Ray Andriacchio (3:55)

He would come down here and hit on the punching bag. He was real big into working out and being fit. This was his pride and joy. Dirt bike that I got him when he was 16. Said he wanted that instead of a car.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (4:15)

When I stepped inside his room, I immediately noticed the bright orange bike raised on a stand. It was impossible to miss. Years ago, the bike got a lot of use. Christian even raced it. Now it's been cleaned up and placed on display. His helmet rests on the seat.

Dennis Cooper (4:35)

Did he spend a lot of time down here?

Ray Andriacchio (4:37)

Mm. You know, he loved his room and that's why I was so surprised when he moved out.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (4:42)

He had a good setup. A whole basement to himself and a door leading out to the lake, the place he spent most of his time.

Ray Andriacchio (4:49)

He just liked it here. You know, he could go right out the door and be on the lake. He kind of had his own little area down here.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (5:04)

A sign on the wall catches my attention. A street sign. It's dirty and weathered, but the words on it are clear. Bridge out miles ahead. Local traffic only. And there's handwriting strewn across it.

Ray Andriacchio (5:19)

This was a sign that they took. He had it in his closet and so I took it to the funeral home and his friends signed it.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (5:29)

A lot of friends had signed it. 66 to be exact. Making a collage of multicolored messages commemorating Christian. I stared at it for a long time. I became fixated on it. Love you, brother. You truly will be missed.

Dennis Cooper (5:46)

I'm so lucky to have met someone like you.

Ray Andriacchio (5:47)

You made a lot of people laugh, man. That was your thing. I'm so lucky to have met someone like you. I'll never forget you.

Josh Andriacchio (5:54)

Just thinking, what a good time.

Ray Andriacchio (5:56)

Thank you for the memory. I'll never forget you. You truly will be. You will never be forgotten. Christian, we. And we'll miss you, buddy.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (6:11)

People just don't make these kinds of statements and these kinds of numbers unless there's some validity to them. And while it's fair to point to someone's character and disbelief that they'd commit suicide. It happens. So I tried to maintain an open mind as I stared at the sign and considered the possibility of suicide. But I didn't know then what I know now. Over the course of the next year, as I learned more and more about this case and wrestled with the question, why would Christian kill himself? I can now say I'm not convinced that he did. From Black Mountain Media and Tenderfoot tv, I'm your host, Dennis Cooper, and this is Culpable. Save our producers Mark and Jacob to Mississippi to meet with the Andriacchios. Christian's family, his mother, Ray, his father, Todd, his older brother Josh, and his younger sister Alexa, whose name you'll just hear mention. Here's Ray.

Ray Andriacchio (7:42)

Well, this is the wonderful neighborhood of Dalewood.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (7:44)

Dalewood is in Lauderdale, Mississippi. It's a gated community that surrounds Dalewood Shore Lake. The Andriacchio's home is right on the lake, on top of a hill overlooking it. It's peaceful there.

Ray Andriacchio (8:06)

I'd actually had him do these pictures, I don't know, maybe four months before anything happened. Five months. I told him, I said, you know, it's a long time since we had any pictures made. I'm so glad I did that. And he fussed about it and said, oh, are you gonna make me wear makeup? And I was like, why would.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (8:22)

It's a spacious house with an open floor plan, but maintains a quaint and cozy feeling. Seemingly every inch of the place is made of wood, various types of it. As I entered the kitchen, I caught the scent of baked pie that Ray had prepared. Their home feels like just that home, and they have the hospitality to go along with it. I hear Paul scratching the floor and see a snaggletooth bulldog emerge from the other room. Even he knows the drill and scuffles over to greet me. Walls are filled with mementos. Two separate hallways, floor to ceiling, with pictures, many of Christian. And there's artwork scattered amongst the pictures, each piece having meaning like a wood slat with the lyrics, you make me happy when skies are gray, because I.

Ray Andriacchio (9:16)

Used to sing that song to the boys when they were little.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (9:20)

And some of Christian's belongings are preserved like an American flag that flew on his tugboat. It's framed and hung high in the living room, as well as a dollar bill that he'd held onto for a long time.

