1 00:00:10,896 --> 00:00:13,068 [reporter] 33-year-old Heather Barron 2 00:00:13,068 --> 00:00:16,172 and her boyfriend, 37-year-old Kareem Ernesto, 3 00:00:16,172 --> 00:00:18,172 who had both already been found guilty 4 00:00:18,172 --> 00:00:20,379 of first-degree murder and torture. 5 00:00:20,379 --> 00:00:23,034 Family members say the woman they once loved 6 00:00:23,103 --> 00:00:25,862 turned into a monster. 7 00:00:25,931 --> 00:00:30,241 This is a picture of Heather's mugshot when she was arrested. 8 00:00:32,723 --> 00:00:34,000 She doesn't even look sad. 9 00:00:36,206 --> 00:00:41,000 Your baby just died, and you're not sad, you're irritated. 10 00:00:42,896 --> 00:00:45,551 To me, this isn't my sister, 11 00:00:45,620 --> 00:00:47,827 this is the monster she became. 12 00:01:03,689 --> 00:01:06,448 [David] I never thought she was capable of doing what she did, 13 00:01:06,517 --> 00:01:08,172 that she was so evil. 14 00:01:08,172 --> 00:01:11,344 I feel like it was yesterday, and then I start to think what 15 00:01:11,413 --> 00:01:13,344 Anthony went through. 16 00:01:13,413 --> 00:01:16,068 I feel guilty because I made that promise to him 17 00:01:16,068 --> 00:01:18,724 that I was going to protect him, and I wasn't able to. 18 00:01:22,689 --> 00:01:25,862 [The Paper Chase's "What's So Amazing About Grace?" plays] 19 00:01:25,931 --> 00:01:28,241 [strings continue playing sinister tune] 20 00:01:28,310 --> 00:01:30,206 [static crackling] 21 00:01:32,378 --> 00:01:34,896 -[knock at door] -[creaking] 22 00:01:34,896 --> 00:01:40,275 -[banging on door] -[creaking] 23 00:01:40,275 --> 00:01:44,378 -[banging on door] -[creaking] 24 00:01:44,378 --> 00:01:47,551 [water dripping] 25 00:01:47,620 --> 00:01:50,448 -[banging on door] -[creaking] 26 00:01:50,517 --> 00:01:52,517 [sinister chord strikes] 27 00:02:02,793 --> 00:02:08,344 This is a picture of Heather and me when we lived in 28 00:02:08,413 --> 00:02:10,137 Missouri at Christmas time. 29 00:02:12,586 --> 00:02:14,310 These were one of the happy days. 30 00:02:15,310 --> 00:02:18,965 I loved my sister, and you can see it in this picture. 31 00:02:20,310 --> 00:02:23,413 This was before the evil took over her, 32 00:02:25,793 --> 00:02:30,000 and it's hard to connect the dots of who she was in this 33 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,793 photo to what she became and what she is today. 34 00:02:33,793 --> 00:02:36,896 We had each other. 35 00:02:36,896 --> 00:02:40,448 We were there for each other, no matter what. 36 00:02:42,689 --> 00:02:45,586 Those were good times, and there weren't very many 37 00:02:45,586 --> 00:02:47,034 of them. 38 00:03:06,827 --> 00:03:11,689 Uh, there are three of us -- myself, then my brother David, 39 00:03:11,689 --> 00:03:13,000 and my sister Heather. 40 00:03:14,482 --> 00:03:16,103 I am the oldest, 41 00:03:16,103 --> 00:03:19,586 and then my brother is two years younger than me, 42 00:03:19,586 --> 00:03:23,000 and then Heather came about a year and a half later. 43 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,275 David and I have always been really close. 44 00:03:28,275 --> 00:03:33,379 We had the same friends, we liked the same music. 45 00:03:33,379 --> 00:03:36,655 We've always had a really good bond. 46 00:03:38,310 --> 00:03:42,172 Heather always had a little bit of a different personality. 47 00:03:42,172 --> 00:03:47,000 She didn't really click with us. 48 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,448 There was just something off. 49 00:03:54,206 --> 00:03:57,413 Heather had multiple personalities as a child. 50 00:04:00,172 --> 00:04:02,965 When certain people were around, she was a happy princess, 51 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,758 and when other people were around, she was screaming 52 00:04:05,827 --> 00:04:07,482 and acting crazy. 53 00:04:07,482 --> 00:04:09,896 She often liked to play the victim 54 00:04:09,896 --> 00:04:11,379 and get me and Crystal in trouble. 55 00:04:13,379 --> 00:04:17,274 I have this one incident where I was in my room, watching TV. 56 00:04:17,274 --> 00:04:19,689 She wanted to do gymnastics, so she would often 57 00:04:19,689 --> 00:04:21,724 walk on the bed like a balancing beam, 58 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,655 and she slipped and fell, and she hit her mouth on 59 00:04:25,724 --> 00:04:27,896 the wooden bed frame. 60 00:04:27,896 --> 00:04:31,896 She told my mother that I threw a sandal at her 61 00:04:31,896 --> 00:04:33,241 and made her fall. 62 00:04:33,310 --> 00:04:36,448 [voice echoing] I've had enough. 63 00:04:36,517 --> 00:04:39,586 [David] And my stepfather got home, and then he started beating me. 64 00:04:39,586 --> 00:04:40,758 -[belt slaps] -[As David] Ow, please! 65 00:04:40,758 --> 00:04:43,793 She was crying hysterically, but as soon as I started 66 00:04:43,793 --> 00:04:46,344 getting punished, the crying stopped. -Stop, don't! 67 00:04:46,413 --> 00:04:49,310 -[belt slaps] -Then she just watched me 68 00:04:50,482 --> 00:04:52,655 with this little dead blank face, 69 00:04:53,586 --> 00:04:54,896 just watched me get beat, 70 00:04:57,103 --> 00:05:00,724 and I asked her why she did that, and she said, "Because." 71 00:05:02,896 --> 00:05:03,896 It didn't faze her, 72 00:05:03,896 --> 00:05:06,586 that she just caused all this pain to me, 73 00:05:06,586 --> 00:05:08,862 and it just terrified us, knowing that she can say 74 00:05:08,931 --> 00:05:10,482 anything she wanted at any moment, 75 00:05:10,482 --> 00:05:12,827 and we can be tortured for it. 76 00:05:15,620 --> 00:05:16,896 [Crystal] When she would get us in trouble, 77 00:05:16,896 --> 00:05:19,586 knowing what the consequences were, 78 00:05:19,586 --> 00:05:26,517 it made me feel worthless, that I didn't matter. 