as you know here at unreal True Crime we release videos every other day many of you have reached out expressing a desire for daily content so we've launched a new channel also focused on real life crime stories called the crime Storyteller on the days we don't post videos on unreal True Crime we'll upload them there this means if you're looking for daily doses of the most astonishing real life crime cases don't hesitate to subscribe without further Ado let's dive into today's case [Music] [Music] AA Reynolds was born on April 4th 2010 in Waterville a city
in the state of Maine United States she was a beautiful girl with blonde hair blue eyes and an irresistible smile she loved music and dancing to the rhythm of her favorite songs her parents Trista Reynolds and Justin dietro were not a couple but had known each other for a long time they had a brief romance in the summer of 2009 resulting in Trista getting pregnant the news was particularly surprising for Justin who had no intention of having a child with Trista and even doubted he was the father when Trista gave birth to Aya the resemblance
to Justin was undeniable but he still refused to acknowledge her as his daughter a paternity test in July 2010 finally made him accept his Parenthood consequently in December of the same year he was ordered by Child Protective Services to provide child support Trista and Justin didn't have a court approved custody agreement however Trista who lived in Portland had the primary physical custody of Aya thanks to an arrangement between them it was only in mid 2011 after aa's first birthday that Justin started having visits with her he lived an hour and a half away and the
encounters were meant to be during the day and very brief they agreed that he could occasionally take Aya with him but never overnight in the months following aa's birth Trista became pregnant again this time by her fiance Raymond thus in 2011 Aya became the elder sister to Raymond Jr and Trista managed the care of both children everything changed on October 1 13th 2011 when Trista had an encounter with child protective services the details of the complaint that led to this meeting are not clear but it was known that Trista had a substance abuse problem that
day officials gave her an ultimatum overcome her addiction or lose her children immediately Trista entered a 10-day rehabilitation program and left her children in the care of her mother and sister Aya and Raymond were h world and she was determined not to lose them by October 2011 Justin had seen Aya approximately 5 to 10 times however just four days after trista's internment on October 17th Justin and his family decided they wanted custody of Aya Justin's mother Phoebe Depetro contacted child protective services and received approval to take Aya the official call to inform trista's relatives about
the agency's decision came swiftly when aa's Aunt heard that they had to hand over Aya she criticized the decision claiming that Justin was abusive and had harmed the child in the past the officials argued that a father has more rights to custody than an aunt once permission was granted Justin and his family went to pick up Aya but they did not know the address the child protection officials provided the location through the police officer Charles Weaver accompanied Justin and his mother to Jessica's house Aya's Aunt the paternal grandmother waited in the car while Justin and
the police officer went to the door leading to a dramatic scene Jessica implored the officer not to take the child away and warned that she wouldn't give up Aya willingly the officer noted that Aya was in good spirits she was incessantly laughing playing and even trying to initiate conversation to demonstrate her Point Jessica trista's sister told the officer to observe how aa's Behavior changed when Justin appeared at that moment he had just approached and seeing him Aya immediately started to cry and tried to distance herself despite this the officer took the child and handed her
to her father Aya was struggling and screaming and even attempted to bite the officer when she was placed in Justin's arms aa's aunt told officer Charles that Aya was terrified of her father and that they couldn't take the child away Charles explained that if it were his decision he wouldn't let Aya go with Justin but it wasn't up to him he was there to enforce the directive from Child Services it's crucial to clarify that if Justin had wanted primary physical custody of Aya he would have had to reach an agreement with the child's mother or
other wise undergo a judicial process to obtain a judge's approval as we saw in the custody exchange we just recounted there was neither an agreement nor a court involved what was applied was the Judgment of a Child Protective Services Supervisor what the official did not consider were the arrangements made by the mother herself who had full custody for the child to remain in the care of her relatives during her temporary absence on the other hand before a court grants a parent exclusive physical custody of a child usually the conditions are thoroughly evaluated including a background
check and a home visit which did not occur in aa's Case in essence in custody procedures the child's best interest must Prevail but reportedly no report was found to support the adopted decision in analyses published about aa's case it was believed that only the presence of imminent d danger threatening the child's safety could outweigh the stability and continuity provided by staying with her maternal relatives in this sense it could be thought that child protective services officials believed the child was at risk if that had been the case it is not justified that the measure was
applied only to Aya and not to her little brother Raymond the father took the girl to his childhood home in Waterville where he lived with his 40 7-year-old mother Phoebe his 24-year-old sister Elisha and her daughter Gabriella who like Aya was a baby at that time Justin 25 occupied The partially finished basement a single large room while the rest of the family lived upstairs during the time spent in Rehabilitation Trista called Justin every day to speak with Aya and ensure everything was all right in these contexts she perceived no warning signs on October 20th 2011