Ray Andriacchio (9:30)

This was. He had this in his Jeep. That was his dollar bill. But he had written down all of the dates of when he Got promoted at work, kept writing the dates of when he made, you know, like, went from deckhand to Tankerman, Tankerman to first mate. So we. I had it on.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (9:52)

After a walk around the house, we make our way to the living room, where there rests an elegant coffee table cut from walnut. The shape of it resembles a flower, and it's circled by leather chairs and couches, making it quite the centerpiece. I decided it's a good place to set up, and I sit down with Ray and Todd to talk.

Ray Andriacchio (10:11)

I've lived in Meridian my whole life, have three siblings, and they all live here in Meridian. Grew up very involved in school. Education's always been very important to me. I attended the junior college here in Meridian for two years and started working at 18 at Meridian Aviation, which is how Todd and I met. He was a line guy there, and I was the receptionist.

Todd Andriacchio (10:35)

Yeah, I grew up probably 100, 200 yards from right here. My dad and mom got divorced when I was 5, and I went with him. And my Birmingham is way different than Ray's. I was raised in bars and hanging out with my dad and his buddies, drinking and stuff. So joined the Air Guard and went off to basic training and came back, and that's when Ray and I started dating. I used to fuel airplanes out at Meridian Aviation and fell in love with her out there.

Ray Andriacchio (11:08)

I really think if Todd and I had not worked together, we would have never crossed paths, which is probably a lot of people. But we've stuck in there over the years. It'll be, what, 29? We've been married 29 years, I guess. Yep, 29 or 30. We don't really keep up with it. We're really your typical story of making ends meet and everybody working one and two jobs and trying to do better for your children as far as let them have the things that. Not that. I mean, I had a good childhood and did not do without, but, you know, you want to be able to give your children more, you know, I think they had a good childhood, a happy childhood. They stayed outside and played a lot. They rigged up a swing and had a harness that they put Alexa in and would swing her across the creek because they were swinging on a rope and she wanted to swing, and so she was too little to hold herself up, so they made her a backpack harness and would swing her across the creek. Just good old country stuff, you know, boys with nothing to do but time on their hand and coming up with a way to have fun. And Christian was really, you know, I say he was almost a Second father to Alexa. He really kind of co parented her and that's who she always called if she needed something, if she needed advice, if she needed help with something, if, you know, so he was very protective in that way. Josh and Christian were very close, I'll have to say. Really didn't realize how close they were. You don't really stop and think about that until, you know, Christian died. And then you go back and look at pictures and you see that in every picture. You know, they've got their arm around each other or they're always together and they're always, you know, and they were, they were happy. I mean, they were always smiling and laughing and seemed so happy. They were very close to my, they were very close to my family. Did a lot for my grandmother, who was their great grandmother, and she lived to be 103. And you know, Christian always said he would never leave Meridian as long as my maw was alive. You know, as long as my mom was kicking, I'm gonna be here. But when I went and told her about Christian, her first words were, I mean, just very calmly, she said, well, at least he thought. It's happened for 21 years. He loved it up here. You know, he loved the water, he loved, loved the boats, you know, going out on the pontoon boat, the jet ski.

Todd Andriacchio (14:08)

Used to see him in the mornings on the jet ski at like 6:00 out there, just floating around. Jet ski floating around with him because.

Ray Andriacchio (14:16)

He got in such a habit of getting up early on the boat, getting up at 5 and then be ready to work at 5:30 when he came home for his 15 days. He was used to getting up early.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (14:25)

What Ray is mentioning is Christian's job working on a tugboat at Magnolia Marine. Christian was only 18 years old when he started working there, but he was passionate about his work and good at it. Really good on track to becoming the youngest captain they've ever had.

Todd Andriacchio (14:41)

Good a couple of times a week. In the back of my mind, I think, where the heck is Christian when I'm doing something? You know, because he's always been there with me. We work together and I guess he was nine years old when he first started coming to work with me. And I think we'd work about five hours a day and then we'd screw around a few.