79 00:05:29,482 --> 00:05:31,379 Looking back, 80 00:05:31,379 --> 00:05:37,000 I think that Heather's evilness started 81 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,448 then at a young age. 82 00:05:39,517 --> 00:05:43,896 I think she enjoyed watching others get hurt, 83 00:05:43,896 --> 00:05:48,551 and she was just taking notes for when she got older. 84 00:06:00,620 --> 00:06:04,000 After school one day, I had a friend come over, 85 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,689 and no adults were home. 86 00:06:07,689 --> 00:06:11,551 -When is it gonna be my turn? -Go away. 87 00:06:11,620 --> 00:06:16,275 And Heather wanted to play with us, but I wanted to hang out 88 00:06:16,275 --> 00:06:18,275 with my friend. 89 00:06:18,275 --> 00:06:20,586 Heather was set off very easily, 90 00:06:20,586 --> 00:06:25,689 and she grabbed a butcher knife 91 00:06:25,689 --> 00:06:29,724 and got an evil smile on her face 92 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,551 and said, "I'm gonna stab you." 93 00:06:37,379 --> 00:06:40,724 And then proceeded to chase us around with the butcher knife. 94 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,655 I was terrified. 95 00:06:44,724 --> 00:06:48,275 I thought she was really going to try to kill me or my friend 96 00:06:48,275 --> 00:06:49,275 or my brother. 97 00:06:49,275 --> 00:06:51,172 -[echoing] Put it down! -Stop! 98 00:06:51,172 --> 00:06:55,103 [Crystal] I can still see that look in her eyes. 99 00:06:55,103 --> 00:06:58,724 It was just evilness took over her. 100 00:06:59,586 --> 00:07:04,137 The more we begged her to stop, the more it fueled her. 101 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,655 We got away and locked ourselves in the bathroom 102 00:07:10,724 --> 00:07:13,931 and put our backs to the doors to hold the door closed. 103 00:07:16,172 --> 00:07:18,896 We just see the knife going from underneath the door at us 104 00:07:18,896 --> 00:07:21,206 and Heather screaming that she was gonna kill us all. 105 00:07:23,275 --> 00:07:24,896 I was telling them, get away from the door, 106 00:07:24,896 --> 00:07:26,586 because we weren't sure if she was gonna stab her way 107 00:07:26,586 --> 00:07:27,931 through the door. 108 00:07:27,931 --> 00:07:30,965 It was worse that we couldn't call for help because we didn't 109 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,000 have cell phones at the time. 110 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,137 I was scared she was gonna cut us or kill us. 111 00:07:40,310 --> 00:07:43,241 After the incident and Heather cooled down, 112 00:07:44,275 --> 00:07:46,103 my friend left immediately. 113 00:07:47,724 --> 00:07:51,241 When I finally was able to get to the phone, I had called 114 00:07:51,310 --> 00:07:54,965 my mom at work and told her what had happened. 115 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,068 And she said, "Why did you let Heather play with the knife? 116 00:07:59,068 --> 00:08:01,241 We will deal with this when I get home." 117 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,965 David and I both 118 00:08:05,793 --> 00:08:07,620 got beat with a belt that night. 119 00:08:11,827 --> 00:08:14,965 [David] Heather got to kind of just sit back and not just kind of peek, 120 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,827 but she would make eye contact with us and just watch it. 121 00:08:20,275 --> 00:08:22,275 I try to forget a lot of the stuff that happened to me 122 00:08:22,275 --> 00:08:23,482 as a child. 123 00:08:23,482 --> 00:08:25,793 I get bits and pieces, but there was a lot of things 124 00:08:25,793 --> 00:08:28,103 done to me that no kid should have ever gone through. 125 00:08:29,310 --> 00:08:32,517 As we got older, my mom came up with new punishments because 126 00:08:33,827 --> 00:08:35,517 like, it wasn't hurting us enough. 127 00:08:36,620 --> 00:08:38,688 The punishments that we did were insane. 128 00:08:38,688 --> 00:08:41,758 It was more torture than a punishment, 129 00:08:41,827 --> 00:08:45,517 and I'll never understand why my mother let that happen to us. 130 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,551 It's just reliving all these childhood memories 131 00:08:49,620 --> 00:08:51,172 that I forgot about. 132 00:08:51,172 --> 00:08:52,965 They're all just kind of rushing back to me. 133 00:08:58,689 --> 00:09:03,482 It does haunt me. It was a crazy thing to watch, 134 00:09:03,482 --> 00:09:09,517 like, her progress with her actions. 135 00:09:10,620 --> 00:09:14,034 You go from telling lies to get us in trouble 136 00:09:14,103 --> 00:09:16,620 to actually trying to stab us. 137 00:09:17,793 --> 00:09:21,034 You're disregarding life that young. 138 00:09:21,103 --> 00:09:23,413 What are you gonna do when you're an adult? 139 00:09:31,482 --> 00:09:36,310 When I was 16, I ended up getting pregnant and married. 140 00:09:38,275 --> 00:09:42,827 After I moved, Heather and I started writing to each other 141 00:09:42,896 --> 00:09:44,241 like pen pals. 142 00:09:44,931 --> 00:09:48,655 I felt like we were starting to get that sisterly bond 143 00:09:48,724 --> 00:09:50,655 that I desperately wanted with her. 144 00:09:52,275 --> 00:09:57,172 I felt like Heather had finally matured and realized, 145 00:09:57,172 --> 00:10:01,172 hey, I do love my sister, and I do want to be a better 146 00:10:01,172 --> 00:10:03,551 person and a good aunt. 147 00:10:05,517 --> 00:10:08,793 In 2006 or 2007, 148 00:10:08,793 --> 00:10:11,344 Heather was 16 149 00:10:11,413 --> 00:10:14,413 and was in a new relationship 150 00:10:15,379 --> 00:10:17,068 and had become pregnant, 151 00:10:17,068 --> 00:10:21,758 and I was very supportive of that because she said that 152 00:10:21,758 --> 00:10:26,551 she wanted this baby, and I wanted her to have 153 00:10:26,620 --> 00:10:30,413 the support I didn't get when I was pregnant at 16. 