They want you to stay out. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, definitely. Is there anybody else in the house? >> No. >> Just one, two, three. This mother just came home to her worst nightmare. Her husband brutally murdered in his own home. >> It's okay, honey. >> At first, she thought someone had broken in, but she would soon discover that this wasn't a robbery gone wrong. The truth was far more shocking. The killer was none other than one of her own sons. Listen, >> we'll figure it out, man. We'll figure it out, man. We can't figure it out. >> Some sick thing in my mind clicked. It made me want to kill him. >> On the night of November 21st, 2023, Theodore Gouia was working at his desk in his home when he was suddenly struck from behind with a baseball bat. A powerful blow to the head sent Theodore to the floor, severely injured and disoriented. As Theodore lay defenseless, the attacker continued to strike him repeatedly in the head. In a final act of brutality, the asalent stabbed Theodore multiple times in the throat, leaving him to succumb to his horrific injuries. The following morning, police received a frantic call from Theodore's wife, who had just discovered her husband's lifeless body. Officers rushed to the scene unaware of the horror awaiting them. >> Come here. Let me see your hands. Come here. What's going on? Get on the ground. >> Daddy, stay. >> Get on the ground. Both of you on the ground. On the ground. >> I don't have a weapon. I don't have a gun. My friend >> hands behind your back. Keep them there. Don't move them. Hands behind both of you. Hands behind your back. You got him. >> I got him. >> Keep your hand right there. Don't move it. All right. >> You got him. Got your hand. >> What happened? >> My mom called me. I'm out of work. My dad is dead. There's the wall. He [ __ ] I can't even go to work. Okay, I got I got him secured over here. >> Where's he at? In the home, Theodore lay lifeless in a pool of his own blood. His face and body brutally deformed. Blood splattered in the hallways and floor, painting a scene of unmistakable violence. From the moment they stepped inside, officers knew this was a ruthless homicide. >> Hey, R.J. >> I'm just going to advise you of your rights cuz I still don't know what happened. Ben didn't do anything, man. Ben didn't do anything. He thinks that I some I murdered my dad and he wasn't attacking me, but I did I did not I did not murder my dad. >> Police have yet to determine if anyone in the family is involved, but R.J. repeatedly insists he didn't kill his father. A denial that in itself raises suspicion, and officers immediately picked up on this. What happened? >> Okay, so I heard scuffling in the middle of the night and I usually smoke cigarettes in the garage, listen to music. Long story short, I find my dad when my mom comes home. >> Okay. Who moved the body? >> Um >> cuz the body's clearly been moved. >> Was that you? >> I didn't move. My mom My mom may have went up there. >> Your mom Your mom is not moving that body. I'm saying, are you saying >> who called? Who called? >> Who was here? Who was here last night in the house? Just you and your dad? >> Yeah. And I think someone broke in and murdered. >> Something about R.J.'s story isn't adding up, and officers can feel it. He's not telling the whole truth. His account is riddled with inconsistencies, and his demeanor is far too calm, especially compared to his brother Ben, who is inconsolable. Are >> you just coming from work? Okay. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but there's there's been history and No, you're fine. I'm standing there. Make >> you want to Can I go inside? I didn't get cold. >> We'll get there. Okay. Just Do you want to lean against the car? You want to >> You want me there? >> He called me last night at 12. >> Who did? >> My dad. >> Okay. >> Couldn't answer it. I was asleep. I just like called me this this morning. >> Yeah. I talk. Last time I talked to him, they're getting ready for Thanksgiving. He was at my house and we're getting ready for Thanksgiving. >> I'm really sorry for your loss, man. >> We have my condolences. I don't want this to be real. >> I know. Trust me. I I wish it wasn't. >> Was your mom here last night? Was it Was just him just him and your dad? >> Yes. >> Okay. [Music] Ben seems to be in shock. Yet, one thing is very clear. Ben suspects that his own brother is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of their father. It might be easy to miss, but after Ben tells the officer that R.J. and Theodore were home alone last night, he quietly mutters under his breath, "That piece of [ __ ] Piece of [ __ ] You may take RJ back 100% a little more. >> Stand by a second. Let's see. All right. Proceed. Guess what we got? He's dead. There's going to be no. So, the only thing that you guys are going to do is basically