Ray Andriacchio (15:02)

They had a very laid back work environment, let's say.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (15:06)

After getting an idea of their past, I asked Ray how she feels now, looking back on everything.

Ray Andriacchio (15:11)

Well, we tried, you know, looking back.

Todd Andriacchio (15:13)

Now, she's trying to get by then.

Ray Andriacchio (15:14)

You know, And I mean, I think that you look back and you see all the mistakes, you know, times when you should have been at home and you were working, you know, because I worked a lot. I did not have the memories that I feel like I should have had. And of course you. You don't think that time is limited, so you think you have plenty of time to make those memories and everything. I told Todd, what about a month ago, two months ago, I had a had a dream about Christian. And he comes bouncing through the door like you do and he said, oh, it's good to see you. And he said, I gotta go do some stuff. I said, but wait just a minute. I said, just let me hug you one time. And I hugged him and he said, I've missed you so much, Mom. Gotta go and live. Mine always goes back to I wish I would have done things differently. I just wish that we would have been in a better place, he and I. When he passed, I was just glad that I had talked to him that morning and I had not text. I'd actually called him and we had had a conversation. So that's, you know, kind of the thing that I guess keeps me sane.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (17:24)

Is it hot where you're living?

Dennis Cooper (17:26)

I know it is. Here in my hometown. It feels like the minute I step outside, I'm already dripping sweat. But one thing I'm not sweating this summer is my phone bill. Since making the switch to Mint Mobile, I'm getting better coverage and faster speeds than ever before at half the cost. As you bear the heat this summer, just know there's never been a better time to experience the cooling effect that comes with Mint Mobile. For a limited time, they're offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for just $15 a month. So while your friends are sweating over.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (17:56)

Their data usage and surprise charges, you'll be chilling this year.

Dennis Cooper (18:00)

Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com tenderfoot that's mintmobile.com tenderfoot upfront payment of $45 required equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 GB on unlimited plan.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (18:24)

Taxes and fees extra.

Dennis Cooper (18:25)

See Mint Mobile for details.

Chumba Casino Advertiser (18:29)

Ready to level up? Champa Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of online social games like blackjack, slots and Solitaire anytime, anywhere with fresh releases every week. Whether you are at home or on the go. Let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus, get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary. VGW Group VOIP board prohibited by law 21 TNCs apply.

Rosetta Stone Advertiser (18:59)

Planning a Trip this Year Imagine how much richer your travel experience could be if you could speak the local language. Whether you're traveling abroad, planning a staycation, or just shaking up your routine, what better time to dive into a new language? With Rosetta Stone, you'll gain the confidence to have real conversations and create deeper connections wherever you go. Rosetta Stone is the trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years. Their immersive, intuitive method helps you naturally absorb and retain your new language on desktop or mobile, whenever and wherever it fits your summer schedule. With 30 years of experience, millions of users, and 25 languages to choose from, Rosetta Stone is the go to tool for real language growth. Don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential now. Listeners of this podcast can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit RosettaStone.com RS10 to get started and claim your 50% off today. Don't miss out. Go to RosettaStone.com RS10 and start learning today.

Ray Andriacchio (20:12)

I've gone back and forth about this. I mean, I've never watched it and I don't really want to watch it. But I mean, we have the the DVD of Christian's funeral.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (20:36)

The service lasted roughly 40 minutes. It opened with a cover of the song Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. A few of Christian's friends shared eulogies. They'd start lighthearted with funny stories and fond memories of Christian. But they all ended with an overwhelming expression of tremendous loss. You could tell Christian really made an impact in these people's lives. And then there was the conclusion. This is from the pastor.

