Where's the big boy that's in here? He's in the girls' room. Here, you you you 4-year-old Carlsbad Not breathing, not conscious, CPR started. >> These New Mexico officers are racing to save the life of a young boy amid a growing series of deaths. Over the previous months, 10 other victims had fallen to the same mysterious silent killer, leaving law enforcement across [music] this small county struggling to contain its growing threat. But as investigators try to figure out how it reached someone so young, they slowly uncover a far shadier operation much closer to home involving the very people closest [music] to the victim. >> Once I find out that you're lying to me, I'm going to put you in jail. >> Do you think she killed him? >> No, I need to talk to my lawyer, right? >> Unfortunately, a young man is not with us here anymore. We cannot let this go. >> It's early Tuesday morning in Carlsbad, New Mexico. 12-year-old Brent is staying at his grandmother, Kelly's house, where he has been living the past few days after problems at home with his mother. At around 5:30 a.m., while the rest of the house goes quiet, Brent [music] slips outside. He walks across the backyard and makes his way towards a small shed behind the house. Roughly 7 hours later, police receive a 911 call from the house. >> Carlsbad 911, what's your emergency? >> Need an ambulance right now. 2421 Western Way Street. Are you there? >> 2421 >> 2419 Western Way, please. Hurry. Just >> 2419 Western Way, what's going on? >> He's a 12-year-old who's in the backyard and he's not responding to anything. He looks like he's been unresponsive for a long time. Please, please hurry. >> Whose child is it? >> The call suddenly cuts out before dispatch can gather any more information about what's happening. A unit is immediately sent to the address to investigate. As officers make their way to the location, an unknown person quietly slips away from the scene. When police finally reach the house, they hear frantic commotion coming from the backyard. >> Is it this one? Oh. I'll check. Is it backyard? >> [music] >> Backyard. I'm just going to go around. Where at? Where's the big one? Where's the >> Here are the girls. Right here. Here. >> How old is he? Boy across the back not breathing, not conscious. CPR started. >> Unconscious. >> Little brown male. >> How old? >> How old is he? >> He's 12. >> 12. >> Hey Marquez, make sure nobody leaves this >> Okay. >> Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy. >> What's his name? >> I don't know. >> What's his name? >> Hey, what's his name? >> Brent. >> Brent. >> Brent. >> Come on, buddy. Come on, BRENT. >> COME ON, BRENT. >> Come on, Brent. Come on, Brent. >> [music] >> Let's go. Hey, here. Hey, just grab everything we just done for. >> Hey, got it. it. >> Go. Go. go. >> Go, John, you got this. All right, you walk over there. Sorry, sorry. Give me a minute. >> Hey. >> Don't don't talk to me right now, bro. >> Hey. >> Despite officers' efforts, young Brent remains completely unresponsive. He's rushed by paramedics to Center, where doctors will work on saving life. In the meantime, officers need to determine what led to Brent being unconscious in the first place. As they get to work, a driver pulls over claiming she saw something very suspicious happening just before police arrived. >> walked out of here. He went around. He went through that gate over there, and he's walking that way, and real suspicious to me. >> What is he wearing? >> gray shorts, gray t-shirt. >> And he's got >> a black backpack. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Uh-huh. You think it's suspicious? >> Okay. 148, Sam 140. I was just advised of a the water department shortly before our arrival. Male subject gray shirt, gray shorts with a black backpack walked out of that backyard and left towards possibly Pier Street. >> The witness account gives officers their first lead. A mysterious man who left the property shortly before police arrived. However, officers have no idea who he is, where he went, or whether he had anything to do with Brent's condition. And given what they've just found inside the shed, locating him quickly becomes a priority. While one group of officers remains at the house to continue investigating the scene and speak with the residents, another heads out to locate the mysterious man. By now, a bolo has been issued and officers across the area have received his description. As units begin circling the surrounding streets, police receive a tip about someone matching that description near a McDonald's, just a few blocks from the house. Officers quickly [music] make their way towards the location. >> Hey, bud. How you doing? Let me talk to you for a little while here, man. >> Yes, sir. >> Do me a favor, okay? We're doing conducting an investigation, okay? >> All right. >> Go ahead and put your bag down for me. Put it over here, okay? >> You sure? >> You have any ID on you? >> No, sir. >> No ID on you? What's your name? >> Eric. >> Where are you coming from, Eric? >> Right down here on Western Ave. >> What's your last name? >> Lopez. >> Eric Lopez? >> Yes. >> This officer has no idea that the very first thing Eric told them was already a lie, one police won't uncover until much later. For now though, Eric appears cooperative, so officers keep him talking. And as they continue asking more questions, one of Eric's answers quickly raises suspicions. >> What were you doing over there? >> I was thinking they're busy in front of the building. >> Oh, yeah? