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- [00:00]
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- [00:32]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
It's me, Dennis. I've crawled out from underneath my rock today to share a rather special episode of Culpable with you. First, let me give you some context. So recently I did something that I've been wanting to do for years now and just hadn't made the time. Now, this may come as a surprise to you, but in the six plus year since season one of Culpable aired, I've never gone back and re listened to it. I've listened to certain parts here and there, either for inspiration or to prep for an interview, but I've never just sat down, hit play and listened and reflected on the whole experience. So that's what we're going to do today. We're going to listen to Season one, Episode one, an intro into the story of Christian Andreakcho, and I'm going to share some live commentary reflecting on the story itself and also the people involved in it. Christian's family, of course, but also me. As I know I've grown in many ways since doing this story. Frankly, Season one of Culpable feels like a lifetime ago, and it's easy to take for granted its impact, and not just in the obvious ways giving Christian Story a national spotlight and learning new information related to his case. But this podcast also shaped my career. And all of these things are crazy to think about now in hindsight, because I genuinely had no idea what I was doing. I was practically a child at the time. I had my brand new Zoom recorder with not a scratch on it yet, and I had a dream to make a podcast. To this day, I'll never understand why the Andreacchio family would have trusted me with Christian's story. Or for that matter, why Tenderfoot TV would have trusted me to tell it. I didn't have a single interview under my belt. I'd never outlined a story or requested a document. You name it, it was all new to me. But we did it. We made Culpable Season one, which was an overwhelming success and I've gone on to tell many other stories since, but this one will always hold a special place in my heart. And seeing as there's a new season of Culpable coming this August, I figured there's never been a better time to go back and relive the stories that came before. I hope you'll take the time to listen along and be sure to stick around to the end for a few announcements about some more episodes I'll be releasing in the coming weeks as we gear up for season three. And with that, let's get started. I'm walking downstairs to see Christian's room. I'm in his parents house where he grew up.
- [03:15]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
He would come down here and hit on the punching bag. He's 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.
- [03:36]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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. Did he spend a lot of time down here?
- [03:57]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Mm, you know, he loved his room and that's why I was so surprised when he moved out.
- [04:02]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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.
- [04:09]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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.
- [04:21]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
A couple quick things I want to point out in the cold open here. The first is I'm really glad that we started our visit to the Andreachos with a tour of the home in Christian's room, which was in the basement. Again, I had no clue what I was doing at the time, so this was not an intentional move on my part, but this is actually a recording method that I try to replicate whenever I'm in the early goings of a story and still learning about the victim. I find you get a very different version of things when you're walking around and looking at specific items that belong to a person versus just sitting on the couch and doing a more traditional interview. So note to self, if you're someone who's aspiring to get into this line of work. As for the Cold Open itself, it's kind of strange that I even chose to take it this route, but I guess it worked out pretty well. I think I was looking at Podcasting in a very linear fashion, like, I'm setting out to document this journey, wherever it takes me. And this is essentially the first step or first official recording. So I think that's really how it came to be. But listening back to it now, I guess there was somewhat of a theme here. I was trying to paint a picture of this young man, Christian, who had a great life. He lived in a really nice home with a loving family. He had all his toys there, his jet ski, his dirt bike, all the things that brought him joy in life. Basically, he had it made. Of course, you don't know this yet as a listener, but Christian had recently moved out of his home and got his own apartment, giving up a lot of these luxuries, which is interesting to think about. You also don't know this yet, but after Christian died, his death would be labeled a suicide. So in some ways, I was setting up this juxtaposition, I guess you could say, of not only why would you choose to leave this behind as far as material possessions and loved ones, but also, why leave this behind, as in, why would you choose to take your own life, as the medical examiner had determined. And this is further asserted by the infamous Bridge out sign that I think should be coming up next. 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.
- [06:35]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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.
- [06:45]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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.
- [07:01]
Josh Andreacchio (Christian's Brother)
I'm so lucky to have met someone like you.
- [07:03]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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. Just thinking, thank you for the memory. I'll never forget you. You truly will be.
- [07:15]
Advertisement Voice
You will never be forgotten. Christian, we love you and we'll miss you, buddy.