confirm it's gunshot wound to the head. Pretty suspicious. Pretty shady. What's going on? So, we probably only We probably only needed the squad. The engine probably clear. And then, but I'm going to wait for the detectives to go up first cuz we can't disturb the crime scene. >> Well, there's already been disturbed. Someone moved the body. Is it obvious that he's dead? >> Yeah. So 100%. >> Yeah, he's he's been sitting there for a while. >> So right now, >> he's clearly dead. Body's clearly been moved. Whatever happened happened in the [ __ ] hallway. The body's in the bedroom. Mom says she found the body. R.J.'s in custody right there. Son and mom both say R.J. was here with him alone. >> R.J.'s claims. I briefly meand said what happened. He says there was a scuffle last night. think he thinks someone broke in the house and murdered his father. >> So, >> all right, >> that's that's where we're at. >> As some investigators work to process the scene and gather evidence, other officers continue piecing together a timeline based on each family member's account. And during this process, police would soon discover a critical piece of evidence that would immediately raise serious doubts about one of the son's versions of events. With that said, let's get back to the investigation. Officers were about to piece together a timeline for each son, hoping to finally reveal who's telling the truth and who's been lying all along. >> I just got a quick timeline from her. >> Okay. >> She went to her daughter Claire's yesterday in the morning. >> Stayed with her daughter all yesterday. Stayed at her daughter's last night. Came home at 10:00 this morning. >> I said, "Why'd you come home?" "Well, R.J. called me. Said he needed cigarettes." >> Yeah. >> I said, "Did he said anything happened?" "No." >> I said, "Okay, so how did you find out when you got here?" She's like, "Well, I I first came here. I went to my back bedroom and then I went upstairs and that's what I found." >> Yeah. >> I said, "Okay." And R.J. when you got here, R.J. never said anything to you about what happened upstairs. >> You know, I briefly talked to R.J. He said, "Somebody broke in the house and murdered my dad." >> He He don't know where the gun is. >> It's upstairs. >> I don't think that's it. It might be. >> And I guess she she called this son. >> Yeah. I don't think >> after she found him. >> I don't think he's related. >> No. After she found him, that's when she called him. Younger son. As far as my understanding goes, whenever anything happened, it was just R.J. and his dad. They were both >> Well, that's that's the same thing I've gotten from. Who's it? >> That's that's the other brother. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, the same thing is that R.J. and his dad were home alone all night. >> Based on everything they've gathered, officers decide to take Annie, Ben, and R.J. in for questioning. It's clear that R.J. is the most suspicious out of the group and as such, their primary suspect. But in order to fully cover all possible angles, it's crucial to get a formal interview with everyone who could have been involved. >> We're going to take uh we're going to take him out of the car. You got to let go for a second. Okay. >> Let's go. We're going this way. Come on. >> Yeah. Me, too. >> Yeah. We all got to go. All of us. Let's go. You're going to follow me. >> Okay. >> Let's go. We're going to go to this car right here. Okay. >> What's going to happen is everyone's going to go back to the station. Okay. I mean, obviously, we're going to talk to all of you, get statements from everybody. >> Hi, honey. >> Have a seat. >> Officers don't suspect Annie or Ben have any involvement. But their suspicion of R.J. is only growing. In fact, many of them are already familiar with R.J., as this isn't the first time law enforcement has been called to the Gouia residence due to an ongoing dispute between father and son. R.J. has a known history of violence, and officers can't shake the feeling that something darker is at play. One officer in particular recalls an unsettling conversation he had with Theodore during a previous visit. One that still sends chills down his spine. >> Before when he saw me, piece of [ __ ] don't like all this [ __ ] Now he's like >> completely different person, >> right? >> I just think that means something here. >> I was, Dude, I was looking at him. He has like a thousand mile stare right when he was sitting on the ground. suck. >> But that guy said >> like literally I I don't even know if I actually said it, but I thought it >> I might have said it to his dad like he's going to kill you >> when last time we were here. >> Yeah, cuz I talked to him after everyone else left. >> God damn. >> And I know we've been here. >> We were two weeks ago for RJ threatening to stab us. So I was like, "Yeah, I'm not." >> No, I'm not