Pastor (21:04)

My guess is that there are a lot of people who looked at Christian Andreacchio and thought, I wish I could live life that fully. I wish I could get that much joy out of it. I wish I could have that much accomplishment. I wish I could stand by my friends that well. I wish I could be like that. My guess is that there are a lot of people who really envied the way he lived his life. He was not the kind of guy who would stand aside and watch other people live. He was the kind of guy who was living it. When he went offshore, went down to run the tugboats, wasn't long before his brother was with him, his cousin was with him. That's just the way he was. He was charismatic and called other people to kind of follow after him. Good life. And then this. I told Ray yesterday, I said, I don't think it gets any tougher than this. I think this is the hardest thing any parent can ever live through. I believe that we don't get ourselves prepared for this, because the way life is supposed to work is that your parents die and then you die, and then your children die. That way you never have to face your children's death. You never have to deal with anything like this. If it just happens like it's supposed to, and then the upper generation dies and then you die, and then they die, it works out okay. But it's not supposed to happen like this. And so when you're putting together the jigsaw puzzle of your life and you're trying to put everything in its proper place, and it doesn't all come at once, and you kind of have to think about things and put things in their proper place, and you're putting together this jigsaw puzzle of your life, and you have this piece. It doesn't fit. There's no place that piece of the puzzle fits. It just won't go. It's not supposed to be a part of your life.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (23:38)

I decide to give Ray a break. She tells me Josh is outside and asks if I'd like to talk with him. Josh was Christian's older brother, and according to Ray, the two of them were close. They grew up together. They worked together at Magnolia Marine, and they lived together. But at the time of Christian's death, they weren't living at the Andriacchio's home in Lauderdale. Three months prior to Christian's death, Christian and Josh rented an apartment together in Meridian, Mississippi, which is where most of this story will take place. It was in this Meridian apartment on February 26, 2014, that Christian was found dead in the bathroom from a single gunshot wound to the head. I see Josh seated underneath the deck on a large concrete patio near the shore. He's staring out at the lake, watching a storm move in. His hands are folded together in front of his chest. He's quiet and seems deep in thought. Josh recounts what unfolded on February 26.

Josh Andriacchio (24:38)

We were in somewhere below New Orleans, and I was building tower. I. I might have been breaking it down, I can't remember. And my captain called me up there to the wheelhouse, and I went up there and talked on the phone to the guy. And they were asking me if I'd heard from Christian, stuff like that. No, they told me he committed suicide. Like, no, he didn't. And I just hung up the phone. I went back out there and started working, and I had to finish because nobody else was there. So I got off the boat, woke up the guy that usually relieves me, and I think a captain from another boat or might have been a pilot from another boat got me and took me up to New Orleans. And I met my uncle, and he came and picked me up and brought me here. I knew something was off, but, I mean, I didn't think it was this bad. I mean, I had just talked to Christian the day before. I mean, I helped him get off the boat. Something was off. I just knew it was.

Dennis Cooper (25:39)

Christian. Ever struggle with, like, depression or anything?

Josh Andriacchio (25:43)

I didn't really. He never seemed depressed to me. So he was kind of always happy. Go lucky. I mean, he'd get pissed off sometimes or agitated, but never, like, he was not somebody to just be sad and sit around and, you know, be depressed. He would, you know, go out and party, go, you know, ride a boat around the lake or something like that, go to the beach. Constantly had things to do, which, I mean, I guess that doesn't have any bearing on if you're depressed because you can still be depressed and do things. But he never seemed depressed. I mean, he seemed pretty. Pretty happy with where he was at. When I got to the apartment, when I was able to actually able to go into my apartment, I mean, it was torn up. There's cigarette butts put out on the floor, and, I mean, empty beer cans everywhere, holes in the wall. I mean, it was. I'd been gone for, you know, three or right at four weeks and left the apartment, like, spotless, and then come back and it's just thrashed, like, completely destroyed. Like, even Christian's bed just had, like, this huge. Like, where it looked like somebody took a knife and was of kind cutting into it. I don't know if they thought something was in it or what, but there was just in the middle of the bed, there's just these huge gash marks where someone had ripped out the cushioning of the bed and looked like somebody was looking for something. Everything that I had heard and been told by the police and stuff like that just doesn't line up. I mean, just looking at it from a common sense standpoint, I mean, I don't need to see crime scene photos. I mean, if I just see the blood and I use common sense, like this is way too much blood over here than it should be. There's no way. I mean it's just impossible. It's physics. I mean, it doesn't work like that. You know, blood can't leave a room with a shut door. It can't go around and get inside of a. It just can't happen. It doesn't. And if this happened here, it'd be impossible. And, and I mean, just also, if you shoot a bathtub with a.45, it's not gonna ricochet off of a fiberglass bathtub. It's just gonna go through it. So I mean, I guess it's kind of, it's kind of like an inner conflict for me of trying to believe it because the police are telling you this is what happened and also not believing it because I mean, why would he. I would much rather believe that they're just crooked than believe that they're completely incompetent. Everything's kind of over the past four years just focusing on this one thing. It's kind of just whitewashed everything else and you just forget it. So now all I remember is like that day and now.

