Father of 5-year-old missing Pasadena boy arrested for son’s murder

Homicide investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old Aramazd Andressian Sr. for the murder of his son Aramazd Andressian Jr. on Friday.

The 5-year-old Pasadena boy was last seen on the morning of April 21, 2017 while in custody of his father. The boy’s mother said her estranged husband failed to drop off the child at a pre-arranged spot.

Andressian Sr. was booked at the Metropolitan Police Department with a bail set at $10 million dollars and will be extradited to LA County.

Personnel with the LA County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit, Sheriff’s Fugitive Task Force, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Homicide Section and the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce of the U.S. Marshals Service coordinated the arrest.

LA County investigators, along with assistance from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, traveled to Cachuma Lake twice in late April in search for the 5-year-old boy. A dive team searched for clues around the lake.

Eyewitness accounts placed Andressian Sr. at Cachuma Lake the day before he was found unconscious at South Pasadena’s Arroyo Park. His gray 2004 BMW sedan was found nearby with its interior and exterior doused with gasoline. Andressian, Sr. said he could not remember what happened to his son.

At the time, Andressian Sr. was arrested and later released due to lack of evidence.

Multiple law enforcement agencies fanned out across the Santa Ynez Valley on Saturday, June 10, to renew the search for the missing boy.

Investigators have not said whether or not they have located the boy but said in a statement, “After reviewing all of the evidence in this case, Homicide Investigators presented the facts to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and obtained a murder filling against the suspect [Andressian, Sr].”

A press conference from the LA County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled for Monday, June 26, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the Hall of Justice in LA.