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. Who was that person? >> Uh Benita Lovato. >> What is it? Benita Lovato? >> The Hispanic girl that lives there. >> Oh, okay. All right. Well, um you're probably going to have to go with us, man. They want to talk to you, okay? >> That's fine. >> You don't have a problem with that? >> No, no, no, no. >> Okay. >> You guys want me to go over there too? >> No, no, no, no. We'll take you over there. >> That's what I'm saying. >> Do you have anything in your backpack? >> Um it's not my backpack, but it's my Yeah, I have my phone in there. >> What do you have in your possessions? >> Well, I know. I'm saying my phone's in there. The rest of the stuff inside of it are my girl's and and the [music] purse is hers. >> Okay. Just making sure I have consent to go into the bag, right? >> Um no, no, no. Any possessions in there? I think the guy just did that talking to me. >> Oh, that's fine. First street sign. >> It's fine. I mean, you guys are going to do all that stuff. >> Okay. Okay. located. >> While Eric agrees to continue speaking with police, one detail from this encounter immediately stands out. Despite carrying the backpack witnesses saw him leave the property with, Eric quickly distances himself from it, insisting it doesn't even belong to him. And when officers ask for permission to search it, he refuses. Whatever may be inside will remain a mystery for now. Without Eric's consent, police first need legal grounds to search it. But his refusal only gives officers more reason to keep digging. So, they arrange to drive him back towards the scene where they can continue questioning him. On the way, one officer checks the information Eric provided and looks into his background. That's when he makes a strange discovery. One Eric is now going to have to explain. >> We don't know who you are. You're not located in any other state in the United States of America, so >> I'm not sure about my code. >> All right. So, hear me out. >> Yeah, I got you. I got you. >> I am the nicest guy probably works on the department, excuse me. But once I find out that you're lying to me, I'm going to I'm going to put you in jail under John Doe until you tell me who your real name is. You already lied to me once at McDonald's. Okay? Then we're going to have a problem. We have a big issue. And you don't want And you don't want to mess with me when I have big issues, okay? All right. So, what's your real name? >> John Rauch, R A U C H. >> It's what? >> Rauch, R A U C H. >> R A U C H? >> R A U C H. Rauch. >> Go ahead and kick rocks, man. Okay, so this deal, man, is you're going to go back to the PD, all right? They need to talk to you. This dude. All right? Should have just told the truth. >> I know. I did tell the truth on everything but everything but that, dude. >> Well, you kind of labeled yourself now, man. You know what I mean? >> After some pressure, Eric gives officers his real name, John Wesley Rauch. but he insists that everything else he told police is true and he had nothing to do with Brent's condition. The problem is, after lying about something as basic as his own name, investigators now have little reason to take his word for it. And when they run John's real information, they uncover another problem. He has outstanding arrest warrants. So, once detectives finish speaking with him at the scene, John is taken into custody for further questioning later on. With him in custody, police can turn their full attention back to the crime scene. However, around the same time, they receive tragic news from the hospital. Brent has unfortunately passed away. His death immediately raises the stakes [music] of the investigation. Police still don't know exactly what happened inside the shed or whether someone else played a role in it. So, officers secure the property and begin working to piece together what happened in the backyard. And as they take a closer look inside the shed, one officer spots something odd. >> I don't want to step on anything in here. What's here? The light. Oh, yeah. They're growing a plant down there. Are they? Mhm. I know you guys are at McDonald's. You can call the West Line Department at that. >> This is burnt, but I don't see any fentanyl, man. >> This discovery finally gives police their