Manto man. Tell your story. Tell me what happened. Andrew Sorenson was murdered last October. His body stuffed in the trunk of a car. That's pretty scary. I don't think around my house. I don't think I'd want someone to come after me with a machete. I would go to jail for that again and again and again. Meet John Eisenman and Brenda Cross. For the past year, this evil couple has desperately tried to cover up their horrific crimes. And now they will meet their end. Now, what am I arrested for? Murder. Really? Yeah. Why did you do that? Not money. Go, go, go. On October 22nd, 2021, two Span locals made a discovery that changed dozens of lives forever. A car had recently been abandoned on the street near their homes. After their dogs became obsessed with the vehicle and a foul odor began to permeate it, the two decided to investigate. If you ever find yourself in this situation, do yourself a favor and call the police before you open the trunk. Because when the two opened the back of the '90s Honda Accord, they discovered the decomposed body of 19-year-old Andrew Sorenson, who had been missing for over a year. Andrew had abruptly vanished in early November of 2020. His family had been desperately searching for him, fearing for his safety for more reasons than one. Andrew struggled with substance use disorder and on top of that had autism and cerebral pausy, which made functioning alone incredibly challenging for him. He was often taken advantage of by friends and strangers and would frequently welcome unhoused individuals into his home and give them money and food. Fortunately, police had a pretty immediate lead about who would attack this teenager because the car belonged to Brenda Cross, the longtime girlfriend and current fiance of John Brooks Eisenman. When police learned that Brenda and John's daughter had been dating Andrew at the time of his disappearance, they knew they were on the right track. Due to witness statements, police were able to swiftly arrest Jon just days after the remains were found. The following footage has been provided to us via foyer request from the Span Police Department. The voice detects that you're about to hear the lead detective send to his family as he gets things ready for John Eisenman's arrival sets a pretty good precedent for what's to come. Not going to make it home very soon. Period. Made an arrest in the murder. Period. Go ahead and grab yourself some dinner because it will be a while. Period. I'll have you come in here. Okay. [Music] [Music] Yeah. Thanks, sir. Hey, buddy. You want something to drink? Water or something? Water would be cool. Good. So, hey, John, just to let you know, right up here there's a camera. Okay. So, everything in this room is audio. Water. Of course. Yeah. Okay. So, just for the record, hey, it's it's uh today's October the 29th. by 2021. And it's 4:38 p.m. Okay. Mhm. And you're good with the camera, the video, all that good stuff. Okay. So, John, so what are you kind of wondering why you're here? Well, I've [Music] been So, what did they tell you when they arrest when they arrest you? Did they tell you what the charge was? Am I arrested? Yeah, they didn't tell me. Yeah, they did arrest you. So, you are under arrest. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. So, you are under arrest. So, and and what am I arrested for? Murder. Really? Yeah. You are arrested for for murder. Yeah. And obviously my job as a detective is I investigate. I've been doing this for 36 years. So, in fact, I'm hoping to do like one more and you're going to see me retire. Good for you. But I've been doing this for 36 years and I've learned over the course of that years that there's always two sides to a story. I mean, I understand that nothing in nothing that happens in a person's life is black and white. I mean, there's gray areas. There's there's things that happen in our lives that affect how we act, what we do, and nothing's black and white. And I get that sometimes people that are good people, and and I'm one of those people can make a bad decision based on emotion or events or several other things. So, what I like to do is I always like to collect both sides of a story because I I know there's two sides of a story. So, I've kind of collected this side of the story that So, who's murdered? Huh? Who's murdered? Well, how about this? Cuz I could tell you the name and I will tell you it here because I'm going to be what I will tell you, John, is as we talk, I'm going to be honest with you. Not going to [ __ ] you. Not going to lie to you. Not going to trick you. I'm going to be honest with you, okay? Cuz that's that's who I am. I don't lie to people. I don't trick them. Like I like I told you earlier, there's always two sides of a story. So my job is to gather the facts, the information, and everything else and then try to make an intelligent decision about what it is. Okay. So obviously the thing is you've been you've been arrested, which I told you that and you've been brought down here to a police car. I mean, they handcuff me. They tell me they'reing me. Okay. But you Well, I'll tell you that. But I I assumed. Yeah. You probably assumed that when they put handcuffs on you and put you in a police car that you were probably under arrest. No, I thought it had something to do with the car because me and Brend have been talking like wonder what they found in there, right? You know, did someone do a robbery? Well, and I would I would love, like I said, that's what I want to talk to you about in this room tonight. And like I said, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not going to [ __ ] you. I'm not going to lie to you. Mhm. I mean, I can only imagine if you're down here at the detectives division, you got to think that this is pretty serious, right? I mean, you're not down here littering ticket or a trespass or a shoplifting, right? I've seen your card. Major crimes. Yep. They don't come out just for, you know, say how, how you doing? We It's not clear. Yeah. We usually don't Yeah. do courtesy calls. Not too much. Okay. So, understandably, you you've been under arrest. Like you said, you got put in handcuffs. You got taken down here. Now, you you're putting in a in a room. There's two detectives sitting here. Okay. In order me to have a conversation with you. Okay. Have you you ever watch TV? You ever watch cop shows? Mhm. Okay. So, you probably know in order for me to have a conversation with you, I have to advise you of your rights. That's just that's a requirement that they make of me anytime I bring a person in here to speak to you. So, what I want to do is read your rights. And if you decide to talk to me, then I will tell you what I know, the reason you're here, and pretty much anything you want to know. How does that sound? The officer reads Jon his Miranda writes. I'd like to think that during the spiel, he's thinking about just how ridiculous everything Jon has said so far is. For starters, police absolutely told Jon he was under arrest and what the charges were when he was arrested. Apparently, Jon hasn't actually seen enough cop shows because that interaction is literally in every single one. While Jon is happy