Aranda Briones // 473

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Going West: True Crime" - Episode Aranda Briones // 473

Introduction

In episode 473 of Going West: True Crime, hosts Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman delve into the haunting and unresolved case of Aranda Briones, a 16-year-old girl who vanished under mysterious circumstances in January 2019. Released on January 31, 2025, this episode meticulously unpacks the series of events leading to Aranda’s disappearance, the subsequent investigation, and the legal proceedings against the suspects.

Background on Aranda Briones

Aranda Briones was born on June 1, 2002, in Moreno Valley, California. Adopted by her maternal grandparents at the age of three, Aranda faced an unstable early childhood with absent parents. Despite this, she developed strong bonds within her adoptive family. Her grandmother was a pivotal figure in her life, providing love and support until her passing in 2016 when Aranda was just 14. Friends and family remembered Aranda as a kind and joyful spirit. Amanda Johnson, a friend, recalled, “she was a kind spirit and was always joyful, even in the bad moments” [07:34].

Aranda was known for her creativity, working as a self-taught makeup artist with an active Instagram presence. In the months leading up to her disappearance, she appeared to be turning her life around, holding a job she loved and focusing on her talents. However, there were underlying issues, including minor drug use and associations with peers involved in delinquent activities.

The 2017 Incident

The seeds of tragedy were sown in November 2017, when Aranda, then 15, was involved in a significant legal incident. On November 7, 2017, Aranda and her friend Owen Shover were confronted by a school resource officer while skipping school at a local park. In a moment of panic, Owen threw a handgun to Aranda, who attempted to dispose of it by throwing it into a drainage canal. The officer witnessed this and apprehended Aranda. As Heath Merryman explains, “Aranda decided to throw the gun in a nearby drainage canal” [07:34].

This incident led to her expulsion from Moreno Valley High School in February 2018, forcing her to attend a continuation school. Owen faced similar consequences, leading to his displacement from his home and increased resentment towards Aranda.

Reconnection with Her Father

In November 2018, Aranda reconnected with her estranged father, Landry Briones, also known as Chapo Lee, after years of incarceration due to multiple drug-related offenses. This reunion was a significant emotional milestone for Aranda, described by her father as “the happiest moment of his life” [07:34]. Chapo Lee had been a controversial figure, with a criminal record that included six prison stints and a sentence of 13 years for cocaine sales in 2007.

The Disappearance

On January 13, 2019, Aranda was last seen after meeting Owen for what was supposed to be a casual outing. According to the transcript, Aranda informed her brother Daniel of her fears regarding Owen’s potential retaliation [10:56]. On that day, Owen invited Aranda to assist him in making drug deliveries and robbing drug dealers, an invitation she accepted, possibly to maintain peace [10:17].

Despite initially sharing moments on social media, Aranda failed to return home, prompting her family to file a missing persons report the following day. Investigations quickly pointed towards Owen as he was identified as one of the last individuals to see her alive. Police traced Owen’s movements using phone pings and security camera footage, revealing suspicious activities and a possible concealment of Aranda’s whereabouts.

Investigation and Evidence

The investigation uncovered significant evidence implicating Owen and his brother Gary in Aranda’s disappearance:

1. Forensic Evidence: During the search of Owen’s Nissan Versa, investigators found a substance resembling blood in the trunk, later confirmed to match Aranda’s DNA [19:05]. Despite defense arguments questioning the certainty of this evidence, its presence was pivotal in linking Owen to the case.

2. Digital Footprint: Owen’s phone activity showed suspicious pings and a deliberate shutdown to obscure his location data during the critical hours of Aranda’s disappearance [26:28]. Phone records indicated that Owen was near Box Springs Mountain, an area with difficult terrain, suggesting a possible site for concealing a body.

3. Social Media Messages: A Facebook message from Owen to Gary read, “be ready for tonight. Get shovels and lighter fluid ready” [28:23]. This message was interpreted as a clear indication of an intent to dispose of evidence, further strengthening the prosecution’s case.

4. Security Footage: Citywide camera systems traced Owen’s movements on the night of the disappearance, contradicting his defense claims about malfunctioning cameras [23:29].

Arrests and Trial

On February 11, 2019, both Owen Shover and his brother Gary were arrested in Hesperia without resistance [20:15]. Owen faced charges of first-degree murder, while Gary was charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a crime. The case proceeded slowly due to COVID-19 delays, prolonging the anguish of Aranda’s family.