first indication of what may have actually killed Brent, a powerful illicit substance that had already been tearing through Eddy County for months. Over the previous few years, law enforcement across Eddy County had been battling a rapidly growing problem involving illicit pills. [music] By May of 2021, officers had already seized approximately 8,000 pills, with the local death rate becoming serious enough to attract the attention [music] of the DEA and several other federal agencies, who were now working alongside local [music] police to combat the problem. Only months before Brent's death, around 10 people across Eddy County had reportedly already died from >> [music] >> involving the same substance. Somehow, it was spreading throughout the county and leaving law enforcement scrambling to keep up. [music] But Brent's case is about to present investigators with a much more disturbing twist, [music] because the threat may not have reached him from some stranger on the street at all, but through [music] a far shadier operation involving the people closest to him. By this point, [music] Brent's mother, Alexis, has arrived at the house. So, officers begin speaking with her, where they'll get their first indication that this family may be involved in something far shadier. But before we get to that, lately I've been paying more attention to where my money goes, especially the money I'm trying to save, because leaving it sitting and doing nothing just doesn't make sense when there are better options out there. That's where our sponsor, Chime, comes in. Right now, you could get a $200 bonus with a new Chime checking account exclusively through my link. 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Click the link below or scan the QR code. Make sure you go through my link for the exclusive bonus. >> She got her information. >> Did anybody get your information? Okay. What is your >> Um, I just met >> Can you explain to me what happened? >> I don't know. >> [clears throat] >> I don't know like this but in the morning It's today morning. I took my girls to school and when I came back I could smell that in the I could smell that hidden smoke. I tried to search him and he took off running from me and I chased him and when I when I Finally I kept to keep chasing him because he kept getting out and when I finally found my brother mirror for my mom to watch so that I could search everything and find this cuz he keeps doing this stuff. >> So today So today you brought him over here that way you could >> today morning. And he's been over here since yesterday? Okay. >> I seen it. Like checking like his side and everything trying to find out cuz it's every like he's got places everywhere. With foils and stuff everywhere and I >> I just really walked through the door. Told me he told me I'm looking for Brent. We haven't He hadn't been able to find him. Cuz he has the baby, you know what I mean? >> Okay. >> He got to come out here. There's no reason to sit. The doors were locked from the inside. >> Okay. >> I rolled around and pounded on the door and nothing. So, I got forced it open and then he was right there on the floor. >> When you found Brent laying on the ground, he wasn't breathing? >> No, sir. He was blue. He was purple. >> Okay. >> He was cold. >> Okay. >> No response. I tried to do my best. To try to make him breathe for him. >> Yeah. >> He had You know, two bags of dope. >> While Brent's mother, Alexis, appears completely devastated, investigators are beginning to question the dynamics inside this family. From what they've heard so far, Alexis knew about her young son's substance use and somehow failed to stop it. Something that could carry serious consequences. If investigators determine that she knowingly failed to protect Brent from such a dangerous situation, her role could go beyond that of a grieving parent. [music] But one crucial part of the story is still missing. Investigators still don't know where Brent had been getting the substance from, so they turn to Brent's grandmother, Kelly, who is about to make a disturbing claim about where it actually may have been coming from. >> This is my mom. >> Okay. >> She's the owner of the house. She's the one that I had to tell you. >> Ma'am, what's your name? >> Kelly Smith. >> Kelly Smith? >> Kelly Smith? >> Go get the dogs. >> What happened? What do you know? >> He's been stealing. He's been doing this for a while. >> Stealing from who? >> From his mom, from >> Who? >> from whoever has them. >> Who? What do you know that he took or what do you think he took? Ma'am, this is all important information. Did you find around him? Do you Do you think he took it? >> No, he took it he had taken her yesterday and we we uh >> Okay. >> According to Kelly, Brent had been stealing from his own mother. For investigators, that changes everything. Alexis may not have simply failed to stop her son from