to disclose any and all information to law enforcement, his fianceé Brenda has a very different reaction. So, like I said, we're here to talk about the car. Okay. Mhm. Okay. So, this is kind of a pain in the and I apologize, but when we bring people down here for a formal statement and because you're on camera and because there's video, they require that we read you your rights. Okay. So, am I under arrest? No. Nope, you're not under arrest. Okay. I'm just trying to find out information about the car. Okay. So, do I need an attorney? Well, I don't think so. I can tell you this. Okay. You know, and and if you feel uncomfortable, then we won't read it. And like I said, I guarantee you you're going to go home today. So, if you don't feel comfortable with me reading that, then I was just I thought you only read something like this if you're under arrest. No. Brenda should have asked for an attorney, just like Jon should be asking for one now. Instead, detectives guide the conversation towards the car that Andrew was located inside. All right. So, you you remember when I came up and talked to you, I guess it was last Friday about the car. All right. So, let's just kind of go back over that just real quick cuz obviously that wasn't being recorded when I talked to you. I told you that we had found that 1991 Honda Accord and it was parked over in Hillyard. Mhm. And then I think I'd asked you cuz the car is registered to your girlfriend, right? And her name is Brenda Cross. And then you guys lived together on Joseph. Okay. So, do you remember when you bought that car? Not exactly. Okay. Whenever I registered Oh, whenever Brenda reg. Oh, okay. Okay. It was supposed to be registered. I was gonna register it in my name and then it sat there for the longest time. No one wrote it, right? And I said, "Well, just give it to Ashley." That's what I bought it for anyway. And she went down and gave it to her. I didn't know she didn't give it to her in her name. Oh, okay. You didn't know she left it in her name. And then they got in a fight and all a sudden she comes back with the car and I'm going, "Well, me and her father over that one." You know, it's like, why don't you just turn around and go give it to her? Right. Why would you do that to your daughter? Take her own. I just didn't get it. Yeah. That's her only transportation. Why do you take it back? So then it's out there for a while, right? I can't tell you how long. Trying to think. Couple months, right? And all of a sudden disappear. Where you go? Oh, okay. You know, and I thought I go, did you sell it? And she said, "No." Right. She's uh I thought you did something with it. Then I thought uh and she goes, "Well, maybe Ashley took it by Courtland several times if she lives 24 coat home." Right. Just the car would be down there. I mean, maybe she'd park it up top, but she'd be somewhere around her house, right? But not then she says, "Well, maybe Stephie." Stiffy got it. No. Oh, now Stephie, she's my daughter. Okay. So, that's actually daughter. But my daughter. Okay. I'm sorry. Your daughter. And what's her last name? So, okay. So, you thought maybe she had it? Maybe. Okay. She was awol at the time. Oh, okay. Running around with her boyfriend. Gotcha. Reportedly, Brenda and John's daughter got her GED and left high school early, allegedly due to drug use and health issues. She and Andrew began dating sometime in 2019 or 2018. Several posts on her Facebook, which we are keeping private to protect her as a victim, allude to being homeless and living on the streets. So, well, obviously, you know, when I came up and talked to Brenda on Sunday, you were up cleaning the yard and then Brenda came out and sat in the car with me and cuz I was just asking her about the car and stuff. Mhm. So, kind of talk to me about she was telling me some things that happened with Stephanie uh involving some kid and you guys had to go to Seattle and and pick her boyfriend sold her over there for a,000 bucks. Like when you say sold her to Okay. And when was that? Well, it was starting to get cold in the rainy season. So, okay. Yeah. 2019. Okay. 20 or 2020. Let me think. 2020. Okay. Oh, so just year. And you said this was her her boyfriend. Mhm. And what was his name? Andrew. Okay. Trying to think what his last name is. He had two last names. Oh, but So, how did how did these two first meet? A friend of hers, you know, Ben. Okay. Benjamin. Okay. Not Ben that I was with, a little kid, 18 year old, 19 year old kid. Okay. and uh she met him that way. Okay. So, when did she meet him? Do you remember? Early summer. Early summer of just this last year. Uh 2019, I believe. So, or maybe late summer of 2019. Okay. So, they get meet they meet through this kid Benjamin. And they knew other people. Okay. And then do they like are they friends? Do they turn into like dating? What kind of relationship do they end up in? Kind of like they were buds kicking around, you know? Um I think it was at some point or whatever like they were robbing me blind, you know, and I kept looking at them and I was going said, you know, if it wasn't for my daughter, I'd be beating your ass right now. Right. So, were they both stealing from you or She was allowing it. She was allowing taking him into my house. Okay. So, now did he stay at your house for a while or he was just she was allowing him to come over? Mhm. And and take stuff. What kind of [ __ ] were they taking from you? No. All kinds of stuff. I got If you go look at the house, it's it's full of everything. It's crazy, right? There's there's Wii systems, Xbox 360, there's games, there's, you know, every one of my kids, even Ashley, you know, I always got him a TV, always got him the game system always. I mean, blah blah blah, right? Spoil them, I guess. I don't know. But, uh, no, and like a friend of mine died and, uh, and gave me knives and this and that and my memorabilia and stuff. They were taking that. Oh, okay. Mhm. So, I'm guessing obviously Stephanie's your daughter. Sounds to me like almost like Andrew was like was was he like coursing your daughter into this or like Yeah. tricking her? Yeah. But he was so think Andrew was because soon soon uh all of a sudden she started like really hating on her mom and then believing like some goofy stuff like she held me down when I was 12 years old beating on me and your mother has never ever time she's ever hit you is when you hit her and then you called her and she didn't even hit you then then you called her a c word and then she did she struck out and hit her. Right. Right. Okay. But I mean what do you what do you antagonizing your mom to bear her? I mean but yeah so I believe they you know some of the stuff they were she was believing because they were keeping her high. She was high all the time. Oh And Andrew was Mhm. Was there more than just Andrew or mainly Andrew that was doing all this? Andrew and Alex his friend I guess. Okay. cuz she remembered and I remember him her telling me that uh Alex held her helped held her down because he couldn't even get the phone from her. Oh, and so so and do you know what? So when they were stealing this stuff, were they like pawning it or what do you