During the trial, Owen’s defense attorney, Stephen Allen, attempted to undermine the prosecution’s case by portraying Aranda as a troubled teenager whose lifestyle choices led to her demise. Allen argued, “Aranda was into drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, using cocaine, doing drugs, and hanging out with people without any restrictions” [30:56]. This strategy aimed to shift blame away from Owen, suggesting that Aranda’s actions made her a victim of circumstance rather than a targeted murder.

Sentencing and Aftermath

In August 2024, Owen Shover was found guilty of Aranda’s murder after a brief jury deliberation. Judge Timothy J. Hollenhurst delivered a scathing verdict, stating, “there is no question in this court's mind that you are the face of pure evil” [35:09]. On October 25, 2024, Owen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In stark contrast, Gary Shover received only 12 months of probation through a plea deal, a decision that devastated Aranda’s family.

Aranda’s body has never been found, despite extensive searches in the rugged San Bernardino Mountains. Expert Bobby Chacon highlighted the difficulties in locating remains in such vast and challenging terrain, underscoring the grim reality that Aranda’s remains may never be discovered [36:50].

Conclusion and Call to Action

The Going West: True Crime hosts conclude the episode by emphasizing the unresolved nature of Aranda Briones’s disappearance. They urge listeners to share the case in hopes that new information might surface, potentially bringing closure to her grieving family. As Daphne poignantly states, “we really have no answers. Her family has no answers” [40:09].

Listeners are encouraged to follow the podcast on social media for updates and to contribute any information that might aid in finding Aranda’s remains. The episode ends with a heartfelt plea for community involvement, highlighting the enduring impact of Aranda’s tragic story.

Notable Quotes

• Amanda Johnson: “She was a kind spirit and was always joyful, even in the bad moments.” [07:34]
• Daphne Woolsoncroft: “Dozens of friends and family members whose lives had been touched by Aranda spoke to the crowd, sharing treasured memories.” [17:29]
• Heath Merryman: “There is no way around this. Her blood DNA is in the trunk of your fucking car.” [19:05]
• District Attorney Mike Hestrin: “The victim didn't deserve this. She was just a kid. She had her whole life ahead of her.” [31:21]
• Judge Timothy J. Hollenhurst: “There is no question in this court's mind that you are the face of pure evil.” [35:09]

Closing Remarks

The Going West: True Crime episode on Aranda Briones presents a detailed and emotionally charged exploration of a young life cut short by violence and deceit. Through thorough analysis and compelling storytelling, Daphne and Heath bring to light the complexities of the case, honoring Aranda’s memory while seeking justice for her and her family.

For more information and to support ongoing investigations, listeners are urged to contact the Riverside County Sheriff's Department at 951-955-2400.

Transcript

[Daphne]

Foreign.

[Teeth]

What is going on, true crime fans? I'm your host, Teeth.

[Daphne]

And I'm your host, Daphne.

[Teeth]

And you're listening to Going West.

[Daphne]

Hello everybody. Hope you're doing well today. Big shout out and thank you to Jessica and Justin for recommending today's case. The peak of this story takes place in the California mountains and there there's a lot to go into regarding phone pings, security cameras and so much more. But this case still does need as much attention as possible. So make sure that you share this one.

[Teeth]

Yes. And for everybody who wants some extra episodes of Going west, we have a bonus episode series called Real Crime. You can find it over on patreon.com goingwestpodcast or you can subscribe on Apple. And we just released an episode on the Easy street murders. It was two women in the 1970s and it takes place in Australia. It is a wild story. Make sure you head on over there and subscribe.

[Daphne]

We also have over 125 other bonus episodes from over the years. We leave the US a lot over on that series. So if you want international cases, that is a great place to go. But we do do some US cases too. But yeah, check it out. Thanks in advance. All right.

[Teeth]

Alright guys, this is episode 473 of going west. So let's get into it.