coinciding with the eighth day of trista's treatment there was a meeting to discuss Aya's case attended by Child Protective Services members two doctors Trista and her sister Jessica who were accompanied by a lawyer and Justin who participated by phone this encounter resulted in an agreement Aya would be returned to her mother on October oober 22nd 2011 as soon as Trista completed the addiction recovering program it was also agreed that Justin would bring Aya to the treatment center on the 21st for a visit everything was going well for Trista but the situation would soon change none
of the established agreements were fulfilled desperate to regain her daughter Trista repeatedly called child protective services for help to enforce the agreement made in their presence since she could not get anywhere with child protective services she sought a temporary agreement with Justin he would continue to keep the child and she would have regular visits on November 12th 2011 Justin took the girl to an emergency room after conducting the pertinent studies the doctors determined that the little girl had a broken bone in one of her joints specifically the broken bone was in The Joint that connects
the elbow to the upper arm Justin told the doctor that the accident had occurred the previous night on November 11th according to his account it was raining and he slipped and fell on her while on the porch with Aya in his arms he added that although she had cried she didn't seem to be injured and it wasn't evident until the next morning that she required urgent medical attention by the following Monday the orthopedist considered that surgery wouldn't be necessary NE AR and that the injury would likely heal on its own a week later on November
26th during her third medical appointment to assess the child's progress the specialist said things were going as planned Trista was present at that medical consultation to closely follow her daughter's recovery never thinking that this would be the last time she would hold her in her arms from that moment things spiraled tired of arguing over the custody of her her daughter over visitations and even over her right to talk to the child on the phone the mother decided to take a step forward on December 15th 2011 she filed papers in court to initiate legal proceedings to
obtain full physical custody of Aya just two days later on Saturday December 17th Justin called the police in the morning to report Aya's disappearance from his mother's house where he was staying with his girlfriend Courtney Roberts and his sister Elisha he assured them that they had put the 20-month-old girl to bed the night before and when they woke up she was gone early that morning Trista had started a car trip to a coastal city in Maine just 50 miles from the Canadian border to visit her boyfriend Raymond who had just entered a correctional facility after
being convicted of arson she was dozing in the passenger seat while her father-in-law Robert forier drove Robert answered a call from trista's father informing him that Aya was missing the news left him Frozen and he looked for a suitable place to stop the vehicle and wake Trista still drowsy she heard her father's voice and managed to understand that her baby's whereabouts were unknown desperate Trista changed her course to meet the police who were searching for her little daughter the journey lasted an hour and a half half but for Trista it seemed like an eternity throughout
the trip she frantically called Justin to find out what had happened terrified at the lack of response even upon arriving at the police station both Trista and her fiance's father gave statements about 30 minutes later trista's father joined them at the police headquarters angry and very distressed as it transpired Justin had called 911 that morning at 8:49 to report The Disappearance he said the last time someone saw Aya was the previous night around 10 p.m. when his sister Elisha checked on her before going to bed on Saturday morning they discovered she had disappeared from her
crib but he didn't specify the time in the call Justin's theory was that the miner had been kidnapped by an unknown Intruder the news of the miner's disappearance spread like wildfire and the authorities wasted no time initiating an operation police chief spoke to the media stating that the case was being aggressively investigated and that their goal was to find Aya at all costs the police proceeded to search the house for any clues that could lead them to the minor to facilitate operations the family stayed with friends at the same time a command center was established
to coordinate the search operation on the second day Sunday M day December 18th search dogs were deployed and the area around the house where Aya was last seen was searched trista's home also underwent a meticulous search during which the distressed woman had to stay with her mother and younger son in a motel trista's father found it exceedingly difficult to sit idle as Aya was the apple of his eye on the third day Monday December 19th the FBI was requested to assist in the search by this time 75 individuals from various agencies were involved in the
operation the main State Police seized two vehicles from the D Petro Residence One a 1996 Ford Explorer belonged to Justin the other a four-door silver sedan was owned by Justin's girlfriend Courtney who was also present on the night of The Disappearance from day one local newspapers echoed the news news the following morning headlines in print media were already covering the story and 72 hours later Trista could be seen in interviews with different local news outlets she did not hesitate to point towards Justin by the end of the first week the Today's Show one of the