think? Somehat some was some was pawn. So you think they basically told Basically they wanted the money is what they wanted traded for dope. Okay. So they could dope up on it. Okay. How long did this go on where they were stealing [ __ ] from you? [ __ ] for about six months. Oh, okay. And was there a point where you said, "I don't want that guy in my house." Oh, yeah. I know. I Yeah. I told her I said, "What?" And I I told him, "Dude, you don't even know, right?" You know, I mean, if it wasn't that my daughter likes you, right? I would be beating your right now, right? Understand? And he didn't think I could because he's, you know, 18, 19, I don't know how old it is. You know, they get so cocky. Right. Right. Well, and I'm an old gray-haired man, you know. I learned a long time ago old gray hair men are the ones you don't mess with. Don't uh don't ever estimate underestimate anybody. Yeah. No, I agree with you on that one. This gay-haired man makes it pretty clear that he wanted to beat the snot out of Andrew. And though he claims that his daughter and Andrew were just buds, Andrew's social media at this time makes an entirely different suggestion. He made several posts in August of 2020, shortly before his murder, about being engaged. There is no name attached to his engagement, but the timing certainly lines up. John's claims that Andrew was a groomer who sold his daughter is the major focus of this case with a completely shocking outcome. One thing you will see thrown around quite a lot throughout this interrogation are statements that Andrew groomed J's daughter, who was allegedly underage when they began dating. After looking at both of their birth dates, we confirmed that in reality the two were only 13 months apart in age and neither was attending high school when they began dating. So while this was going on, was was your daughter like So she's living with you guys and then Andrew would just pop in or kind of she really wasn't. She was okay. She was she was living with Natasha like on Beacon Hill for a while down on Peaceful Valley. They were camping and Okay. Mhm. Okay. So, at some point in talking Well, she got hit she got ran over by a car on Nevada in Central. Okay. And uh she got awarded money $23,000. Oh, okay. And then she's, you know, I'm going to buy this, I'm going to buy that. I'm going to give I'm going to buy Andrew a car. And I said, why? Right. She goes, well, I go, he's a piece of [ __ ] And I go and and I told her many times, nothing good is going to come from him. I can tell, you know, he's just a [ __ ] ball. And uh and u she she said a lot everybody hates him, you know, and but he's got kids and I really just want to get in the car and I hope he gets out of town, right? Cuz a lot of people were after him. Oh, okay. A lot of them. and uh and she'd hope he'd go riding off in the sunset and everything be fine, right? He got the car, okay, walked her out of her own bank account cuz her memory and so he just changed it. She ain't got no ID. She can't even go into the bank. Co all the Anyway, so he had to buy her $9,000 car. Took pretty much the rest of her money. here. She got some of it. I guess she was a willing participant. I told her, I said, "Well, when you go in and you take money out, you hand it to them, right? You're giving it to him. That's you giving it. You know, when you go and you know, but that's an argument between me and her, right? Right. But uh so so after he got her locked out of her account and had access to it, then uh he took her to not quite Seattle. Okay. In the hill coming down whatever little town and sold her. If you're lucky, you get away. Right. When I told her, I said, "Well, you know, cuz the guy that was dragging her around, taking her He said, "I know your dad." And I was like, "Really?" And it wasn't like the next place they went, right? Some black people ran in frantic saying, you know, that she's from a rich family in Oregon, Portland, Oregon, blah blah blah, and they're racist, you know, and just causing a scene and and there was some mace there, and she was able to spray the mace, get out. Well, that that don't happen. Just you know I tell her I said I think he staged it and said it's for you to get away. Oh to help her. Just how often do do they get away? Not not usually once they suck him into that that black hole and I believe he did it you know right? I mean I got some words for him because hey one why are you doing this type of business right? But he was a hangar around. I was in a bike club for a while, right? Bike club and he was a hangar around at like our spring openers and stuff. Oh, okay. So I knew I knew when she said he kind of said who it was and I go, "Oh, it's Doug." And she go, "Yeah, that was the name." I said, "So I knew who he is." Right. That was quite a story. John's a rambler, so let's break it down. He claims that Andrew sold his daughter, who was bought by a client who actually knew Jon from his biker club days. Then a group of black men burst into the room and started a fight. During the fight, Jon's daughter was able to mace the men and escape, which he all attributes to his friend getting her out of the situation. Does it sound as far-fetched to you as it does to us? This is his wife's take on the matter. She says she was gone for 2 weeks. It didn't seem like two weeks to me, though. Okay. It was seemed like a few days. So, did she say how long that she like how long a period was she sold and having to engage in these? It was like two weeks. Oh, okay. So, two weeks she was basically forced into do things that she did not want to do. Mhm. And it seems like there was a guy that I don't know how it's ended up with or what's going on with it, but I guess there was a guy that knew John, her dad. Okay. Cuz John used to be in a clean silver bike club. Okay. And so this guy used to be a hangaround. Okay. And you know, not in the club, right? But like just went to the runs and stuff and was like a friend of somebody that was in the club, but not John, right? He just happened to know John from there, right? And so this guy creep um was part of the So and he recognized Stephanie. Okay. I guess from John. Okay. So, for some reason, he had his eye out our on our family or something. I don't know. You know, a sicko, right? And Stephie was really young at the time when we were going to the clean bright club, right? And so, it's like surprised you even remember her, you know, nobody else, but I don't know something about him. But, uh, he I guess let Stephanie go or somehow helped her Oh. escape. Mhm. Police reports and witnesses tell a very different story about what happened to Jon's daughter. On October 20th, 2020, Andrew drove J's daughter and two additional friends to Reon, Washington to pick up their substance of choice. On the way, the group reportedly smoked and Andrew then dropped his three passengers off at a 7-Eleven. He said he would return, but never came back. The following morning at 6:00 a.m., John's daughter called 911 and told officers that she and her friends had been abandoned by her partner. They were adults, so officers provided them with resources, but took no further steps because Jon's