[Daphne]

We've obtained booking records showing that two men believed to be brothers have been arrested in connection with this case. Both of them arrested early this morning in Hesperia. Now this comes about four weeks after Aranda Brionis first went missing. According to the family at the time, she was last seen by one of those suspects. They're suspected of killing Aranda Briones who has been missing since mid January. I know what is true alive. To me, she's always going to be alive until I find otherwise she's alive. In January of 2019, a 16 year old girl went missing. Last seen at a community park near her Moreno Valley, California home. As police searched for any sign of her, a sinister revenge plot unfolded before their eyes. With the main suspect in her likely murder described. Described as nothing but pure evil. This is the story of Aranda Briones. Aranda Briones was born on June 1, 2002 in Moreno Valley, California. So just east of Los Angeles, out in Riverside County County. Sadly, at the start of her life, Aranda's parents were pretty absent. So she was actually adopted by her maternal grandparents at the age of three. And although she had such a loving family, it's said that her grandparents didn't put very many rules into place for her so early on in her life as well. They say that she wound up in some troublesome situations. I'm going to get into that a little bit more here in a bit. But she and her grandmother were very, very close. She was one of her strongest positive influence in her life. So it was a huge tragedy for the family and Aranda in particular when her grandmother passed away in 2016, when Arhonda was just about 14 years old. But despite her early life's rockiness, Arhonda strived to work hard and be kind to everyone she met. A friend named Amanda Johnson remembered, quote, she was a kind spirit and was always joyful, even in the bad moments. A former classmate described her as a happy person and a sweet girl. And it's known that her adoptive family, so really her extended family was close and loving. Her grandpa Carl and her uncles, who all resided together, raised her, quote, like a daughter and a sister. Her older brother Daniel, who described Rhonda as his best friend, said, quote, she was not without her troubles and questionable decisions, but she was a bright soul. Aranda was filled with unlimited potential that she was only beginning to tap into. Now, in the months before her disappearance, Aranda seemed to be turning her life around because according to her family, she was working a job she loved. And she also was a talented self taught makeup artist running an Instagram page for the various looks that she came up with. And I know that feels weird for me to say she was turning her life around without, you know, any examples of how it wasn't going well, you know, other than what happened with her, her parents and her grandma. But really all we could find was that she smoked weed and ran in crowds that sold and did drugs. So nothing too crazy, but I think the emphasis is mostly just, you know, on being somewhat in a drug crowd. But it's sad because I feel like especially considering how recent this case is, there should be so much more information about her. But it seems like she really slipped through the cracks. But the biggest part of the things we're looking up is because of something that happened to her in 2017, which Heath will tell us about in a moment. But first, going into 2018, Aranda even reconnected with her father around this time in question. Now, Aranda's dad, his name is Landry Briones, better known as Chapo Lee, had been in and out of prison since she was born. Admittedly, he hadn't seen her since she was about four years old. But they finally reunited in November of 2018, which was an occasion that Chapo Lee called the happiest moment of his life. So that must have been an emotional time for 16 year old Arhonda as well. And a little more backstory on his record. Chapo Lee was convicted of selling drugs in 2007 after an undercover cop busted him for selling cocaine that summer. So, a prior felon with six prison stints under his belt, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison, which is exactly what took him away from his daughter for most of her life. But after his release and their reunion, he was working to maintain a permanent place in Aranda's life and really just try to be the best dad he could for her.

[Teeth]

So obviously, as Daphne mentioned, things were kind of looking up for her in late 2018 and early 2019. But just over a year prior, she was embroiled in this legal scandal that actually threatened her academic career and, of course, the trajectory of her life. And this plays a major role in what happened to her, because while attending Moreno Valley High School, a chance encounter at a local park at the age of just 15 changed her life forever. On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, Aranda decided to skip school and hang out at a local park for the day with some friends, including a friend named Owen Shover. But what was supposed to be a relaxing and fun day off completely flip flopped when they spotted a school resource officer patrolling for truant, you know, to just punish kids that were skipping school. Well, as this school resource patrol officer approached them, the students all scattered and they ran off in different directions. But seemingly in a moment of panic, Owen, who was just shy of 17 years old, pulled out a small caliber handgun that he had been carrying on him, and he tossed it to Aranda, telling her to hang onto it before taking off. Now, why this guy, you know, as a teenager, had this gun and how he obtained it is a complete mystery. But obviously Aranda started to panic because not only was the gun just tossed to her, but now she's responsible for a weapon that she's not legally allowed to be carrying. So 15 year old Aranda decided to throw the gun in a nearby drainage canal. However, the officer actually witnessed her doing this, and naturally, he apprehended her. After this, Aranda was brought into her school for questioning with the administration and also the officer. And she broke down and told him exactly what happened, that the gun belonged to a friend or a quasi friend of hers, and that he was basically trying to use her as a scapegoat. Now, three months after this, in February of 2018. The incident was brought before the school board and the school board members voted to expel both Owen and Aranda for this ordeal. Now, as you guys can imagine, the fallout for both of these teens was significant. Aranda was forced to enroll in a continuation school for expelled students. And then Owen did the same, but actually wound up moving out of the home that he shared with his mom and moving in with his father in Hesperia, California, which is about an hour north of Moreno Valley, located in San Bernardino County. So, displaced from his school, his friends and home, Owen was just enraged at how the situation had played out.