Rosetta Stone Advertiser (28:48)

Want to pull off the season's freshest trends? You just need the right shoes. That's where designer shoe warehouse comes in.

Ray Andriacchio (28:55)

Loving wide leg jeans.

Rosetta Stone Advertiser (28:57)

Pair them with sleek low profile sneakers. Obsessed with the sheer trend. Try it with mesh flats. Feeling boho comfy sandals. Nail the whole free spirited thing. Find on trend shoes from the brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas and more at DSW.

Amazon Prime Advertiser (29:17)

This summer. Staying healthy actually tastes amazing. Groons has launched a limited edition raspberry lemonade flavor and it's only here through August. These aren't your average vitamins. Each daily pack has eight snackable gummies packed with 20 vitamins and minerals, 60 plus whole food ingredients and zero junk. They're vegan and each variety is either low sugar or sugar free. Perfect for your beach bag or carry on. Wellness has never been this convenient or this delicious. Grab yours now and save up to 52% off with code Heart Ready to level up.

Chumba Casino Advertiser (29:49)

Champa Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of online social games like Blackjack's slots and solitaire anytime anywhere. With fresh releases every week. Whether you are at home or on the go. Let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary VGW Group void board prohibited by law 21/TNCs apply.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (30:19)

As my conversation with Josh reaches an end, I decided to follow up with Ray and Todd to ask them about the moment they heard the news.

Ray Andriacchio (30:27)

Todd and I were out to eat. I'd gotten off work and we were eating and his dad called him a couple of times and told him that he needed to come home, but didn't really say why. He just said, you need to come home. And we quite frankly, just kind of ignored it and kept eating. And then he finally called and said, something has happened to one of the kids. You need to come home. So we of course got up and jumped in the car and we kind of went back and forth about, well, I mean, it can't be Alexa. She's at church. And it can't be Christian because he's on the boat. And I just talked to him this morning and, you know, he was really worried it was Josh because Josh was newly on the boat, inexperienced as far as the boat, was afraid he might have been hurt. Got to his dad's house, and his dad, and I really don't know why they called his dad. I mean, I guess they had his number for some reason. And his dad told us that Christian was dead. And I told him no, that that wasn't true, that Christian was on the boat. And he said, well, he's been, you know, he's committed suicide at the apartment. And I said, well, that's not true. I talked to him this morning, he's on the boat. And like I said, kept calling him and calling Josh, trying to get Josh on the phone. Nobody was answering. And they showed up and I told him, I said, it's not Christian. And they gave me his driver's license. Josh and I actually were talking about this earlier today. You know, he was saying, well, when did you start questioning that it wasn't suicide? And I said, well, I don't think I ever thought it was suicide. I mean, I think immediately we thought something wasn't right. But like I said, you didn't really act on it as far as ask too many questions or. Well, quite frankly, at first we thought that, you know, you have your trouble. I mean, we'd never had any dealings with the police. I just assumed they'd do what they were supposed to do. We called Wilburn repeatedly, who was the detective that was assigned. He would never return our phone calls. To this day, we have never spoken to Wilburn. He never returned a phone call the entire time. He never anything. And we would call. And we would call wanting to know, you know, because we were wanting to tell him, you know, we don't think, I mean, we want to know, like what, what went on, what, you know, he would never return our phone calls. So then I scheduled a meeting with the chief at that time, who was Chief Lee. I would say that that was probably, if I had to guess, maybe three weeks after everything, we went and met with him and he was very arrogant and very condescending. He had Sharp, Lieutenant Sharp was in there with us and he said that he wanted him there because he was over the investigators. And basically, you know, my purpose of going there was to say I want the case because I mean, they closed it. I mean, it was done. And I said, I want it opened and I want you to let MBI come in. Well, he just flat out refused and said, I mean, he wouldn't even consider it. He said, nope, it was a suicide, we're not doing anything. And I, you know, told him, asked him why and he said, well, just because there's, you know, we're not. And he told me I needed to go home and just accept it. And I said, so you're telling me if your daughter. He had a picture of his daughter on his desk. I said, so if you're telling me if your daughter. They told you today that your daughter committed suicide, that you'd go home and accept it? And he said, I sure would. I said, okay. So I said, there's no reason for us to meet. There's nothing else to be said. So we got up and left.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (34:14)