daughter allegedly became uncooperative. It was learned by detectives that Andrew never returned because his car had been stolen soon after he left the 7-Eleven. On October 23rd, 3 days after the group of four arrived in Reon, Jon and Brenda went to pick up their daughter outside of Seattle. Essentially, this left her with two full days unaccounted for. What happened in those two days and whether Andrew was to blame for it has been a major source of drama in this case. So, yeah, some guy calls us up. First, he called us, okay, from like a hamburger joint or something. and mom was on a Uber ride and couldn't talk. Said, "I I'll call you back." Right. Well, she left. And so then we didn't hear from her till the next day. Right. And the guy called up and said, "She found your daughter walking down the street without a coat, pouring down rain, you know, and the guy ended up being kind of homeless himself. He was working at a hotel that has shut down and and he they stayed there and uh we we took off right away and came and came came and got her. Right. She didn't even tell us anything happened. Okay. We we're downtown going on the rides and stupid stuff like that, wasting all day. Then as we're heading out of town, I'm getting kind of tired. I lay down in the back about George. They're waking me up cuz uh Stephie told her some events that happened, you know, and that's right. I mean, we would have took her to the hospital right away. I was like, come on. You know, but she didn't want to press no charges against him. She didn't, you know, cuz she still was hoping he'd just ride off in the sun. He got that car stolen. I don't know Lexus or something, right? So, who knows? So, you guys get there. Was Andrew there when you got there? No. Okay. So, you guys get there and what does she what does she tell you happened or why? I mean, she was pretty vague. Okay. But at the same time, she's really angry, right? But we didn't know exactly what happened. All you really knew is that her and Andrew got into a fight. Okay. And this is all she was letting me know, right? And that he left her in Seattle. On the way back, she starts telling me, I said, "So, what's been going on with you? What's happened?" And then she tells me that she was abandoned by or sold for drugs for $1,000 from Andrew to uh somebody in So, Andrew sold her for $1,000 and for some drugs. And basically, did did it sound like she actually I mean did she get stuck having to sadly have guys or was she able to Oh, so that she wasn't able to escape until she actually ended up having some John's. Mhm. There is a report from Sacred Heart Hospital confirming that the family did indeed bring their daughter in on October 23rd. But what happened during this hospital visit brings up more questions than it does answers. In the hospital report, Jon's daughter initially claimed that an unknown person approached her and sold her for substances for a few days. Then she changed her story, claiming that Andrew had been selling her in Seattle for 3 weeks and that she had escaped and was homeless trying to get home. Investigators confirmed that based on the timeline of events, it was obviously impossible for her to have been homeless in Seattle for that long. Later, she would tell police that she believed the man who picked her up knew Andrew and that the two had made an exchange with her as the currency. Now, we want to make it clear, we aren't saying that this woman hasn't gone through something horrific, and we aren't diminishing any trauma that she's been through. Substance use and homelessness significantly increase an individual's chance of being trafficked. However, it's been confirmed that there is absolutely no proof that she was sold by Andrew or that any trafficking took place. Yet the story continues. So she basically told you that Andrew sold her into this for $1,000. Piece of [ __ ] Yeah. So how long did was she caught up in this [ __ ] before she was a or your friend or however before she was able to escape? I think a day or two, I think. I think once he figured out who she was, right? Goes, "Oh [ __ ] I know your dad." Right. Mhm. And like I said, the next place that little stage thing happened, I told her that ain't real, you know? I mean, well, and you're not from Portland and you don't have a rich family, right? So, the horrible thing and I'm really not racist. I mean, right to a point, right? You know, and I'm racist against white that want to act like blacks, right? Yeah. No, they're worse. and and and a bunch of blacks that want to act a bunch of shitballish. Uh I'm No, I'll stand right up. Right. Right. Cuz Andrew, he was trying to fly some colors, you know. Oh, was he? So, what kind of colors was Andrew flying? Well, he was wearing this little blue thing. Oh, okay. You know, trying to So, was he trying to associate with the crips? Is that what you thought? Oh, okay. And then I come to find out that they ain't even called any of that anymore. They got all kind. They're going, "Oh, you're old school." And I go, "Old school? What are you talking about?" Right? You know, I whatever. But I told him, I said, "Well, you know, maybe you might want to reach out and talk to uh couple of your guys about me before you go doing anything stupid." Right. Because uh I was in jail like I'm 95 or six or something. And uh seven black guys running this tank, 40 white guys acting like little. And I'm going, "Wait a minute. We can outnumber them." This and that. Oh, no. We're good. Well, I'm not right. I guess I'll take care of it. And so the next meal I came in, I sat my plate down at the table and I said, "It's my table and I'm thinking it's mine." Right. John's claim that he's not a racist, you know, to a certain extent, is totally checking out here. If you're trying to look innocent when you're being questioned about a violent murder, you probably shouldn't repeatedly talk about what a badass you were in prison and how many people were afraid of you. John continues to do that for several minutes. For the record, there is no confirmation that Andrew was in a gang. So, when you went over and picked up uh Stephanie in Seattle or were just outside of Seattle and grabbed her, was that piece of [ __ ] Andrew there at all? Did you see him? No. Okay. You didn't run into him and didn't see him. Did you ever hear what happened to him? Did he Did he get back to I heard that and and Stephie told me that he got the car stolen from him by a girl? A girl stole the car, right? And I think she had it out at like Pines and somewhere right off the freeway, but yeah. No, I never seen him. Okay. So, I don't think she ever seen him either. Oh, Stephanie. Okay. But she had a hard time. She She tried going to some treatment. It didn't work out. Right. And she just wanted out of Spokane. Gotcha. and and and took off to California. Too many horrible memories. Mhm. Yeah. Right. So when you obviously did you ever see that piece of [ __ ] in Spokane again? No. No. No. too many people after him, right? There was a lot of people. Oh, was there? Yeah. Okay. Because he's a piece of [ __ ] Ch [ __ ] all over the place. And I don't think that was the first girl he sold. Oh, okay. Mhm. Right. So, people