- [07:27]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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 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. Let's talk about the theme song for a minute because it's really special to me and I think it resonated with a lot of listeners. So when I set out to make this podcast, I knew I wanted a custom theme. I didn't want to just take a song from a music library that some other creator may be using. I wanted it to have an original sound. So I knew this guy, Neil Degrade and his wife Kate. Extremely talented musicians. They have a band, Dirt Poor Robins, and another band they're in Lovers and Mad Men. And it's funny because they have a very unique sound. I mean, it's a range of sounds, but it's unique. I've heard people say it reminds them of a carnival. I've heard others say it's very theatrical and belongs in an epic film. You can check them out yourself and form your own opinion. But what I'm getting at, full disclosure here, I really didn't expect the theme to work out. It just felt like it was worth a shot. You know, they were my only real option at the time as far as someone that I knew was talented enough and that I could easily reach out to and ask about it. But, man, did they knock it out of the park. Neil, Kate, if you're listening, for some reason, I am forever grateful for this. I was so impressed with the theme song, which was first take, by the way, that I decided to have them score the whole series. And we've gotten such good feedback on that over the years. But, yeah, this theme song, it really helped to form Culpable's sonic brand that you still hear to this day. I travel with two of 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.
- [09:56]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Well, this is the wonderful neighborhood of Dalewood.
- [10:03]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
Okay, so the Andreacchio's home in Dalewood is obviously a very memorable place. I've now been to many different places and been in the homes of many different families. But that first trip to Dalewood will always stand out and remains a vivid memory. I remember Rae telling me she needed all of our personal info so that she could give it to the front desk so they could let us in the community. And I Was thinking, what lavish place are we going to? And then we get in the front gate and I realized this place is not quite as lavish as I expected. It wasn't the opposite either. There's just a little bit of everything there. You got some more rundown mobile homes, you got your middle class ranch style homes. And then as we kept driving further back, I eventually saw Dalewood Shore Lake, which sits in the middle of the community, but I think occupies most of the land. And a lot of the homes surrounding it, like the andrios, are much nicer and bigger. I think I could draw a replica of both the inside and the outside of their house to this day. But yeah, I remember Ray met us outside and walked us in. The andras were super hospitable, which I think you'll hear a little more of in the audio here in a moment. But yeah, we come in and there's these fresh baked goods and a massive selection of drinks. You name it, they probably had it. I mean, they just went all out. And all I could think was, wow. I didn't expect this to come with the job, but me and my producers, Mark and Jacob, had just drove like seven hours straight. So we gladly accepted it.
- [11:32]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
I'd actually had him do these pictures. I don't know, maybe four months before anything happened. Five months. 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 I make you wear makeup?
- [11:48]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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.
- [12:42]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Used to sing that song to the boys when they were little.
- [12:46]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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.
- [12:57]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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. Just 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.
- [13:18]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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.
- [13:37]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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.
- [14:01]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
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 upbringing is way different than raised. 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.
- [14:34]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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 stuck in there over the years. It'll be, what, 29? We've been married 29 years. I guess. 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. She lived to be 103. And, you know, Christian always said he would never leave Meridian as long as Mama was alive. You know, as long as my maw was kicking, I'm going to 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 let us have him for 21 years.
- [17:32]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
How could I forget this moment? The first time Ray cried in front of me, it was very eye opening. As someone who was new to this, the realization that this is very emotional stuff we're talking about, therefore things are going to get emotional at times. It's one of those things where maybe I should have expected it, but I also hadn't really considered it. I felt I had a pretty good grasp of the type of person Rey was like. I said we'd spoken over the phone several times, and we'd probably been in the house talking for at least an hour leading up to this. Laughing, talking about our lives and whatnot. I knew she was a strong and determined woman. She also seemed very calm and collected. So this moment where she broke down and cried for the first time was like, wow, didn't see that coming. And it would happen again shortly after this. These moments are challenging because you're sharing a very personal and intimate moment with someone that you hardly know. So on one hand I'm also getting emotional, and on the other hand I'm also thinking, what do I say now? I elected to stay silent for the most part and let her carry on, which is usually the best way to handle it because you do want to keep things in the moment and keep the conversation on track. But yeah, I appreciate her vulnerability and I know this was a good learning experience for me.
- [18:54]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
He loved it up here, you know, he loved the water, he loved the boats, you know, going out on the pontoon boat, the jet ski.
- [19:02]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
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.
- [19:10]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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.
- [19:19]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
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. Good.
- [19:36]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
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.
- [19:55]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
They had a very laid back work environment, let's say.
- [20:00]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
After getting an idea of their past, I asked Ray how she feels now looking back on everything.