Sadly, this is a case that never received the attention it deserved and that extends beyond law enforcement. The Andriaghios contacted local newspapers requesting they do a story. They even offered to my ad space but were denied. They were also turned down by billboard marketing companies. At one point, they actually recorded a news segment, but it was pulled without reason and never released. And as for law enforcement, a mere 45 minute investigation by the Meridian Police Department was all the time spent before ruling Christian's death a suicide. MPD has remained closed minded since and have stuck with their ruling. As it stands today, the case is closed. But it was never really closed for the Andriacchios, who have continued investigating over the years, amassing a wealth of information. Interviews, police reports, pictures from the crime scene. The list goes on. I can't stress enough the importance of the work they've done and the records they've kept. It's amazing and I know I'd be lost without it and without them there's a lot to unpack here and still a lot of work to be done. It's going to be a process. But at the end of the day, not only are the Andreacchios confident that Christian's death was a homicide, they are confident his case can be solved.

Josh Andriacchio (35:31)

No. No possible way he could have committed suicide. I mean, that's to me, it's zero percent.

Ray Andriacchio (35:37)

Oh well, this is definitely a homicide. We're not going to stop until we get something done, some resolution to this.

Pastor (35:46)

So I want to pass along to you something somebody told me a long, long time ago. What he said to me was trust the process. You never know exactly what it is that's going to help. Something to click for you. You don't know what circumstances you'll find yourself in when you finally get to put this a little more in its place. Trust the process. Allow God to do what he does step by step, person by person, catalyst by catalyst. That helps to get that piece of the puzzle that won't fit. Trust the process.

Narrator / Dennis Cooper (36:44)

You're way back down to me and fight all you want, but you cannot.

Ray Andriacchio (36:56)

Put out.

Podcast Producer / Mark Minner (37:11)

Culpable is a production of Black Mountain media and Tenderfoot TV in conjunction with Cadence 13. Executive Producers are Dennis Cooper, Jacob Bozarth, Donald Albright Payne Lindsay and me, Mark Minner. Additional production by Whitney Bozarth, Courtney Cooper, Meredith Steadman and Mason Lindsay. Audio editing, mixing and mastery by Resonate Recordings, Theme music and score by Neil Degrade. Additional music for this episode by Lovers and Mad Men cover art by Drew Bardana. I want to extend a special thanks to Mike Hynes, Sheila Wysocki and Lance Black. You can follow us on social media opablepodcast show notes as well as bonus content can be found on our website@copablepodcast.com if you enjoyed this episode, please take the time to subscribe, rate and review. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. And lastly, if you have any information related to the death of Christian Andriacchio, please email tip or call us at 470-300-4915. Thank you for listening and tune in for new episodes every.

Ray Andriacchio (38:41)

By your love Completely like you're way back down to me.

Amazon Prime Advertiser (39:09)

When too much work bogs you down, Asana helps you handle it. AI makes it easy to hand off routine tasks and stay focused on important work. That's how work gets handled. Visit us at asana. Com.