not happy with him. Yeah. And Stephie told me, you know, and that's why she wanted to get him in the car and get him out of town because she turned around with him and people are chasing them all over the place and they're having to run and hide and do all kinds of crazy [ __ ] Oh, okay. Cuz people are after him, right? Right. I get it. Well, and and as a father, I can't imagine how you felt about the piece of [ __ ] Oh, well, it's like I told him, I mean, if you if it wasn't for her, I would have bashed your head in a long time ago. Obviously, John, I mean, you know, I'm a major crimes detective, okay? I mean, I told you that from day one. Mhm. And I'm going to be completely honest with you. I mean, you're sitting here for a reason. Mhm. Uh we don't arrest people unless we have evidence. So, I mean, I just didn't decide today that I was going to go out and arrest John, just because I mean, there's a reason that I arrested you. I've been pretty much working this thing non-stop since Friday, early morning of Friday. Mhm. From about I think I started at about 2:00 in the morning and I pretty much 24/7. I've got some sleep, don't get me wrong, but I've been compiling evidence and, you know, everything else and figuring what's going on. Okay, as a caveat before we delve into it, I'm going to tell you Andrew's a piece of and I understand why sometimes things happen to people that are pieces of [ __ ] Mhm. It happens. And sometimes good people like yourself get to the point where, like we talked about earlier, this is the line in the sand. This is what you did. You're going to pay for what you did. And I I'm on that same page with you. I get it. I get it. I'm a father. I I completely understand. I understand that in any situation there are certain circumstances that you push a person so far and you do certain things to either that person or his children, there's going to be consequences and I completely understand that. I I just want to tell you that, you know, I'm sorry that we're meeting under these circumstances. Let's put it this way, okay? For that, I apologize. You're a decent guy. You've worked hard your whole life. I hate to see you sitting in a police interview room. I really do. You seem like a nice guy. And for that, like I said, I'm sorry. But as you can imagine, you know, once I got called Friday night, uh, you know, I I had a job to do. Mhm. Oh, no. So, you know, and that's and that's all I'm doing. Okay. So, I'll be honest with you, and I think sitting here is as one grown man to another. So, like I said, you know, I'm going to be completely honest with you. You You know, you didn't expect that car to be found. I know that when it was found, you know what was in the trunk as well as I do. Okay. But I know there's extenduating circumstances and I know you're not some vicious killer that decided, you know, I'm bored. I'm just going to go kill somebody because it's funny or it's because it's amusing or whatever. There was a reason this happened. And I understand that. I I truly do. And I get it. I understand it. I'm a father. I get it. I've got a daughter. I understand it. But sadly, I have a job to do, right? So, you know, that's all I'm doing here today. Right. Okay. So, I guess what I'm looking for you is I just need you to tell me in your words, I I know there's extenduating circumstances. Did this guy say you? Did you contact him? Did you try to talk to him? Did something happen? Did was he a smuggler? Was he like a smug little punk? No. No. I'm thinking stole that goddamn car. You're thinking he stole what car? That car? That Honda? The Honda. Okay. Must have. Okay. You know, I thought for a long time we thought had it and then like I said, it didn't bring us. Right. Right. She'd be we'd be called by the paramedics coming to get her cuz she getting a wreck so fast night time. Right. Right. No, I I've driven with her, tried to and said, "Pull over." No. Well, John, you know as well as I do. This is not about him stealing that car. Okay. You know that. I know that. Well, you know as you know as well as I do. You know as well as I do that his body was in the trunk of that car. You know that. You know that. And you know, like I said, I've gathered evidence. There's forensics evidence. There's biological evidence. There's DNA evidence. There's that's the reason you're sitting in this room today. Okay, manto man. You killed him. It is what it is. I get it. He's a piece of [ __ ] He is your daughter. He sold her for $1,000 and he's a piece of [ __ ] I get it. Okay. Normally, this is when Per start disagreeing with detectives or putting on the waterworks, but John and his wife once again have very different reactions. They end up looking inside the vehicle. Okay. Mhm. So, what do you think we found in the vehicle? I have no idea. Okay. See this? Remember what you read? Mhm. What do you think we found in the vehicle? Um, was there weapons or something? No. Homicide, right? Okay. What do you think we found in the vehicle? I don't know. Well, if I'm a homicide investigator, what what do homicide investigators do? The only thing I could think of was there a weapon or something that you was used. You said you found something in the vehicle. I don't investigate weapons. What do homicide investigators do? What do we investigate? Uh, murders. Murders. You You just said the $100 question. So, what do you think I found in your vehicle? A body. Really? Yep. And you know what? I know from my investigation that you know that. Okay. So, let me tell you, Brenda, this ain't my first rodeo. I've been doing this 36 years and I know that you exactly know everything about this thing. Okay? Now, what I want you to do, Brenda, is don't dig yourself into a hole. Okay? because you don't want to go down that road because you don't want to get yourself caught up in something that at this point right now in this avenue you have a chance to maybe kind of get off on a side road and help yourself. If you stay on the main road, you could be in a lot of trouble. Okay. I'm I'm trying to give you an opportunity here to We need to talk about everything that happened involving this. Did you want me to get an attorney? Am I being accused of murdering? Nope. I at this point I'm not accusing you of murder cuz I didn't know there was a body in that car. Okay. But let me tell you this. Who do you think that body was in that car if you had to guess? Um considering that somebody's missing possibly Andrew. Okay. Okay. And Brenda, we I've developed information. I hope that was not the case. Okay. We've developed information. I know for a fact that John was involved. Okay? I I know that for a fact. So, like I said, I'm just looking for you to be honest with me. Okay? I'm not I'm not sitting here accusing you of murder, but what I am saying is you need to be completely honest with me about what happened because you have knowledge reference this incident. There's no ifs, ends, or buts about it. I know for a fact that you have knowledge. So, what I need you to do is you need to sit here and we need to talk and you need to tell me the knowledge that you have reference what occurred. That's what I need from you. John