- [20:05]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Well, we tried, you know, looking back.
- [20:07]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
Now, she's trying to get by then.
- [20:08]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
You know, and I mean I think that. But 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 don't think that time is limited so you think you have plenty of time to make those memories and everything.
- [20:57]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
I want to pause for a second and talk about this because I didn't even realize at the time the words of wisdom that Ray was sharing here. Looking back, it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time. She's absolutely right. Time is precious and you don't know when will be the last time you see a loved one. I have four kids myself and like I said, I was working a full time job. I was producing culpable on the side, so there were a lot of late nights. I also had to travel from time to time, which was something I never had to do with any of my past jobs. So it was just a very different and stressful time, both for me and my family. And that would go on for nearly two years. When it was all said and done, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some regrets as far as how I managed my time throughout that process. Eventually I'd ask myself those same questions, you know, what could I have done differently? How could I have better managed things? But yeah, Ray makes a great point here that I know I've taken to heart and I keep in the back of my mind to this day. So when you finish listening to this, maybe reach out to a friend or family member and tell them how much you love them. And if I remember correctly, this next part here is also pretty tough. Another very emotional moment from Ray, but also a very real and honest moment. Let's keep listening.
- [22:16]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
I told Todd what About a month ago, two months ago, I had a had a dream about Christian. He comes bouncing through the door like he'd 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 left. 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 texted. 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.
- [23:37]
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- [24:08]
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- [24:40]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Whoa.
- [24:41]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
When did I get here?
- [24:41]
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- [24:42]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
I swear it was just moments ago.
- [24:44]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
That I accepted a great offer from Carvana online.
- [24:46]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
I must have time traveled to the future.
- [24:48]
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- [24:52]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
It is the future.
- [24:54]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
It's.
- [24:55]
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- [24:59]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
It's all good.
- [25:00]
Todd Andreacchio (Christian's Father)
Happens all the time.
- [25:01]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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- [25:06]
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- [25:10]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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 DVD of Christian's funeral.
- [25:24]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
I'll keep this short here and we can talk about the funeral near the end of the episode when it comes back in. But I just got to say, I was so moved by the pastor's words and I'm so thankful that Ray was willing to share this very intimate and private moment with me. It meant a lot. And his words still resonate with me to this day. It was just a very, very powerful moment. 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.
- [26:18]
Pastor
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. It was. 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 he 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.
- [28:53]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
I decided to give Ray a break. She tells me Josh is outside and asks if I 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 26th. As weird as it sounds to admit this, I was really nervous to talk to Josh. We saw each other briefly in the kitchen earlier in the day, and he didn't necessarily come across overly warm like his parents did. He seemed a bit more standoffish and unsure what to think about the podcast or our presence in the home, which I totally understand. I had even asked Ray and Todd if they thought he'd be willing to talk to us, and they basically said they weren't sure, but we're welcome to try. And it's funny because that whole day, it had been really nice and sunny. And I swear the moment I went to look for Josh outside, a storm starts moving in and it turns dark and ominous as I'm sitting there working up the nerve to ask him for an interview. And he's just sitting by himself underneath the deck out back, looking over the lake, almost giving off this sort of feeling of, I've been waiting for you guys. Thankfully, Josh ended up being super nice, and we ended up talking for quite some time and really connected throughout the course of the entire series. But, yeah, this was our first conversation. And this was when I learned that he had a special connection to Christian and some insight into his death because he was living in an apartment with his brother at the time, which is where the incident took place. But I'll let Josh explain that we.
- [31:08]
Josh Andreacchio (Christian's Brother)
Were in somewhere below New Orleans, and I was building tow, or I might have been breaking it down, I can't remember. And I. 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 and stuff like that. Like, no. And they told me committed suicide. Like, no, he didn't. And I just hung up the phone and went back out there and started working. And I had to finish because nobody else was there. So I know he 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.
- [32:09]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
Christian. Ever struggle with, like, depression or anything?
- [32:12]
Josh Andreacchio (Christian's Brother)
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. 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. He seemed pretty. Pretty happy with where he was at. When I got to the apartment. When I was able, 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 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 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.