[Daphne]

Then don't throw guns at people.

[Teeth]

Yeah. I mean, obviously you're the person that made the mistake, so you can't really be mad at anybody else here.

[Daphne]

Yeah.

[Teeth]

So while Aranda was focusing on making up for her situation and looking toward graduating, Owen was plotting his revenge. But none the wiser to his schemes. Again, things were looking up for Aronda. She was making better choices and she was just focusing on herself. But after the ordeal, she confided in her brother Daniel that she was afraid of Owen and what he might do to retaliate. And this was something that was very, very much on her mind.

[Daphne]

Between November 18th of 2018 and January of 2019, Owens texts and social media activity proved that he was attempting to illegally procure a gun for the second time. The Riverside County Sheriff Central Homicide Unit later revealed that they discovered a string of texts as well as communications on both Snapchat and Facebook wherein 18 year old Owen was tapping into connections for illegal access to a firearm and somehow he was successfully able to obtain one. On Saturday, January 12, 2019, over a year after Arhonda and Owen were caught with the gun in the park, Owen asked her if she wanted him to pick her up for a few hours. He later explained that he had asked her if she wanted to assist him in making some drug deliveries and to come along as he robs drug dealers. Now, it's possible that Arhonda, now 16 years old, was happy about the possibility that Owen had finally forgiven her and that that's why she willingly accepted his risky and dangerous invitation. You know, as to not upset him further. But whatever the reason, Arhonda was picked up by Owen the following afternoon, which was Sunday, January 13, 2019. Her family last saw her at home around 2pm when she headed out, only telling them that she was meeting up with friends, not mentioning Owen or of course, the drug stuff. She and Owen then met up at the Moreno Valley Community park, which is on the southwest side of the city where he picked her up in his Nissan versa at around 5pm and it seems like there's that gap in time because she had also met up with some other friends at the park. And actually two of them allegedly witnessed her getting picked up by Owen and said that they then headed north and away from the park.

[Teeth]

So it's not necessarily untrue that she was going to hang out with friends. She just probably left out the part that she was going to meet up with Owen as well.

[Daphne]

Exactly. A short while later, Aranda was posting on Snapchat from inside Owen's car. She posted five pictures in total, one of which was captioned My Homie. She also bragged that he was letting her drive his car. But as the hours crept by, she didn't make it home. And although Rhonda frequently left home to, you know, go spend time with friends, she had a bunch of friends that she loved hanging out with. It was rare that she wouldn't at least check in with her family if she was staying out. So the next day she was reported missing, you know, cause also the next day is a Monday, so for her not to go to school, they knew she was taking school seriously. Now at her continuation school, she's not just gonna blow it off.

[Teeth]

Yeah, absolutely. And the same day that the missing persons report was filed, which was Monday, January 14, police also spoke with Owen about Aranda's disappearance after discovering that her most recent activity on social media was taking pictures from inside his car and then posting them to Snapchat. So they knew that he was the last or one of the last people to see her.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And they got on that fast?

[Teeth]

Yes, they did. And according to 18 year old Owen, he had dropped 16 year old Aranda back at the Moreno Valley Community park where they had met up at around 6pm and he hadn't seen her after that, apparently.

[Daphne]

So he's saying that they hung out for only an hour, he picked her up from the park, was with her for less than an hour, and then dropped her back off at that same park.