154 00:10:32,689 --> 00:10:36,482 I thought she had a really great support system to become 155 00:10:36,482 --> 00:10:37,758 a good mom. 156 00:10:41,103 --> 00:10:45,241 On May 4th, Anthony was born. 157 00:10:46,586 --> 00:10:51,344 When I saw his little picture, it just melted my heart. 158 00:10:51,413 --> 00:10:55,793 That little boy, he was so beautiful and healthy, 159 00:10:55,793 --> 00:10:58,034 and I was in love. 160 00:11:00,586 --> 00:11:02,655 So Anthony was special to us when he was born. 161 00:11:02,724 --> 00:11:04,620 He was the first boy in our family. 162 00:11:05,379 --> 00:11:08,241 He brought all of us together. We forgot all the past. 163 00:11:08,310 --> 00:11:10,448 And we were all just there for Anthony. 164 00:11:10,517 --> 00:11:13,344 Heather looked like she had some kind of happiness 165 00:11:13,413 --> 00:11:14,517 in her eyes. 166 00:11:17,068 --> 00:11:19,862 But deep in my heart, 167 00:11:19,862 --> 00:11:22,206 I kind of, like, feared for this child. 168 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:32,034 [distant baby fussing] 169 00:11:32,103 --> 00:11:34,586 Once Heather moved in, we realized she wasn't being 170 00:11:34,586 --> 00:11:35,896 the mother that we thought she was. 171 00:11:35,896 --> 00:11:38,172 Anthony's father was doing a lot of the work. 172 00:11:38,172 --> 00:11:40,103 [as Anthony's father] You need to be a mother. 173 00:11:40,103 --> 00:11:41,689 You don't do anything! 174 00:11:41,689 --> 00:11:43,689 [David] We would hear Anthony crying at the night, 175 00:11:43,689 --> 00:11:45,310 because Heather wouldn't want to wake up. 176 00:11:46,482 --> 00:11:49,448 Heather's and Anthony's father's relationship was shaky. 177 00:11:49,517 --> 00:11:50,482 [echoing] He is a baby. 178 00:11:50,482 --> 00:11:54,103 He's going to cry no matter what I do. 179 00:11:54,103 --> 00:11:56,586 You can hear all the arguing and fighting, 180 00:11:56,586 --> 00:12:00,068 and they would argue over drug usage and not taking care of 181 00:12:00,068 --> 00:12:03,517 the baby and accusing somebody of cheating. 182 00:12:04,793 --> 00:12:07,344 It wasn't as good a relationship as it looked 183 00:12:07,413 --> 00:12:08,724 like in the public's eye. 184 00:12:10,103 --> 00:12:11,931 It seemed like towards the end, 185 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,103 Heather was intentionally trying to push him away 186 00:12:14,103 --> 00:12:16,379 because she wanted to go with another man. 187 00:12:16,379 --> 00:12:18,068 [echoing] I want you out of my life, 188 00:12:18,068 --> 00:12:20,586 and out of Anthony's life! 189 00:12:20,586 --> 00:12:22,448 Heather says that she doesn't need him, 190 00:12:22,517 --> 00:12:24,379 he's a worthless piece of crap, 191 00:12:24,379 --> 00:12:27,275 and tells him, like, "I don't want to see you anymore. 192 00:12:27,275 --> 00:12:28,862 "You're not going to see my kid anymore. 193 00:12:28,862 --> 00:12:31,482 "If you come around, I'm going to call the police and let them 194 00:12:31,482 --> 00:12:33,655 "know that you and your family are illegal 195 00:12:33,724 --> 00:12:35,655 and get you deported," 196 00:12:35,724 --> 00:12:37,655 and then she punched him in the mouth 197 00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:39,000 and made his lip bleed. 198 00:12:42,172 --> 00:12:44,275 And that's when he told me that he was leaving, 199 00:12:44,275 --> 00:12:45,586 and he begged me and my wife 200 00:12:45,586 --> 00:12:48,000 just to make sure Anthony's safe and taken care of. 201 00:12:49,172 --> 00:12:52,344 I believe Heather would have called the police 202 00:12:52,413 --> 00:12:56,137 on Anthony's father because it's just the type of person she was, 203 00:12:56,206 --> 00:12:57,655 she would do anything to get her way. 204 00:13:05,862 --> 00:13:08,206 This is a picture of me and Anthony. 205 00:13:09,172 --> 00:13:11,551 I miss his smile. 206 00:13:11,620 --> 00:13:15,344 I think me and Anthony were a lot similar and a lot of me 207 00:13:15,413 --> 00:13:18,000 in him even though he's not my kid, 208 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,896 but maybe it's because I showed him good times and happiness, 209 00:13:21,896 --> 00:13:24,379 and he knew -- like I said, he knew I was there 210 00:13:24,379 --> 00:13:27,172 to protect him, and I was there to love him, 211 00:13:27,172 --> 00:13:29,724 and we were always there when he needed us. 212 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,241 When I look at pictures of him and this big smile that he has, 213 00:13:34,310 --> 00:13:37,482 the happiness, and I could see it, you know, 214 00:13:37,482 --> 00:13:39,517 it's there, but at the end of the day, 215 00:13:40,379 --> 00:13:44,379 I feel guilty because I made that promise to him that I was 216 00:13:44,379 --> 00:13:46,413 gonna protect him, and I wasn't able to. 217 00:13:47,620 --> 00:13:51,482 Me and Anthony were so close because at an early age, 218 00:13:51,482 --> 00:13:54,275 we saw how Heather treated him, and it was a lot like how 219 00:13:54,275 --> 00:13:56,068 our mother treated us. 220 00:13:56,068 --> 00:13:58,448 And so I wanted to be that father figure to him 221 00:13:58,517 --> 00:14:00,103 that I know he wouldn't have in his life. 222 00:14:01,517 --> 00:14:03,344 I wanted to be his safe spot. 223 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,137 [Crystal] Heather had a very short fuse when it came to 224 00:14:28,206 --> 00:14:29,586 her own children. 225 00:14:29,586 --> 00:14:32,103 She would snap at them for any little thing. 226 00:14:32,103 --> 00:14:36,896 She would throw things at them, call them names. 