- [35:10]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
Some of those last words from Josh really sunk in and would come to mind throughout the creation of this podcast. He mentioned having this inner conflict of trying to believe one outcome because that's what he'd always been told, but also struggling to believe it because none of it adds up. And Ray will speak on this more here shortly about how things didn't add up for her, but also how it didn't help that they couldn't get cooperation or transparency from law enforcement who seemed to present things as very matter of fact. But nothing about this case feels very matter of fact. It's actually very complex and there's many things you have to take into consideration. And that really became the premise for this whole story. And it's also the rub with Christian's case, right? The authorities and the witnesses at the scene, who also happen to be persons of interest, all say it's suicide. But so much of the evidence points away from that. And then you add in experts who say there's no way he committed suicide and instead point to foul play. And then all of a sudden you're left with this big conundrum. And that's what I wanted to challenge you, the listeners with throughout the story and in closing is to ask yourself, where do you land on this? What do you think happened to Christian?
- [36:28]
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- [37:28]
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- [38:41]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
As my conversation with Josh reaches an end, I decide to follow up with Ray and Todd to ask them about the moment they heard the news.
- [38:49]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
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 we just, 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 call. 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.
- [42:36]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
Sadly, this is a case that never received the attention it deserved. And that extends beyond law enforcement. The Andriaghios contacted local news newspapers requesting they do a story. They even offered to buy 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 Andreacchio's confident that Christian's death was a homicide, they are confident his case can be solved. Did you catch what I said there? It's going to be a process. I would say that aged pretty well. If you're familiar with the story and the ripple effect that came from telling it, then you know how accurate the statement is. Now. I didn't realize all of that when I was writing this. I was simply making a point that there's a lot of information to dive into, a lot of people to talk to and yeah, just buckle up for this journey. It was actually on the drive back home that I came up with this idea for the closing, which I got to say I'm still very proud of to this day, because me and my producers, Jacob and Mark, were just kind of rehashing everything we discussed with the Andrea and we're talking about elements of his case and we're like, wow, we have our hands full here and where do we even start? Like, we don't know what we're doing. How do we continue to move forward with confidence as far as the investigation goes? How do we continue to move forward with confidence as far as writing goes? And then I thought about that pastor from Christian's funeral service, because it had really stuck with me. And listening back to that provided my first real moment of confidence where I thought, I know exactly what to do with this. So that's how this came to be and how I decided on a title for the episode. Trust the Process. Because it had meaning on multiple levels, both with investigating and trying to solve a cold case. But even on the creative process of it all, because I didn't have a lot of confidence and it was like a reminder to myself like, hey man, it's cool, Just trust the process. So this episode was actually made backwards. This was the first thing I wrote and put into a script, the ending. And again, once I had the audio pulled and could listen to it, I knew I wanted a custom score around it. So shout out to dirt poor Robbins and lovers of Mad Men once more for helping get us the perfect track for this part. I'm actually really excited to listen back to this for the first time in many years.
- [45:46]
Pastor
So I want to pass along to you something somebody told me along time ago. What he said to me was trust the process. You never know exactly what it is that's gonna help. Something to click for you. You don't know what circumstance 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.
- [46:43]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Fight your way back down to me and fight all you want, but you cannot put out this fight. Want to stop.
- [47:14]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
All right, that's all I got for you guys. I hope you all enjoyed going back and re listening to this as much as I did. While as a creative I hear so many things I would have done differently with it. I'm not going to get hung up on that because ultimately I'm very proud of the work we did on this and I feel at the end of the day we honored Christian and brought a much needed spotlight to his case. A case that I know people haven't found, forgotten about even all these years later. I want to give a special thanks to all our listeners because none of this would have been possible without you. You gave up many hours of your summer in 2019 to listen to a novice podcaster's first ever podcast, and I don't take that for granted. Seriously, I appreciate each and every one of you for your support then and your continued support so that we can continue to help other victims and their families in their fight for just justice. On that note, I have just a few announcements before we go. First of all, next week we'll be back with another bonus episode where I'll be talking with Ray, reflecting on everything that's happened since Erin Christian's story, so be sure to tune in for that. And starting July 14th, I'll be repeating this process with season two reliving Brittany Stykes story, the first episode of it, that is, and then sitting down with her family to get some updates updates on that case. This should help get you all caught up on past seasons of culpable just in time for the release of season three. Thanks again for listening. We'll be back next week with Ray Andreacchio. See you then.
- [48:55]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Place filled by your love Completely like you're way back down to me and I only want you can that put out.
- [49:20]
Dennis (Host of Culpable)
It.
- [49:45]
Ray Andreacchio (Christian's Mother)
Sam?