using, she could have been the very person he was getting stuff from. Now, investigators need to determine whether Kelly's claim is true and if it is, exactly how much Alexis and the rest of the family knew about what was happening. At the same time, they still have one major piece of evidence yet to be examined. John's backpack, which he had refused to let officers search. If police find something inside linking Rosh to the substance Brent had taken, it could shift the focus of the investigation away from the family. With several possibilities still on the table, everyone is transported to the station for formal interviews. While Alexis is given some time to collect herself, detectives start with Brent's grandmother, Kelly. Having just pointed investigators toward her own daughter, Kelly is about to reveal something that could bring the scrutiny much closer to herself. >> Just some some areas of concern with this. I mean, do you Did you know that Brent was utilizing [music] or addicted to anyway? >> He had OD'd a couple times before. >> Okay. And the first time you What was that at that you were with? >> My house. >> Your house. How And that that was probably about 6 months ago you said? >> I can't remember. I can't >> Somewhere around that area though. >> Yeah. We just heard him fall and my friend [music] to my brother's got some Narcan and we Narcan'd him and that didn't work. So then we put him in the shower and then my brother came and we Narcan'd him again and we got him breathing. >> Okay. Did he go to the hospital? >> No. >> Is there another time after that? >> He had his mom's >> What happened in that one that you're aware of? >> He started puking everywhere. I guess he fell off my chair. Everybody ran over and took out Narcan. Narcan'd him and he came >> Came back? Okay. Did he go to the hospital then? >> No. >> And then that leads to today. [music] This was his fourth one. Do you know of any other ones? No. Do you know if Alexis is using any any that you're aware [music] of? You have your assumptions. >> seen her >> Do it? >> No, I haven't seen her do it but I don't [snorts] know. >> Do you think she's on it? >> No, I need [music] to talk to my lawyer right >> That's fine. >> I mean it. >> That's That's your right. >> She's my baby >> [clears throat] >> and she's got my other babies. >> [snorts] >> Detectives have now learned even more about Brent's troubling history with substances, but in the process, Kelly has had enough invoking her right to an attorney and bringing the interview to an end. From this point on, detectives know they need to be much more careful. Kelly has accused Alexis of being the source of Brent's supply, but investigators don't know how much of it is true, what role Kelly herself may have played, or whether John Ross and the contents of his backpack could offer an entirely different explanation. So, when it's finally time to interrogate Alexis, detectives need to make a more cautious approach. If they push too hard too soon, they risk losing another interview before getting the answers they need. >> Get over here, next chair. Right over here, Alexis, okay? Now, listen, Alexis, like I told you, told your mom, okay? This is a very serious thing, okay? Now, you know you're I know you're upset, okay? I totally understand, okay? But, I want you to be honest, okay? I want you to listen to me, okay? Let me ask you this question, okay? I know I'm a little bit off the subject. How long have you been using meth? Meth? >> [laughter] >> Mhm? For how long would you say? >> [clears throat] >> How many years? >> I guess a for about a year. >> About a year? >> About a year. >> One year? >> Yes, sir. >> How did you get started using? >> I don't really know. Um, my I don't know. I don't know. >> You don't remember? >> No. >> Have you been using that about a year? Give her Jake. Yeah? >> Yes. >> Okay. Did you take Brent over there today? >> No, [laughter] I Yesterday Yesterday morning, I I took the girls to school, and when I got home, I got snowed in, so I like grabbed him because I knew he had had gotten some and it was not from me cuz I I don't keep anything anywhere around like anywhere like cuz I know cuz he's been trying because he's been doing he's been doing this. >> Although Alexis denies any connection to Brent's supply, she can't offer any real explanation of where he might have gotten it from. So far, the careful approach seems to be getting detectives nowhere. If they want to find out whether there's any truth to Kelly's accusation, they now have to take a risk. Pushing Alexis harder, even if it means she could shut down the interview entirely. >> I keep it on me like if I have any I keep it on me. I don't keep there's none anywhere. I keep it on me because he's cuz he scares them. >> Do you What What's the last time you bought? >> Yesterday. >> Yesterday? >> I got to tell you Alexis this is kind of disheartening. You