227 00:14:38,586 --> 00:14:42,379 One day, Heather came over with Anthony, 228 00:14:42,379 --> 00:14:44,896 and Anthony was being a little wild. 229 00:14:44,896 --> 00:14:46,034 He had been cooped up. 230 00:14:46,103 --> 00:14:48,793 He was excited to be at my house, 231 00:14:48,793 --> 00:14:51,172 and Heather kept yelling at him, 232 00:14:51,172 --> 00:14:57,827 and she eventually grabbed my vacuum and hit Anthony 233 00:14:57,896 --> 00:14:59,310 with the hose to my vacuum. 234 00:15:04,103 --> 00:15:07,000 Anthony's whole demeanor changed right 235 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,103 in that very moment. 236 00:15:09,103 --> 00:15:13,482 He went from wanting to play and having a lot of energy to 237 00:15:13,482 --> 00:15:15,655 just shutting down and crying. 238 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,896 I quickly told Heather, what are you doing? 239 00:15:19,896 --> 00:15:21,862 You hit him? 240 00:15:21,862 --> 00:15:25,931 Heather told me to basically mind my business, and she would 241 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,000 punish her children how she found fit. 242 00:15:29,413 --> 00:15:33,344 I was really angry at my sister 243 00:15:33,413 --> 00:15:38,034 and confused on how she could 244 00:15:38,103 --> 00:15:40,103 do that to her child, 245 00:15:40,103 --> 00:15:43,931 especially knowing what we've been through. 246 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,482 There's discipline, 247 00:15:46,482 --> 00:15:49,103 and then there's taking it too far, 248 00:15:49,103 --> 00:15:54,103 and I felt hitting him with the hose was too far. 249 00:15:56,517 --> 00:15:59,103 Come on. 250 00:15:59,103 --> 00:16:01,310 [Crystal] And they quickly left after that. 251 00:16:09,206 --> 00:16:11,241 [quietly] His smile. 252 00:16:16,586 --> 00:16:18,241 He had such a good smile, 253 00:16:20,793 --> 00:16:22,034 contagious. 254 00:16:28,689 --> 00:16:30,344 All he wanted was love. 255 00:16:40,275 --> 00:16:42,275 I'm out here doing some follow-up on a referral 256 00:16:42,275 --> 00:16:44,896 called into Children's Services. -[indistinct radio chatter] 257 00:16:44,896 --> 00:16:47,793 When was it called? 258 00:16:47,793 --> 00:16:51,034 [officer] Yesterday, late afternoon, early evening. 259 00:16:52,275 --> 00:16:54,103 Alright, so it must have been baby daddy. 260 00:16:54,103 --> 00:16:55,448 [officer] Hi, buddy, how are you? 261 00:16:57,379 --> 00:17:02,586 At this point, I had already made several reports 262 00:17:02,586 --> 00:17:06,792 to the Department of Children and Family Services, 263 00:17:06,792 --> 00:17:09,550 and nothing was taken seriously. 264 00:17:10,862 --> 00:17:15,896 Heather always had a believable excuse for it. 265 00:17:15,896 --> 00:17:20,275 "Oh, this kid threw a toy at that kid, and that's where that 266 00:17:20,275 --> 00:17:24,792 "bruise came from, or this kid ran into the coffee table when 267 00:17:24,792 --> 00:17:26,482 they were running and fell." 268 00:17:26,482 --> 00:17:28,896 They got into it, you know, brothers fighting. 269 00:17:28,896 --> 00:17:31,482 -[officer] OK. -Uh, Junior had scratches 270 00:17:31,482 --> 00:17:34,379 from Angel digging his nails into him, -OK. 271 00:17:34,379 --> 00:17:36,448 and then Angel had a little bruise right here. 272 00:17:36,517 --> 00:17:40,482 Heather didn't know I was responsible for DCFS showing up 273 00:17:40,482 --> 00:17:42,896 at her front door. 274 00:17:42,896 --> 00:17:46,758 If Heather knew I was the one making reports, she would have 275 00:17:46,758 --> 00:17:49,758 cut me off, and I would have never seen the kids again. 276 00:17:51,586 --> 00:17:54,344 So, for me, it was very frustrating and heartbreaking 277 00:17:54,413 --> 00:17:56,793 that nothing was being done. 278 00:17:56,793 --> 00:17:58,931 -[officer] OK. -OK, thank you. 279 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,413 -Thank you, have a good day. -[Heather] You, too. 280 00:18:06,862 --> 00:18:11,896 [Crystal] This is a picture that I took of Anthony at the park. 281 00:18:11,896 --> 00:18:16,000 I had just gotten a new camera, and I made him do a photo shoot 282 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,517 with some of his cousins. 283 00:18:18,379 --> 00:18:22,206 I remember, he was like, "Take another, take another, auntie." 284 00:18:23,758 --> 00:18:27,586 He was just enjoying every second of it. 285 00:18:27,586 --> 00:18:32,241 These are the times that I know he was truly happy. 286 00:18:34,758 --> 00:18:40,379 He was a very loving child. He loved to hug. 287 00:18:40,379 --> 00:18:43,586 He loved to make you laugh. 288 00:18:43,586 --> 00:18:48,068 He was always there to protect, and he wanted to help. 289 00:18:48,068 --> 00:18:50,758 You didn't have to tell him twice 290 00:18:50,827 --> 00:18:52,517 to come help with something. 291 00:18:53,517 --> 00:18:56,655 He would just come up for no reason behind you and just give 292 00:18:56,724 --> 00:19:00,000 you this great big hug and then run off and go play 293 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,206 with his cousins. 294 00:19:02,586 --> 00:19:04,620 I would give just about anything 295 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,620 to have just one more hug. 296 00:19:17,655 --> 00:19:21,827 So one day, there was a football game on, and I invited a couple 297 00:19:21,896 --> 00:19:23,068 friends over. 298 00:19:23,068 --> 00:19:27,034 I invited Heather over, and Kareem ended up showing up. 299 00:19:27,034 --> 00:19:29,758 I met Kareem at a warehouse job we were working. 300 00:19:29,758 --> 00:19:32,068 He was talking about his two daughters that he had 301 00:19:32,068 --> 00:19:33,379 and then kind of became friends. 