hair and appeared to be making plans to travel outside the country in order to avoid extradition.
But Andressian Sr. appeared carefree and made national headlines when he cracked a joke during his extradition hearing in late June.