most successful morning news programs in the United States highlighted the news there Trista insisted that her daughter's father was the only one who could answer her question questions as he was the last to see her alive on the evening of the fourth day Justin made his first statement to the media he appeared calm as if The Disappearance hadn't occurred while the child was under his care he claimed to have no idea what happened to Aya and stated he wouldn't make accusations or insinuations until the police determined who was responsible for The Disappearance he also announced
that he and his family would do everything possible to Aid the investigation and secure his daughter's return during his statement Justin acknowledged that Aya was under his exclusive custody at the time of her disappearance but he lied stating that this was achieved through an agreement with the mother moreover he added that Trista was incapable of taking care of the child as days passed the search efforts widened the FBI's child abduction rapid deployment M team canvased the neighborhood knocking on every door they repeatedly interviewed neighbors hoping to uncover some revealing details the police emphasized the significant
effort underway seeing only commitment and energy from the 75 officers dedicated to resolving the case until the 10th day after Justin's complaint it was estimated that 5,000 hours of work had been invested in the search and 330 Le leads were being followed the operation also involved around 50 civilian volunteers from the search and rescue Association a reward of $30,000 was offered to anyone who could provide a lead that would help in recovering Aya Trista remained steadfast in her efforts to find her beloved daughter The Grieving mother was determined in her fight to keep everyone focused
on the case she worked with allies and support groups to organize Vig ual marches and events in memory of Aya news cameras were always present and she along with other spokespeople offered new topics to journalists to keep the story on the front page and in the nation's mind gradually the initially optimistic and hopeful message from the authori started changing the chief of police continued to insist that the investigation was being considered a missing person case and not a homicide however the mood definitively shifted when Justin's house and the surrounding area were cordoned off the cars
were confiscated and the head of the main criminal prosecution made a public appearance the police publicly ruled out the possibility of Aya having walked away on her own and on the 13th day the police chief handed over the Reigns of the case to the state police serious crime unit at that moment an announcement nobody wanted to here was made the case ceased being the search for a missing girl and started being considered a criminal investigation during the initial days Justin tried to stay as far away from the media as possible but gradually his presence began
to become more frequent in one of his appearances on the Today's Show he spoke about the change in the message from the law enforcement agencies insisted that someone had kidnapped Aya and expressed his wish for whoever took her to return her home he also asserted that he had come on the program hoping to reach whoever had his daughter to let them know that what they were doing was wrong as if he knew the person in question he spoke directly to them saying they might think what they were doing was right for Aya but it wasn't
he clarified that this person had no right because they weren't her father and that the child needed to be at home with her family when questioned about The Silence he had maintained until until that point Justin acknowledged that his efforts to cooperate had been delayed he justified himself by stating that he had been a bit naive during the first weeks thinking that Aya would return He also claimed that the law enforcement agencies had advised him to stay away from the press this was partially confirmed by the spokesperson for the main Department of Public Safety who
explained that this was only said to him at the beginning later the police eles encouraged Aya's parents to remain in the public eye Justin took the opportunity to respond directly to the insinuations that had been made about him he asked the television host to come see him and spend a day with him to witness what he was going through finally he said that he praised the police's efforts although some of the techniques and tactics they had to use had not been enjoyable he pointed out that the truth is the truth no matter how many times
you are asked the same question and shouted at that you are a liar anticipating that the truth is patient and would come to light by the end of January the police revealed that Aya's blood had been found in various places in the DPO house it also emerged that while there was not enough evidence to make any arrests Justin Courtney and Elisha the three adults living in the residence where the girl was last seen were considered suspect Steven mcausland the spokesperson for the main Department of Public Safety said that the family's version of events was not
supported by any forensic evidence thereby ruling out the possibility that someone could have entered the bedroom where AA slept alone and taken her without any of the three adults in the house noticing 6 months after Aya's disappearance was reported on May 30th 2012 the police said that it was unlikely that the little girl was alive trista's family allowed journalists into their home as they watched the press conference where this news was announced Trista immediately broke into tears then her sorrow turned to rage and she asserted that Justin had killed her baby for trista's family learning
in detail the results of some forensic tests conducted at Justin's family's house was very hard they knew Aya's blood was found and had even been told that the amount found was equivalent to 25% of the blood volume of her body however they had never been in front of the evidence until January 2013 when everything discovered was revealed to them to begin with Justin's 1996 Ford Explorer had a baby seat in the back and aa's blood was found on the left shoulder strap there was also dried gastric fluid on the back seats in the girl's bedroom