302 00:19:36,758 --> 00:19:42,068 The day I met Kareem was at my brother's house for a party, 303 00:19:42,068 --> 00:19:44,172 and I just remember, like, 304 00:19:45,172 --> 00:19:47,482 I got a really bad vibe from him, 305 00:19:49,586 --> 00:19:52,724 and I knew that he was my sister's type, 306 00:19:52,793 --> 00:19:56,000 and I immediately turned to her, and I remember saying, 307 00:19:56,068 --> 00:19:58,586 "Don't even think about it." 308 00:19:58,586 --> 00:20:01,103 Don't. 309 00:20:01,103 --> 00:20:03,482 [Crystal] There was something about him 310 00:20:04,379 --> 00:20:09,413 that just turned my stomach inside out. 311 00:20:09,482 --> 00:20:12,137 It was just this gut feeling that he was bad. 312 00:20:13,758 --> 00:20:16,034 We didn't know that they were dating until they were, 313 00:20:16,034 --> 00:20:17,689 like, a good month and a half, two months 314 00:20:17,689 --> 00:20:21,000 into their relationship, and that's when Kareem moved in 315 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:22,310 to Heather's apartment. 316 00:20:24,793 --> 00:20:27,310 It's really hard to put into words how it feels, 317 00:20:27,379 --> 00:20:29,931 but I'm gonna feel guilty the rest of my life. 318 00:20:31,655 --> 00:20:34,827 It's just, if I would've never introduced them, it 319 00:20:34,896 --> 00:20:36,206 wouldn't have happened the way it happened. 320 00:20:38,034 --> 00:20:41,275 My wife tells me all the time, it's not my fault, 321 00:20:41,275 --> 00:20:42,965 but deep down inside, 322 00:20:42,965 --> 00:20:46,482 I'm the one that introduced the two, 323 00:20:46,482 --> 00:20:47,620 and that's how I'm gonna feel, 324 00:20:47,689 --> 00:20:49,103 probably for the rest of my life. 325 00:21:04,275 --> 00:21:06,793 So one day, Anthony was over, and I was playing with 326 00:21:06,793 --> 00:21:10,137 the kids, and he took off his long-sleeved sweater that 327 00:21:10,137 --> 00:21:13,000 he had, and we noticed some scratching on his arms, 328 00:21:13,068 --> 00:21:14,310 and we asked about it. 329 00:21:16,379 --> 00:21:18,724 And he told us that he fell down playing. 330 00:21:20,448 --> 00:21:22,344 At first, we're like, OK, it looks kind of bad, 331 00:21:22,344 --> 00:21:24,586 but boys are boys, 332 00:21:24,586 --> 00:21:28,000 and then I noticed there was a hand mark on his thigh. 333 00:21:29,586 --> 00:21:32,103 And I asked him what happened, and he tried to say 334 00:21:32,103 --> 00:21:33,724 his little brother hit him, 335 00:21:33,793 --> 00:21:36,068 but his brother was two years younger than him, 336 00:21:36,068 --> 00:21:38,827 and the hand mark was the size of an adult hand, 337 00:21:40,586 --> 00:21:44,793 but after that, we kind of felt this uneasy, and we started 338 00:21:44,793 --> 00:21:46,275 asking him more questions. 339 00:21:46,275 --> 00:21:47,793 What happened, bud? 340 00:21:47,793 --> 00:21:49,482 And it was always, 341 00:21:49,482 --> 00:21:51,517 "It's basketball, it was soccer." 342 00:21:51,586 --> 00:21:53,103 "He pushed me," or "He hit me." 343 00:21:53,103 --> 00:21:58,620 They never wanted to admit that it was mom and the boyfriend. 344 00:21:58,689 --> 00:22:00,172 Am I in trouble? 345 00:22:00,172 --> 00:22:04,586 No, you're not in trouble. 346 00:22:04,586 --> 00:22:07,413 [David] And me and my wife kind of freaked out, and we're like, 347 00:22:07,482 --> 00:22:09,275 what's going on? He's not telling us, 348 00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:11,965 and in my mind, I'm freaking out more, 349 00:22:11,965 --> 00:22:14,896 because what happened to us as children, 350 00:22:14,896 --> 00:22:17,103 I used to have to say those things, 351 00:22:17,896 --> 00:22:20,724 and that's why knowing that Anthony went through the same 352 00:22:20,793 --> 00:22:23,793 things I went through hurts even more, because I know how 353 00:22:23,793 --> 00:22:25,000 he felt at times, 354 00:22:27,275 --> 00:22:30,000 and I was terrified when I went through it, 355 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,068 so I can only imagine what he was going through. 356 00:22:44,896 --> 00:22:47,689 So one day, Anthony and his siblings were over at our house, 357 00:22:47,689 --> 00:22:51,241 and Anthony's sibling asked to use the restroom, 358 00:22:53,586 --> 00:22:56,000 and then five minutes later, he had to go to the bathroom 359 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000 again and again, it just kept happening, 360 00:22:58,068 --> 00:23:01,655 but after he did it multiple times, that's when I felt like 361 00:23:01,655 --> 00:23:03,000 I needed to go check on him. 362 00:23:06,068 --> 00:23:09,724 I opened the door and he was eating a banana through 363 00:23:09,793 --> 00:23:12,310 the peel and just devouring it. 364 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,482 That's when me and my wife sat down and started asking 365 00:23:20,482 --> 00:23:22,000 a lot more questions, 366 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,068 and I asked him what was going on, and he just kept saying 367 00:23:25,068 --> 00:23:26,413 that he was hungry, 368 00:23:26,413 --> 00:23:28,689 and he was eating them whole, so there was no evidence left 369 00:23:28,689 --> 00:23:29,931 in the bathroom. 370 00:23:31,068 --> 00:23:32,000 And then he started crying 371 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,689 because he thought he was in trouble. 372 00:23:34,689 --> 00:23:36,586 I reassured him that he wasn't in trouble. 373 00:23:36,586 --> 00:23:39,586 He's allowed to eat the food, but I was trying to tell him 374 00:23:39,586 --> 00:23:40,793 he doesn't have to sneak it. 375 00:23:40,793 --> 00:23:42,896 He doesn't -- you just let us know that he's hungry. 376 00:23:42,896 --> 00:23:46,000 When you're here, you can eat anything you want. 377 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,862 You don't have to hide it from us. 378 00:23:47,862 --> 00:23:51,103 And I was like, "Your mom said you ate before you came over." 379 00:23:51,103 --> 00:23:54,827 He's like, "No, they haven't fed us since yesterday," 380 00:23:54,896 --> 00:23:56,206 and I was like, "What'd you eat yesterday?" 