did it. I know that. Okay. Your boyfriend is going to be arrested shortly. So, this is a time for you to be honest with me about what happened because I know you have knowledge, right? You know, you know what happened. Okay. I I'm not I'm not accusing you of murdering him, but Brenda, it's it's time to be honest with you. Accusing John of murdering him. Yes. Yes. Back in John's interrogation next door, this is exactly what detectives are doing. Tell me what led up to it. What happened? What did he do? Just be honest with me so I can I can go to a judge and go, "Look, this guy's a good guy. Worked for the county for 18 years. He's an upstanding guy. This guy his daughter. Okay. You can only push a man so far before we draw that line in the sand and say this isn't right. This isn't right what he did. My daughter will pay for this for the rest of her life. It is not right. Murder is not right either. Well, sometimes it is what it is. Okay. Oh, jury ain't going to say that. But a judge and a jury will hear your story. They'll hear your story. But it's important for you to tell your story because a jury needs to hear your story. When a jury is looking at this video, are they looking at you and going, "You know what? This guy's a prick who is just an [ __ ] and he shouldn't have done it." Or is it a jury who listens to your side of the story on this video and goes, "You know what? I got a daughter. I get it. I understand why this guy did what he did. I understand it. Okay, I understand it. They need to hear that from you. They need to hear your side of the story. It's important for you for what happens after this. This is your chance. This is your chance to tell that jury right there what happened and why this piece of [ __ ] got what he deserved. That's all I'm telling you. Manto man, right? Tell your story. Tell me what happened. Well, I'd like to kill him. Okay. I literally, but No, he stole the car evidently cuz he's in it. Well, you killed him. I I know that. So, what once again, John, how do you know I killed him? Because I have evidence. I have statements. There's more people. There's more people than you that know about this. I I I don't have you arrested here for no reason. Okay. Once again, I'm just trying to get you to tell the the people that you'll eventually talk to in front of a jury. What happened? Okay. Just tell me what happened. I know about the property up north. I know that you never intended for that car to end up in the city of Spokane. That was got to be like a And let's be honest, you had to have an a [ __ ] moment when the police showed up on your doorstep Friday. You had to go. Well, I'm sure your buddy could see I was having an a [ __ ] moment. I could I could tell you were. So, you know, right there when the major crimes detectives walked up, you went, "Oh, yeah. They found Andrew's body." You knew it. And And that's all I mean, we're being honest, right? We're being real men. We walked up and you went, "But she ain't really don't know much about it." Brenda doesn't know. Well, that's one thing I told Brenda, too. It's like Brenda, obviously, I mean, I don't want to get her in trouble. The only way she would get in trouble is if she knows things that you told her or she witnessed things you did and you're telling me that's not the case. Okay. So, you're telling me that was she involved in the murder? No. Okay. Did was she present? It wasn't even Was she present when a murder? Okay. So, what happened? Tell me. Well, we I I He was going to rob a friend of mine. Okay. After all this, you know. Okay. Okay. And I said, uh, I said, "Who are you dealing with?" And and told me, I said, "He's bad news, dude." I said, "Uh, call him up and get him get him to come over, you know." Okay. And so, so I come walking out around the corner. And he like I said, "Oh, yeah." You know, and and and we sat there and we talked and he lied. He lied a couple times, you know, and I said, "No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't get to lie." And then finally he admitted, "Yeah, I sold her. I sold her for a thousand bucks." Right? My daughter didn't tell me she got sold for 1,000 bucks. He told me he sold her for a,000 bucks, right? And uh and that's still And I said, "You're being honest with me just like what?" And I said, "So, so I'm thinking we can work through this, you know, and but I'm still I'm mattered and [ __ ] and I go, "Why? Why would you?" She My daughter's got a good heart. She wanted to help you out. And this and and then he spit on me. Okay. Yep. And uh and that's when he got zip tied. Okay. And uh the sock stuffed in his mouth. Okay. And uh and I still wasn't and that son of a I said get down here and he said no. And I went to grab him and he come flying down doing a headbutt and I lost my cool, right? I start beating on beating on beating on beating on beating on him and my hands hurt so bad and I'm doing hammer fist and then and then took a knife out stabbed him I don't know how many times it's quite big because he kept breathing and moving and Then it's like, you know, you hear that noise, right? It's like God, you know, there's a horrible horrible animal, right? And so, you know, Joe across the street films my house 24/7. Okay. So, at any point in time, you know, you'll see that that car left, right, with me driving it. Okay. Came back with me driving it. Okay. He was in the trunk. Oh, he was in the trunk of the Honda. Mhm. Okay. And then I took off with it. Okay. And then she's like just where are you? Get and I didn't want to tell her. No, understandably. So, so yeah. I mean, so yeah. Yeah. No, I did. Right. Mhm. I'm not proud of it, you know. Well, he pushed you and he's an idiot because he was he was going to live, right? I mean, I would have probably beat his I would have untied him and let him swing, right? And try to, you know, stupid kid. It's a pretty bold move to call someone stupid when you've just confessed to a murder. As you'll soon learn though, Brenda somehow managed to do something even more stupid. So, did this happen then at your house? No. Up at the property. No. Where did it happen at? Nearway Heights. Airway Heights. Okay. Down near Heights. Okay. And when did it happen? Do you remember the date or close? No, I think it was November of last year. Okay. Mhm. Okay. It's been about a year. Okay. So you put them in the trunk of the So it happened down at Airwood Heights and then you put him in the trunk of the car out there and then where'd you drive the car to? My house. Your house. Like I said, and he'd be more than happy to Okay. show you all his little trinkets and but anyway. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So then you drive home, she's pissed off cuz where the been? Right. Right. Right. But but everything's cool and everything. Like whatever. And then and then I got rid of the car. Okay. Where'd you take the car to? Over by Miller's one style building. Okay. Is that Mr. Pierce property? I don't know who he is. Oh, okay. What's What's some old guy? But but it's probably the same guy. What's on a Let's put it this way. There was a bus. Yeah, we were at the property the other day. So, how come you chose up there? Did you I knew there was another car that was parked that was broke down and I knew somebody and and they told me about that and I said, "Well, then that car looked just fine sitting there." Oh. So it didn't look out of place. Mhm. Okay. So you parked it there like clear back in November. Yeah. Okay. And it's been sitting there ever since. Mhm. So now the million-dollar question, who brought it? Who's the dumb rock back in the town? Do you have any idea? No. Oh, I'm wondering, you know, we were kind of theorizing. I'm wondering if somebody was out there and just needed a ride and decided, hey, put a battery in it. Oh, was there no battery in it? Oh, did you take the battery out? Oh, when you dumped it. So, I get I'm from what you're saying, you took the battery out so nobody drive it. And somebody was nice enough battery in it for you. That was nice of them. It was So, you never expected this car to show back up. Well, no. So, I can only imagine, like you said, when we showed up at your house that Friday, you're like, Gotcha. To this day, police have never publicly identified who stole the car. While Jon is lying through his teeth about nearly everything under the sun, he is actually telling the truth about where he left the vehicle. You're about to hear several more halftruths because in this case, the real truth is almost too horrifying to believe. So, you were saying you got wind that that uh Andrew was going to do a robbery at this guy's place. That's what you said. was going to try and steal. And the reason why is he used my phone to get into his messenger, get into his Facebook, get into his Google. Okay. When he did that, he didn't put us a password or delete it. Gotcha. So, all of a sudden, I'm cooking through my phone and all a sudden I am now Andrew on Facebook. Okay. And I'm like, and I see what he's writing and it's like, oh, really? So, you get wind of what he's going to do. Okay. I just showed up. So, now where he was going to do this in Airway Heights, did you know that person or you just kind of I knew I knew I knew Okay. the people of the property. Right. Was he going to do like a dope ri or dope dope ri? Okay. Do do you know the names of the people where the that where this was? Mark Mindy, I think. Mindy. Okay. So, you got win through basically utilizing Andrew's Facebook that he was going to do a direct ri that. So, the zip ties, where' they come from? Did you bring them with you or you had them with you? Okay. Well, I had them in the car. Oh, okay. The car that got towed, the other Honda that and the truck that got sold had zip ties in it. My other Honda that had zip ties on it. You gave her a breakdown and needed Oh, yeah. Zip ties come in handy. They come in handy. I've never thought about doing what I did with them. I mean, Right. So, the car you drove out there that night was the 91 Honda Accord that night. Okay. And you had the zip ties. Did you zip tie him in the house or outside? outside. Huh? Outside. Outside. Okay. So, the confrontation and he was cool with cuz I we had already gone through a whole gambit of of yelling and stupid [ __ ] Okay. And I was trying to convince him I'm not my my intention was not to Right. But but it definitely was a one I'm going to stop a robbery, right? You know, because you're a piece of [ __ ] right? And another what? What the he admitted and then finally he admitted it, right? You know, but then after he admitted it and I said, "Well, good. We're working right together, right? It's cool, right? I think you might get a little happier, you know?" Right? And so he was getting kind of happy, you know, and and I said, "But I'm still going to zip tie you, you know?" Okay. So he put his hands behind his back. Okay. So he basically let you do that. Okay. But then when I go to grab him, you know, and say, "Come on, come flying off the mission again. Little last ditch effort." Well, I said, "You should have done this a long time ago." Right. Right. This is what you do at first. Right. Not at last. Yeah. Not last. No. And at some point you spit your face. Oh, yeah. Right. Well, you spit in my face for So when you zip tied him, I mean, were you just going to like take him outside and kick him? What? How come you zip tied him at that point? Because when I'm driving with him? Oh, okay. Okay. I didn't want him to start attacking me. Oh, gotcha. Right. I wasn't going to put him in a trunk. Right. So, where were you going to that where where was initially? Where were you going to take him? I was going to take him by his house up on 44th in Denver. Okay. Okay. Okay. My daughter stayed up there with him and I knew where he lived and I was going to take him up there. Gotcha. And do what with him? Drop him off or Okay. So, at that point, so he's zip tied. I wasn't going to at no point in time. Okay. Did I think I'm I'm going to kill this. Gotcha. So at that point, I'll never kill in my life. He's zip tied behind his back. Okay. Were his feet zip tied at that point, too? No, not at that point. Not at that point. Okay. So, after you leave with him in the car? No. No. Oh, no. Well, I got him right there cuz he comes flying headbutting at me, right? It's on and cracking. Gotcha. And then I'm trying to stuff him in trunk and then he throws his feet out at me and then I kind of grab his feet and zip tied him and I said no. Gotcha. No. Said you're being stupid, you know. And then he come out and it's like guy, right? But he would have listened to me, right? And went talk to Mar or any of those other guys. Right. Right. They would have told me I leave him alone. Yeah. Don't Don't do nothing stupid. I mean, why why would you want to go there, right? I get along with just about everybody, right? But you want to come doing stupid [ __ ] How not running? Yeah. Yeah. No, I get it. So, when he got stabbed, was he in the trunk then? Mhm. At trial, Andrew's parents were devastated by the detail that Andrew put his hands behind his back and allowed himself to be zip tied. According to them, he had an IQ of 81. If anyone could be taken advantage of, it was him. They believe that Andrew trusted he would be let go if he allowed himself to be zip tied. What happened instead is sickening. Well, when we looked in the trunk of the car, there there was a certain item back there. Obviously, there was the body, but then there was another item back there. It was a concrete block. Yes. What was the deal with that? In the head with it. Oh, okay. When did that in the sequence of him? before. Where'd you hit him at? Just in the head. Did it knock him out or was he still awake or? Well, it knocked him out but he was still breathing. Oh, okay. And then you started Mhm. Okay. So, and I'm sorry, like I said, these facts go in my mind a million places. As he's going in the trunk, he's he's already zip tied because he put his hands behind his back. And then did you zip tie his feet when he's outside the trunk or after you got him in? And then after I got him in and he cuz it was a I wouldn't plan on doing nothing. He was supposed to be riding with me and he's doing all this stupid [ __ ] Gotcha. And and then he lunging at me with with his feet, right? You know, kicking