[Teeth]

Yes, but also according to some sources, this may have taken place at another nearby park which was called the Bayside Park. And then Owen claimed that he watched Aranda go from his car into a silver four door sedan, but that he didn't know the identity of the driver. So here he is already trying to put police onto somebody else. But none of Aranda's family could pinpoint anybody they knew who drove that similar car. So this wasn't really stirring up any new leads. And after her final updates to Snapchat, Aranda went silent and didn't check her social media accounts nor answer any texts or calls from anyone. So obviously, this is very alarming. She's a teenage girl. She's probably using her social media quite often, and now she is radio silent. So aside from the hour that Owen purportedly spent with her on the last night that she was seen in public, he claimed that he didn't know her whereabouts or her movements. As the days passed and fears mounted as to Rhonda's whereabouts, one of her most outspoken advocates became her father, Chapo Lee. In an interview with the press, he said through tears that until they find her body, he'll believe that she's still alive. He said staunchly, I know what is true. She's alive. To me, she's always going to be alive until I find her. She's alive now. The FBI, alongside with the Riverside County Special Investigations Bureau and Special Enforcement Team, as well as their Human Trafficking Division, all contributed to the investigation into Aranda's disappearance. In addition to the professional efforts, Aranda's family did everything they could, including passing out flyers in the area and orchestrating three vigils in the two weeks following her last public sighting. And these three events drew hundreds of people, and attendees were encouraged to wear blue, which was Aranda's favorite color. Dozens of friends and family members whose lives had been touched by Aranda spoke to the crowd, sharing treasured memories, including even Aranda's first grade teacher. The organizer of the vigils described Aranda as Moreno Valley's daughter. A tip line was established for information, and cadaver dogs were marched through parts of the San Bernardino Mountains, where they believed that it was possible that Aranda's body had been concealed. But none of the dogs were able to find any evidence that would lead them to the remains or any proof that she was deceased at all. Drones also searched overhead, but they just could not find any sign of Aranda anywhere.

[Daphne]

Aranda's family claimed that they were suspicious of Owen from the beginning. Her Uncle Matthew maintained, quote, I think he's a bad influence, in my opinion. He used to go to Moreno Valley High School, and they stopped hanging out for like a year. She never talked about him. And then all of a sudden, they started hanging out. And out of the blue air, she disappeared. Neighbors of Owen's dad's home in Hesperia claimed that their property had been visited by the police three times in the three weeks that had passed since Aranda's disappearance. But it wasn't until Owen's Nissan Versa was searched that there was sufficient evidence to make an arrest. When police forensically processed the last place Aranda was known to be, which was inside Owen's vehicle, they found a substance that suspiciously resembled blood pooled beneath the carpet in the trunk. And after testing it, that substance was confirmed to match Aranda's DNA. However, the defense latched on to the fact that the substance was only presumed to be blood and could not be confirmed with complete accuracy. And then, surprisingly, the vehicle was released back to the Shover family after it was forensically processed. Even before the arrests were made. According to the subsequent trial brief, the investigation uncovered, quote, extensive and compelling evidence that the defendant meticulously planned and carried out the murder of Aranda.

[Teeth]

I mean, yeah, there's no way around this. Her. Her blood DNA is in the trunk of your fucking car.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Like, this even included a search of Owen's truck using luminal, which revealed what was described as, quote, the presence of a significant amount of blood that had pooled toward the bottom of the trunk underneath the carpeting. So this must have been a place that Owen, like, couldn't or didn't know that he needed to clean.

[Teeth]

Yeah, I'm kind of assuming he forgot about it. Yeah.

[Daphne]

But thankfully that was the case, so that they were able to find it. Now, between 1 and 2am on Monday, February 11, 2019. So nearly a month after Aranda disappeared, a flurry of police cars and even a SWAT team descended upon Owen's Hesperia home. In a shocking turn of events, both Owen Shover and his older brother Gary were arrested for the murder of Aranda Briones. And kind of shockingly knowing at least the type of person that Owen is, both of them went willingly and the arrests were made without any issue.

[Teeth]

So they didn't run, thank God.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Now, interestingly, aside from his expulsion, Owen had no criminal history and Gary had no run ins with the law at all. Though we know that Owen was definitely involved in criminal activity like drugs and possession of firearms, but he just hadn't been caught other than that time at the park. In November of 2017, Lt. Chris Durham.

[Teeth]

From the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced in a press conference about the case, I don't know what was taken from their backyard. I do know that evidence was collected that confirmed that our investigators believe that Ms. Briones was the victim of a homicide. And that points at these two brothers. He did refuse to divulge what was taken from the yard and how it was related to Aranda and also her murder. But a neighbor of Owen and Gary's revealed it was like a blanket in a coat. And then they started sitting all these little markers around and digging in other places. Owen's defense attorney, his name is Stephen Allen, later argued that while Aranda's DNA was recovered from within his car, there was no way to prove that Aranda had actually died as a result of whatever ailment had caused that. Spilled blood.

[Daphne]

Whatever ailment?