381 00:23:56,206 --> 00:24:00,517 And they told us that they ate a frozen burrito, still frozen, 382 00:24:00,586 --> 00:24:02,413 that that was all that they were given by Kareem. 383 00:24:03,965 --> 00:24:06,620 And what haunts me to this day is I told them 384 00:24:06,689 --> 00:24:08,103 that we'd always be there to protect them 385 00:24:08,103 --> 00:24:11,275 and that they don't have to worry, just tell the truth, 386 00:24:11,275 --> 00:24:13,482 and that's when they started opening up about everything. 387 00:24:15,068 --> 00:24:18,551 And so once he felt safe in telling one story, 388 00:24:18,551 --> 00:24:20,827 another story came out and another one 389 00:24:20,896 --> 00:24:22,000 and another one. 390 00:24:23,172 --> 00:24:25,103 It just hurts knowing that 391 00:24:26,034 --> 00:24:27,586 somebody can treat kids that way. 392 00:24:27,586 --> 00:24:29,517 I would never treat my kids that way. 393 00:24:42,586 --> 00:24:44,517 There was so much going on 394 00:24:44,586 --> 00:24:47,137 that we didn't even have a clue about... 395 00:24:49,068 --> 00:24:50,517 until that day. 396 00:24:52,689 --> 00:24:57,137 Kareem would grab the boys by the ears and twist them. 397 00:24:57,137 --> 00:25:00,068 He would yell at them, 398 00:25:00,137 --> 00:25:01,034 throw things at them, 399 00:25:01,034 --> 00:25:03,517 make them fight each other. 400 00:25:04,965 --> 00:25:08,724 They were taking food out of the trash and eating that 401 00:25:08,793 --> 00:25:10,137 just to get something to eat, 402 00:25:11,896 --> 00:25:15,310 and I told David, "We have to do something. 403 00:25:15,379 --> 00:25:20,620 It's only getting worse," and David said, 404 00:25:20,689 --> 00:25:22,827 "I'm going to call 911 when Heather shows up." 405 00:25:24,172 --> 00:25:26,862 It was such a risky call for us. 406 00:25:26,862 --> 00:25:31,689 We were going to lose the kids and access to the kids if 407 00:25:32,448 --> 00:25:37,620 the allegations were made, and Heather got the kids back, 408 00:25:39,034 --> 00:25:41,482 but something had to be done, 409 00:25:41,482 --> 00:25:45,241 and we were willing to take that risk to try to help 410 00:25:45,241 --> 00:25:46,931 our nieces and nephews. 411 00:26:08,379 --> 00:26:12,758 [David] So that night, Heather shows up from work to pick up her kids. 412 00:26:12,758 --> 00:26:13,862 [echoing] Where are the boys? 413 00:26:16,068 --> 00:26:18,448 And that's when we tell her, "You're not taking 414 00:26:18,448 --> 00:26:20,310 the kids home, we're keeping them." 415 00:26:23,137 --> 00:26:25,896 And Heather tried to force her way upstairs, and my wife 416 00:26:25,896 --> 00:26:27,310 just blocked the stairway. 417 00:26:29,482 --> 00:26:33,724 My priority was always the kids first, and then my sister. 418 00:26:36,034 --> 00:26:38,551 When I looked at her, she wasn't quite human to 419 00:26:38,551 --> 00:26:39,448 me anymore. 420 00:26:39,448 --> 00:26:42,103 She had become this monster 421 00:26:42,103 --> 00:26:46,517 in very slow, very slow motion to me. 422 00:26:47,793 --> 00:26:49,689 [David] Right there and then, we called 911. 423 00:26:59,586 --> 00:27:00,655 [producer] Whenever you're ready to go. 424 00:27:00,655 --> 00:27:02,103 [clicking] 425 00:27:48,862 --> 00:27:52,655 This is an audio recording of the deputy that came out to 426 00:27:52,655 --> 00:27:54,620 my house the night that I called 911. 427 00:27:55,862 --> 00:27:57,724 He made the decision that those kids 428 00:27:57,793 --> 00:27:59,172 weren't going home that day. 429 00:27:59,172 --> 00:28:02,000 At that point, we were basically telling 430 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,517 those kids that they can live with us and that we will be 431 00:28:04,586 --> 00:28:05,965 their parents from now on. 432 00:28:07,379 --> 00:28:10,034 The kids cheered when they found out that they got to 433 00:28:10,034 --> 00:28:11,103 stay with us. 434 00:28:11,103 --> 00:28:14,965 They actually smiled and jumped up in happiness 435 00:28:14,965 --> 00:28:17,827 and hugged us like we were their new parents. 436 00:28:19,275 --> 00:28:22,137 It gave us a lot of false hope because at that moment 437 00:28:22,137 --> 00:28:24,413 we thought it was done. 438 00:28:24,482 --> 00:28:27,931 We were so sure that things were gonna be taken care of 439 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,000 and these kids were safe, 440 00:28:30,068 --> 00:28:33,275 and they just ripped our hearts out and stomped on them. 441 00:28:45,586 --> 00:28:49,344 [Crystal] Heather told them Kareem was never gonna be around anymore. 442 00:28:49,344 --> 00:28:52,517 They were gonna go to the park, their lives were going to be 443 00:28:52,586 --> 00:28:57,000 happy, she was going to be a better mom, but the kids had 444 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,620 to tell everybody that they were lying, 445 00:29:00,586 --> 00:29:02,034 and that's what they did. 446 00:29:03,068 --> 00:29:05,413 And then they told me that at the end of the week we were 447 00:29:05,482 --> 00:29:08,586 going to have to return the kids, and I begged with them, 448 00:29:08,586 --> 00:29:11,379 and I pleaded with them, and I told them that 449 00:29:11,379 --> 00:29:13,551 if they return these kids, within five years, 450 00:29:13,551 --> 00:29:14,793 one of them will be dead. 451 00:29:38,586 --> 00:29:40,413 [bleep] 452 00:30:02,862 --> 00:30:10,000 That was the 911 call Heather made on June 20th. 453 00:30:14,344 --> 00:30:18,482 She was doing her fake cry that she always did 454 00:30:18,482 --> 00:30:20,310 to get us in trouble. 455 00:30:21,655 --> 00:30:23,172 She had a lot of practice. 