Ana Estevez, who called her son Piqui, made a rare smile when she talked about the two detectives who brought her son's killer to justice.
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"I've affectionately referred to them as the twins," she said. "They worked tirelessly on this case, and I knew that it meant a lot to them."
Detectives Louie Aguilera and Marc Boisvert said they sensed from the first interview with Aramazd Andressian Sr., Piqui's father, that he was the murderer.
"He was kind of jovial at times, joking, laughing, didn't seem concerned," Aguilera said. "We interviewed him for three hours and during that three-hour period of time he didn't ask about his son once."
Boisvert added that Andressian Sr. wanted them to think he was being framed.
"Anytime we wanted to ask him a question, he would skip it or control it. He wanted us to believe the whole time that he was being set up," he said.
Andressian Sr. was going through a contentious divorce with Estevez. He wanted detectives to believe she had him attacked when he was found passed out at Arroyo Seco Park and that his son was kidnapped. He was released as they searched for more evidence.
They found signs that Andressian Sr. had been plotting the attack for months, and he created a new will just days before.
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"The will that he created left everything to his mom and his sister - nothing to his son," Aguilera said.
While the detectives were hard at work, Andressian Sr. went to Las Vegas, where he partied for weeks. He was watched the entire time.
Aguilera said Andressian Sr. was going to concerts, partying in bars and hotels, and even skydived. He was also meeting prostitutes.
"He was living the life as a very reckless man, and a man that was not concerned of the whereabouts of his son,' he said.
Andressian Sr. changed his appearance and applied for a passport. He was planning to run. That's when the detectives decided they had enough to arrest him. Images of him in cuffs went all over the country. The detectives were breaking him down.
"Everything we did with this case - every search warrant we did - we wanted the media to be part of it. We wanted to put pressure on him," Aguilera said.
At the extradition hearing in Vegas, he was starting to crack. Aguilera said when they saw him joking and laughing with the judge, that it appeared to be a nervous laugh.
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"Once he got to the county jail to the ride back from the airport, he was ready," Aguilera said.
Andressian Sr. eventually confessed, admitting to smothering his son in the back seat of the car with his child's own jacket. More importantly, he revealed where he left Piqui's body - a hillside near Lake Cachuma.
"The area itself was an overlook of the dam, maybe 10 feet down from the tree," Boisvert said. "The day we located Piqui - that one probably sticks out to me most. Driving out to Santa Barbara and putting him on the plane back."
It was the culmination of months of relentless police work, but the detectives landed the confession and brought Piqui home. Most importantly, they gave Ana closure and an opportunity to someday heal.
"Both detective Aguilera and Boisvert are incredible at what they do. They brought my son home to me - not as I had hoped, but they brought him home," Ana said.
Andressian Sr. received 25 years to life in the murder of his son. He was delivered to a state prison, where these detectives believe he will never taste freedom again.