know what I mean? Like [music] he's so young. You know what I mean? Like he needs guidance. >> I hate him. >> How do you think he was getting this stuff? >> I don't know I don't know. >> I don't know. I don't honestly don't know. I mean from somewhere >> I mean you know how everything works. >> He was was stealing like I mean he was stealing [music] from All Subs. He was stealing like beers and stuff. He was stealing all my money. He was stealing beers and stuff. He was stealing from All Subs so much [music] so that they had to change the way the store was. Like I had to go down there and give them my number and tell them like you know to call me if he anytime I left his side like I mean anytime he wasn't right by me. >> How many times did he How many times did he ever get into your tend to your stuff? >> Like once because I never left it. >> How How much did he get from you when he got into it? >> Like I said I never had much but he took everything. I mean he took >> was everything? >> Like two pills that batch. >> When was that? >> I don't I couldn't tell you that that it was cuz this is all how >> You don't have to be precise. Month, two months, a year? >> Yeah, a couple months. >> How old was he? >> Like >> What? >> Like it was this >> So, last year, probably? >> No, it was within the last couple months. >> Last couple months, and he took two pills from you? Let me ask you this. Did Did it ever ever like did you ever think about it as like a mom like I should knock this off and and stop doing this on having it around? I mean, because he's taken it from you once. I mean, do you know what I'm saying? It's It's It's Did you ever just look at it and say, "Man, I need to I need to stop. I need to clean myself up." How come you give him? >> Listen. >> Cuz of what? >> Cuz of >> I don't know if I introduced myself. My name is Agent Gilbert Gomez, okay? I'm assigned to the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, okay? But, I'm also assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration, okay? I'm a task force officer with them. Um as you know, has been plaguing this the the community of Carlsbad for quite some time, and these these deaths we take them quite serious, okay? You're in a predicament, but so are we. We have to do something about this. We cannot let this go unchecked. You understand? Unfortunately, a young man is not with us here anymore, and no one's going to feel that harder than you. But, us as a community are going to feel that as well because that can be anybody's 12-year-old kid. >> By the time Alexis' interrogation comes to an end, detectives believe they've finally begun piecing together what happened to Brent. With Alexis admitting that her son had gotten into her stash before, Kelly acknowledging that he had overdosed multiple times in the past, and none of those incidents ever resulting in Brent being taken to a hospital, both women are now implicated in his death, and the case against the family becomes even stronger when detectives interview Kelly's boyfriend, Michael Ortiz, who reveals that both Alexis and Kelly had been selling pills, with Kelly allegedly giving Alexis as many as 300 pills at a time to sell. When police later examined the family's phones, they uncovered messages suggesting how the supply chain worked. Kelly had been traveling to Arizona, obtaining drugs, and bringing them back to Carlsbad. Alexis then helped distribute those pills locally, arranging sales and collecting money for her mother. Police did not uncover evidence of a cartel or a large organized trafficking ring, but this appeared to be more than occasional low-level dealing. It was a recurring family-run distribution setup, with Kelly functioning as the supplier and Alexis helping move the drugs around Carlsbad. After this, [music] investigators decide they have enough to move forward against both Alexis and Kelly. So, both women are placed under arrest and charged with Brent's death. They also face a second count of child not resulting in death [music] or great bodily harm after investigators determine that Alexis's young daughter had also been exposed to the same dangerous environment. In September [music] 2023, Alexis was found guilty on both charges. She [music] is later sentenced to 14 years in prison, followed by 2 years of parole. Kelly is also convicted and sentenced to 18 [music] years in prison. With both women behind bars, investigators had one loose end to resolve, John Rush. After Rush refused to let officers search his backpack, investigators obtained a warrant allowing them to finally examine what was inside, where they found drugs, scales, [music] more than a thousand dollars in cash, and a handgun. Yet, despite how suspicious that discovery appeared, investigators never found enough evidence linking the substance in Rush's backpack to Brent. John Rush was never charged in connection with his death.