456 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,413 She was already planting the seed that he hurt himself 457 00:30:30,172 --> 00:30:31,241 in this call. 458 00:30:31,241 --> 00:30:33,793 She already knew what she was going to say. 459 00:30:33,793 --> 00:30:36,000 She already knew how she needed to act. 460 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,413 It just -- it's infuriating. 461 00:30:40,241 --> 00:30:43,448 When first responders got there, 462 00:30:43,448 --> 00:30:45,586 they said that he looked like a zombie. 463 00:30:45,586 --> 00:30:48,517 Anthony was probably laying there for three days 464 00:30:48,586 --> 00:30:50,620 before they called 911. 465 00:31:04,103 --> 00:31:05,965 So when Maria arrived at the hospital, 466 00:31:05,965 --> 00:31:07,931 she realized Anthony was on life support. 467 00:31:12,344 --> 00:31:15,482 The way Maria described him is that he wasn't recognizable. 468 00:31:16,172 --> 00:31:17,586 He was so skinny. 469 00:31:17,586 --> 00:31:19,931 He was taller than we remember. 470 00:31:20,758 --> 00:31:22,482 All his ribs were exposed. 471 00:31:22,482 --> 00:31:24,551 He had like no muscle on his arms. 472 00:31:24,551 --> 00:31:26,172 He was just super skinny. 473 00:31:26,172 --> 00:31:32,103 She said his eyes were sunken in and dark, bloodshot. 474 00:31:33,275 --> 00:31:36,103 She asked Heather what really happened because she can tell 475 00:31:36,103 --> 00:31:37,448 this wasn't an accident. 476 00:31:37,448 --> 00:31:40,827 And Heather got upset and asked the sheriff that was standing 477 00:31:40,896 --> 00:31:42,275 outside the room if she could 478 00:31:42,275 --> 00:31:44,068 have Maria removed from the hospital. 479 00:31:46,379 --> 00:31:49,310 Then my wife told me that she had to drop to her knees 480 00:31:49,379 --> 00:31:51,000 and cry at Heather's feet 481 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,310 and tell her that she was sorry 482 00:31:52,379 --> 00:31:53,724 for everything that we've done, 483 00:31:53,793 --> 00:31:56,379 and she just kept re-apologizing for everything 484 00:31:56,379 --> 00:31:59,827 until Heather gave her permission to come back in. 485 00:32:02,896 --> 00:32:06,862 My wife had told me that there was a few nurses and they were 486 00:32:06,862 --> 00:32:10,000 sobbing while they were trying to clean him up, 487 00:32:10,068 --> 00:32:12,344 and she described what looked like cigarette burns 488 00:32:12,344 --> 00:32:13,758 on his chest. 489 00:32:13,758 --> 00:32:16,482 All the skin was missing off of his knees. 490 00:32:16,482 --> 00:32:19,896 His eyelashes were missing because she rubbed hot sauce on 491 00:32:19,896 --> 00:32:22,000 his face, and they burned off his eyelashes. 492 00:32:23,448 --> 00:32:25,137 A few of them had mentioned that this is probably 493 00:32:25,137 --> 00:32:27,206 the worst child abuse case they've ever seen. 494 00:32:28,241 --> 00:32:30,620 And, most likely, he's not gonna survive, 495 00:32:33,275 --> 00:32:36,965 and I fell to the floor, and I just started crying. 496 00:32:36,965 --> 00:32:39,862 I just broke down. 497 00:32:39,862 --> 00:32:41,724 I didn't know what else to do. 498 00:32:47,689 --> 00:32:49,620 [sighs] 499 00:32:51,034 --> 00:32:52,344 [sniffles] 500 00:32:52,344 --> 00:32:56,965 This is a picture of Anthony in the hospital, 501 00:32:56,965 --> 00:32:58,172 [sniffles] 502 00:32:58,172 --> 00:33:00,862 hooked up to all the tubes and wires that were keeping 503 00:33:00,862 --> 00:33:02,103 him alive. 504 00:33:06,758 --> 00:33:08,241 [sniffling] 505 00:33:08,241 --> 00:33:10,241 [sobbing] He didn't deserve this. 506 00:33:19,448 --> 00:33:21,482 [sniffling] 507 00:33:27,172 --> 00:33:28,586 [sighs] 508 00:33:32,034 --> 00:33:33,172 [sniffling] 509 00:33:37,689 --> 00:33:39,793 I can't look at this. I'm sorry. 510 00:33:39,793 --> 00:33:41,413 [sniffling] 511 00:33:45,793 --> 00:33:48,000 [normally] It's hard to look at that picture because those were 512 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,931 his final days, and I know 513 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:55,103 what he went through and all the pain 514 00:33:55,103 --> 00:33:56,896 that was caused to him, 515 00:34:00,482 --> 00:34:05,413 and that my sister did it to him and her boyfriend, 516 00:34:05,482 --> 00:34:08,344 [sniffling] 517 00:34:08,344 --> 00:34:11,379 and he didn't do anything to deserve that. 518 00:34:11,379 --> 00:34:15,000 There's nothing in the world he could have done 519 00:34:15,068 --> 00:34:16,551 to deserve that. 520 00:34:20,068 --> 00:34:23,862 About 6 o'clock in the morning, I received a phone call from 521 00:34:23,862 --> 00:34:27,931 Maria saying that they were going to take Anthony off of 522 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,482 life supports, 523 00:34:32,034 --> 00:34:36,241 and that his body couldn't fight any longer, he was brain dead, 524 00:34:36,241 --> 00:34:41,137 and just 30 minutes later, Anthony was gone. 525 00:34:53,585 --> 00:34:54,931 Heather was in the hall 526 00:34:57,482 --> 00:35:01,068 trying to convince everyone that she didn't do this to him 527 00:35:01,068 --> 00:35:04,206 when he died, so he died alone. 528 00:35:05,586 --> 00:35:07,517 She should have been in there, 529 00:35:09,586 --> 00:35:11,724 making him feel at least a little bit loved, 530 00:35:11,793 --> 00:35:15,551 knowing that was the last thing he was going to feel, 531 00:35:15,551 --> 00:35:20,793 instead of making him feel alone and unwanted and unloved. 532 00:35:23,586 --> 00:35:27,172 So once I found out that Anthony had passed, this rush 533 00:35:27,172 --> 00:35:28,482 of guilt went over me. 534 00:35:28,482 --> 00:35:31,482 That's when I really started to feel it, because I felt like 535 00:35:31,482 --> 00:35:32,931 we let him down. 536 00:35:34,896 --> 00:35:37,000 If I could say anything to Anthony right now, I'd tell him 537 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,000 I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect him at the end. 538 00:35:40,965 --> 00:35:43,034 I would tell him I love him and I'm gonna do everything 539 00:35:43,034 --> 00:35:45,172 in my power to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else. 540 00:36:33,275 --> 00:36:37,413 This is Kareem's first interview with the police. 