running past him. >> Go away. >> Yeah. Um at least you know R.J.'s going back to booking for sure. >> Okay. Just we're going to hold him for invest absolutely hold this homicider side, >> right? Which I would heavily lean towards homicide, but the way he was 2 weeks ago. >> Absolutely. >> Two weeks earlier, officers had been called to the same house after reports claiming that R.J. was acting aggressively and making threats towards his family. This incident further strengthened the officer's suspicion that R.J. was the one responsible for Theodore's death. With this in mind, officers arrested R.J. on suspicion of murder and brought him into the Solon police station for questioning. Their goal was clear. Confront him, push for a confession, and uncover what might have driven him to murder his father. And what R.J. would go on to reveal in that interview would become one of the most disturbing things the investigators had ever heard. >> Hey, Robert. Um, so just like uh last time since the new day, I'm going to read you your rights again. Just need a check DMV signature there. >> Come clean, man. >> All right. Well, >> 100% come playing with the man. >> I'm not going to look for any kind of excuse or blame game to put on my dad. This is bad enough. >> I get it. I get it. >> And disgrace him against dad. Not going to put him down any more than that. >> Okay. First of all, what I did makes me sick inside. I'll never forget. I don't know. I don't know why. I don't know how. I don't There wasn't much motive other than just being angry. I was going He was sitting down and I was going to hit him from behind cuz I didn't want to I didn't want to go too far. I didn't want I just wanted to end fast. And I decided in my mind I was going to do it. I hit him a couple times in the arm and it broke his arm cuz hurt his arm. I didn't want him to just stagger off and call the police and it was more of the same. I said, "You know what? I'm just going to do this." And I uh started swinging the bat and I knocked him to the ground. And right there where all that blood was, I hit him and and knocked him cold. And I just tried to kill him from that point. He he was struggling. And I took a knife and just tried to destroy cuz I didn't want him to feel any more pain. And I had gone too far. And I I don't know how I didn't take my life seeing my dad like that for no freaking reason, man. I didn't have much motive or plan. And I wasn't even that angry. It's it's it's just I don't know. Like I was possessed. He was literally sitting down and I started to strike him. >> Sitting down where though? >> At his desk. He he sat there a lot of the time and I went up to him behind and I started hitting him and he he said, "I love you, man." And it was too His arm was all smashed up. It was too much. So I said, "You know what? I'll just get it. Finish it. Get it over with. I'm not going to let him suffer like that and get called, you know, call the police and >> strike continue." Then it ends here. Is that correct? I knock him out cold and I never killed anybody in my life. So I had no idea how hard it was to actually kill him. >> Okay. >> And I like I said, I grabbed a knife from his desk, stabbed him in the throat. >> Okay. And >> Okay. And that was done out here. Let's see. >> I don't think you know how much this feels like the right thing to do. >> It is the right thing to do. >> I love my dad the most. I tried the hardest to get along with him. He's a hard guy to get along with. I cared about him the most I've ever played. I just want you to know that. >> Guitar. He loved playing the guitar. >> I believe that, R.J. I don't doubt that one bit. >> That's what happened. I didn't do anything weird. I didn't take it too far. I just wanted it to end. >> You know, we can't go back in time. The best we can do is is go forward and make the best out of from there on what you can control. You can't control what has been done. It's done. Let's move past it. Let's let's make better choices. Let's let do the right thing from here moving forward. And that speaks to you and it speaks to your character and I appreciate that. >> Just wanted to shake your head and say thank you for giving me the opportunity to come clean. >> I know it's your Thanksgiving and everything. This means a lot to me that you did that cuz what you said is 100% true that there there's an old passing. So the truth comes out. Thank you. Appreciate that. >> It is deeply disturbing how a son who claimed to love his father the most ultimately became his killer. But at the very least, R.J. chose to come clean, confessing his actions and showing remorse for what he had done. R.J. later plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, and offenses against a human corpse. He was sentenced to a maximum of 25 1/2 years at the Lorraine Correctional Institute, where he currently resides.