kicking, you know, I have to get tight because I had them in my back pocket, right? Double them up and then there you go. Right. And I thought about just leaving him in there, you know, and uh then he started kicking with the even the zip tie, you know, was striking out, right? And it just escalated. Okay. Was the brick just already in the trunk then? No, it was laying there in the back. Oh, okay. So, it was just laying there just there. So, you grabbed it and then what' you do with it? Well, I threw it in his head. Oh, okay. Well, he's in the trunk. Mhm. Okay. And he never got out of the trunk. He never once you got him in there, he never got out. Okay. And then there was some stuff around his face. What was the deal with that? Do you remember? Sock that got stuck around. Okay. There was some other stuff like around his face. That was tape. Oh, okay. Was that tape? What was the deal? How'd that happen? Well, the tape was in the car. Oh, okay. like but he's making noise and and I was going cuz and I still didn't I wasn't going to kill him. Oh, okay. It just escalated. He kept doing [ __ ] kicking at me and [ __ ] and I'm just going stop. So, did the tape go on then before the break and the stabbing? Okay. And what kind of tape was it? Masking out strapping tape. Strapping tape. Mhm. Like that clear tape. And you said that was just in the car. Mhm. The detective does a phenomenal job of getting information that only the killer would know. This cinder block is an absolute key piece of evidence, one that will come into play for detectives several months down the road and one that has a lot to do with the next question they ask. Did Brenda ever find out what had happened? Okay. So, she's in the dark about what happened. Okay. And what did you tell her? She's going to freak out. What did you tell her about the car that had just disappeared? I told her I thought you I told her I thought you did something with Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay. And then that's when we started hypothesizing. Well, maybe I should. Okay. I said maybe. Said I drove by her house a couple times and not there. So, I know this I know I'm just throwing this out there. So, after you guys took Stephanie up to Sacred Heart that day, like how many days after that did this happen? Any idea? Was it like within a week? Was it less than that? More than that, or do you remember? You said it was sometime in November, but M probably was like a week. A week. Okay, gotcha. So, it was fairly quickly after you got Stephanie back. Well, I can can imagine you weren't very happy with Andrew. No. No. So, I get it. So, no. I mean, and I feel sorry for his mom and sister. And so, I'm going to ask you this and and I'm just going to throw this out to you. I do it with everybody I talk to in a situation like that. If if you and this is entirely up to you and I'm not I'm just throwing it out there. If if you would like to write something to his mother, I I would give you the opportunity to do that if that's something that you would like to do. If that's something you don't want to do, but if you would like to write her something, I don't you know, and and his real mother, he never really lived with it or you know, she's he was adopted. Yeah. I've been talking to the adopted mom cuz she adopted him when he was 6 months old. So, as you can imagine, right now, she's pretty she's pretty destroyed. So, I'm only saying if you would like to write her something, I would I would give that to her. Uh, that's up to you. So, that's kind of that's just something I offer people. If you'd like to do that, I'll Well, while she's yelling at me in the court, I'll tell her I'm really sorry. Okay. Like I said, I was just going to give you a chance to write something if you wanted to. But, so, and that night that this happened, were you drinking or doing drugs that night? No. Okay. So, well, I wasn't drinking. I I've only recently started even dabbling in it because there's that's a danger zone, right? You know, I just have a couple beers every now and then. Gotcha. But I may have smoked some, you know, definitely some pot, you know. Um, do you remember that night if you specifically did or not? No, that's I I was smoking it every day. So I was smoking it. Okay. Gotcha. So any other thing? Finally got off that [ __ ] Good. When did you get off that? Just a little bit. Good. Good for you. Me and her. She was doing it too. And And the only reason why she did it was just because I did it in 2000. Well, maybe blah blah blah. Gotcha. Okay. Stupid. Later, Jon will go on to claim that his drug usage was the reason that the murder of Andrew took place in addition to the supposed trafficking of his daughter. With a confession in place, detectives allow John and Brenda to see one another. We'll shut the door, sir. Yep. Thank you. [Music] You go and take care of my boy. Said you go and take care of my boy. Mhm. You want me to come let us visit? Doesn't matter. Yeah. I'm going go over there and be booked and then go to my new home. Mhm. We're going to get you out of this. I need to get a hold of Devon. They'll give me a public offender. Huh? They'll give me a public defender. I admitted to it. Mhm. Just end it. Don't I ain't going to make drag you through that. You got to take care of my boy. Okay. You got to take care of my girl. Why' you do that? Honey. Honey. Well, listen. I love you, okay? And I love my kids, all right? I need you to take care of them, okay? I need you to be strong and take care of them. All right? Don't just don't even worry about it. Just Okay. This moment could be a tearjerker if it wasn't for the reality of what this couple planned together. For the next several minutes, they assume the position of that couple waiting in line at an amusement park. But Brenda won't be able to visit her fiance in jail for long because soon after Jon was sentenced to 25 years for first-degree murder, Brenda unraveled completely. At work, she attended a meeting with HR in order to request time off for mental health reasons. In the meeting, she confessed to an HR manager about what really happened when Andrew was killed. She claimed that both she and Jon planned the murder together and that the two of them killed him together using knives and the cinder block. While he was dying, the two laughed and taunted him, even playing a song about crying because he was sobbing and begging for his life. When the HR manager mentioned that she didn't seem to have any remorse, she remarked that Andrew deserved what he got. If you're going to confess to murder in your workplace, of all places, the HR department is the wing you should avoid entirely. The manager contacted police who swiftly arrested Brenda. After taking a plea deal to have her charges reduced to manslaughter, Brenda was given a sentence of 8 and 1/2 years. Not only did the Sorensons lose their beloved son, but they faced the media mastrom of Brenda and Jon repeatedly claiming their son committed a heinous crime and sold their daughter. A fundraiser to get the couple better attorneys grew to $10,000. overwhelmed by comments about how they both deserve to be free and Andrew was scum that deserved to die.