541 00:36:38,862 --> 00:36:42,655 And he's doing the same thing Heather did, trying to blame 542 00:36:42,655 --> 00:36:45,862 the kids, trying to deflect off of him. 543 00:36:45,862 --> 00:36:50,068 And everything he says is just a straight-out lie. 544 00:36:51,655 --> 00:36:54,344 To me, he sounds annoyed that they're even asking 545 00:36:54,344 --> 00:36:55,655 him questions. 546 00:36:55,655 --> 00:36:58,517 Like, he doesn't want to be there, and he feels above it. 547 00:36:58,586 --> 00:37:00,931 He doesn't care that Anthony's dead. 548 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,310 He just wants to make sure that he gets away with it, 549 00:37:03,379 --> 00:37:06,517 and he can move on and go to the next chapter of his life. 550 00:37:08,896 --> 00:37:10,000 When Heather and Kareem were arrested, 551 00:37:10,068 --> 00:37:13,068 I felt a sense of relief that I knew 552 00:37:13,068 --> 00:37:14,620 the other children were safe now. 553 00:37:16,896 --> 00:37:19,758 Heather was pure evil, and I believe Kareem is, too, 554 00:37:19,758 --> 00:37:21,103 in the mixture of the two. 555 00:37:21,103 --> 00:37:22,827 It was like throwing gas on a fire. 556 00:37:29,344 --> 00:37:33,000 [reporter] Heather Barron faces murder and torture charges for killing 557 00:37:33,068 --> 00:37:35,413 her 10-year-old son, Anthony Avalos. 558 00:37:35,482 --> 00:37:38,275 The first time I saw Heather in the courtroom, 559 00:37:39,137 --> 00:37:40,827 she wouldn't look at us. 560 00:37:42,689 --> 00:37:46,034 She had a very smug look on her face. 561 00:37:46,034 --> 00:37:50,517 She didn't show any emotion. And it was very infuriating. 562 00:37:51,586 --> 00:37:56,344 There was so many times I just wanted to jump over and just, 563 00:37:56,344 --> 00:37:58,931 like, shake her and be like, what is wrong with you? 564 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:00,103 Why are you like this? 565 00:38:00,103 --> 00:38:03,000 How do you not feel sad that your child is dead? 566 00:38:10,965 --> 00:38:12,310 I am very angry. 567 00:38:15,379 --> 00:38:18,827 That was her baby. Her job was to protect him. 568 00:38:37,241 --> 00:38:39,241 The grand jury 569 00:38:39,241 --> 00:38:43,310 thought that there was enough evidence for the death penalty 570 00:38:43,379 --> 00:38:47,586 to be OK'd for punishment. 571 00:38:49,241 --> 00:38:54,068 And then when the new district attorney of Los Angeles took 572 00:38:54,068 --> 00:38:57,931 over in office, he took it off the table, 573 00:39:00,068 --> 00:39:04,068 but for me, it's what she deserved. 574 00:39:04,068 --> 00:39:06,793 I never thought I would say 575 00:39:06,793 --> 00:39:08,965 my sister deserves the death penalty, 576 00:39:08,965 --> 00:39:13,172 but that day has come, and she's no longer my sister. 577 00:39:22,689 --> 00:39:25,793 So before Anthony's funeral, we got together as a family 578 00:39:25,793 --> 00:39:28,689 and decided to celebrate Anthony 579 00:39:28,689 --> 00:39:29,896 instead of mourning him. 580 00:39:29,896 --> 00:39:32,655 And we all made it a superhero theme because he was, 581 00:39:32,655 --> 00:39:34,137 in our eyes, a superhero. 582 00:39:35,793 --> 00:39:38,275 If there was a kid being picked on at school, he would befriend 583 00:39:38,275 --> 00:39:42,275 that kid, try to protect him, invite him to go play. 584 00:39:42,275 --> 00:39:43,827 He did the same thing for his siblings. 585 00:39:43,896 --> 00:39:45,000 He was a protector. 586 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,344 It just shows what a great person he really could 587 00:39:47,344 --> 00:39:48,551 have been. 588 00:39:48,551 --> 00:39:51,000 He would have changed this world somehow or another. 589 00:39:52,344 --> 00:39:54,241 That's why I call him my superhero. 590 00:39:56,241 --> 00:39:58,275 Then I start to think what Anthony went through, 591 00:39:58,275 --> 00:40:01,000 and me and him went through a lot of similar things, 592 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,172 but I survived, 593 00:40:02,172 --> 00:40:04,793 and sometimes I think, why did I survive and he didn't? 594 00:40:11,896 --> 00:40:13,620 I miss him so much. 595 00:40:15,172 --> 00:40:20,241 There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about him 596 00:40:20,241 --> 00:40:23,482 and his beautiful smile and those hugs. 597 00:40:25,137 --> 00:40:27,413 He gave the best hugs. 598 00:40:31,379 --> 00:40:33,517 He would come up and hug you for no reason 599 00:40:35,862 --> 00:40:37,413 and tell you that he loved you. 600 00:40:40,172 --> 00:40:43,068 I just hope Anthony knows that 601 00:40:44,896 --> 00:40:48,724 he didn't die in vain, that we are fighting for him 602 00:40:48,793 --> 00:40:54,000 still and his siblings and other children, and we're 603 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,172 gonna make changes, and he is gonna be the difference, 604 00:40:57,172 --> 00:41:00,068 and he is going to save lives just like he wanted, 605 00:41:04,965 --> 00:41:06,206 and I miss him, 606 00:41:09,482 --> 00:41:11,068 so much. 607 00:41:20,379 --> 00:41:22,793 [woman] My aunt and uncle were evil people. 608 00:41:22,793 --> 00:41:26,931 I didn't feel like my body was mine. 609 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,344 I wanted to kill them in their sleep 610 00:41:29,344 --> 00:41:31,551 because I was in so much pain. 611 00:41:31,551 --> 00:41:33,275 That's how far they pushed me. 612 00:41:33,275 --> 00:41:35,586 Almost becoming a murderer.