blood was found on some of her princess pink sneakers on the floor next to her crib as well as on the face and arms of her doll the investigators thought that she might have tried to clean the blood from her mouth with her toy additionally a blood stain was located on the living room sofa however most of the blood traces were in the basement a pool of aa's Blood Stained the center of the mattress on which Justin slept with Courtney moreover vomit and an unidentified pink fiber resembling hair that could be from a toy were
found on the bed next to the same piece of furniture were Justin sneakers stained with aa's blood on the tongue and inside additionally there were splashes on the cement floor around the bed and on the walls the latter matched aa's height an expert determine that some drops were the size of a dime indicative of Trauma from a blunt object Additionally the experts determined that some blood spatter patterns in the house might have been expelled by Aya through coughing indicating that her injuries were both internal and external the police stated that bed linens had been used
to clean the girl's blood it was horrific for Trista and her family to learn these details and they hadn't seen everything yet the same officers exposing the gruesome evidence warned them that they were about to witness something even more more horrifying luminol tests were conducted in the house revealing blood traces invisible to the naked eye the slides taken at the house devastated Trista after seeing them she left the police station in a panic she was more convinced than ever that her daughter Aya had been murdered the police said there were more images to show her
but she refused to see them she'd had enough reportedly when the police showed Justin and the Petro family the same photographic evidence months before he showed no reaction the police also tried to show the photos to the family with whom the dietro stayed during their Exile from their house while it was being processed by crime scene investigators they refused they were not interested Justin's girlfriend Courtney who was with Justin on the night of The Disappearance had the same reaction after confronting the compelling police findings Trista told the Press amid her unbearable pain and helplessness that
Justin Elisha and Courtney were still walking the streets as if nothing had happened eight months after receiving the dramatic report in September 2013 Trista wrote an explosive letter to the Press about the evidence and the photos she had been shown she was tired of waiting and with or without law enforcement's blessing she wanted to rekindle public interest in the case in Spring 2016 a team of journalists went to Justin's mother's house Elisha aa's Aunt answered the door and the journalist asked about the blood evidence she explained that Aya was lactose intolerant and had been vomiting
however a quick internet search showed that common symptoms of lactose intolerance are gas bloating abdominal pain and diarrhea while nausea and vomiting are listed Ed they are not the most common symptoms let alone vomiting blood in 2017 at trista's request a judge finally declared Aya legally dead the magistrate ruled that the death occurred around December 17th 2011 when she was reported missing by her father Justin with that resolution in hand Trista and her lawyers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Justin alleging he caused aa's death through intentional unlawful acts and subjected the girl to pain
prior to death fear Terror and physical injuries at the time the lawsuit was filed the subject was missing and it was later learned that he and his lawyers denied any wrongdoing and labeled the lawsuit baseless faced with this Trista decided to hold a press conference in which she addressed her dead daughter's father directly asking him if he had any conscience I can see it in your eyes and you know that's the problem you look at me and you're going to I know you care just say something Mane Justin earlier this year 2023 a judge approved
trista's petition to include Phoebe and Elisha in the wrongful death lawsuit the three defendants are are facing civil charges for wrongful death conscious pain and suffering and unlawful interference with the body of a deceased person additionally Justin faces a charge for breaching a parent's duty to care for a minor child both Trista and her lawyer knew that they would not receive any financial compensation from Justin that wasn't the goal of the lawsuit their objective was to reveal information and uncover the truth there were so many strange things about Aya's disappearance for example investigators told Trista
something astonishing about the morning Aya disappeared before calling 911 Justin drove to Portland and back he claimed he thought Trista had taken Aya and was looking for her but he never called her or any of her family members however during that long trip he did call his friend who had sold him a $25,000 life insurance policy for Aya a few weeks before the weird thing is that Justin stayed at this friend's house while detectives Advanced the investigations after The Disappearance this action was astonishing considering that Justin stayed out of his baby's life during the nine
months of pregnancy and most of the child's existence Trista also revealed having received strange messages from Justin in the week following the day he took Aya he mentioned being afraid that someone would try to kidnap her or snatch her away the last time he said something similar was around December 11th 6 days before The Disappearance was reported but when the child disappeared those same messages became threatening and confusing Trista said she had always wondered what those words meant and well that concludes today's case as always I appreciate your support for my work if you subscribe
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