[Teeth]

Yeah. Like what? While both he and Owen maintained that she had taken off in this mysterious silver vehicle, which Stephen said flatly, quote, owen didn't know anything about.

[Daphne]

And yet Owen didn't explain Rhonda being injured either. So they're trying to create this narrative that, well, her blood may be in the car, but it doesn't mean she died in the car and died from this blood loss from the car. Yet they're not explaining then how that blood got there. Anyway.

[Teeth]

It's such a reach, it's such an insane and silly reach that he's trying to say that just because there was blood in the car doesn't mean she died there. Like, like, what else would have happened? You think she, like, broke her leg and then sat in, like, Owen's trunk and just let her leg bleed into the carpet? Like.

[Daphne]

Yeah, but then he. And then he also didn't mention that.

[Teeth]

Yeah, let's, let's be realistic here. Like, I just think these defense arguments are so stupid and so far fetched that it's, it's almost, well, it is, frankly, disrespectful. And their argument just got dumber when his defense attorney planted the seed that the silver car was involved in a collision and that perhaps Aranda had more than likely been killed in a car accident. Insinuating that she was involved in two different kinds of accidents and that the one that killed her was not Owen's fault. But there was never any credence given to this idea because the GPS activity on Owen's phone, well, it proved otherwise.

[Daphne]

We love when phone pings and security footage prove the bad guys wrong.

[Teeth]

Yes, we do.

[Daphne]

And this was definitely the evidence that the investigation needed. Because tracking the mobile phone tower pings made by 18 year old Owen's phone, detectives were able to loosely reconstruct the route that Owen made in his car on the evening that a Rhonda vanished on January 13, 2019. Following Moreno Valley's citywide camera system as well as personal home security cameras, Owens Nissan's whereabouts could be followed around the vicinity of Box Springs Mountain, which is located in northwestern Riverside County. It's littered with hiking trails, and this is just about 10 minutes from downtown Moreno Valley. Stephen Allen, again, Owens defense attorney, attempted to cast doubt on the accuracy of the security footage being recorded, of course, saying, quote, let me tell you a little bit about the cameras, though, which you're gonna hear. The district attorney thinks they have a perfect case in regards to those cameras. But what you're gonna hear is that a lot of the cameras that are citywide in Moreno Valley were not functional or operational prior to January 15, 2019. And the day that Aranda disappeared was January 13. However, Lieutenant Chris Durham debunked this argument, confirming the camera system was reviewed, and ultimately it destroyed the timeline he provided. So the prosecution alleges that Aranda was murdered at some point between when they arrived in the Box Springs Mountain area and and when Owen met up with his brother Gary. About two hours later, after about 20 minutes in the vicinity of Box Springs Mountain, Owen's car started traveling north toward San Bernardino, which is again, the area he lived in. He then pivoted to travel through the San Bernardino Mountains, which is a journey that would have taken him about an hour to complete. Owen drove through the mountains along State Route 18 and State Route 138, crossing the Big Bear Lake Arrowhead areas. And at some point along his journey, Owen stopped the car and picked up his brother Gary, reportedly at a mobile home park, continuing his journey north to his house on the other side of the mountain, down in the desert in Hesperia. But after he did, Owen turned his phone off, ending its location data. And when it pinged again, he was back at home in hesperia. Because between 8:33 and 10:14pm on the evening of January 13, there was no location data for Owens phone with it not pinging again until they were nearly home, driving down the street of his dad's residence.

[Teeth]

So, obviously, that's very suspicious. You turn your phone off on this little journey, and then you turn it on when you get almost home.

[Daphne]

Yeah. And this is the two or four hours after he says he dropped Aranda back at that park. And to give perspective on why they were likely in this area, other than the fact that it's one of the routes from the Riverside area to Hesperia, Their family actually owned a second home in Lake Arrowhead, which is in the San Bernardino Mountains. And this is where the boys are believed to have dropped Aranda's body that night. Yes. This area is known to have poor cell service because you're in the mountains. I actually lived in Lake Arrowhead for a year during my childhood in Heath just got back from Big Bear, but Heath and I were texting and talking while you were actually on the 18 and the 138. Just fine.

[Teeth]

Yeah, we were. I mean, I was texting and calling you while I was on the ski mountain.

[Daphne]

Yes. You know, this actually making me think a lot of the Idaho four case when Brian Coburger's phone turned off also inconvenient places during the night of the murders and then it turned back on when he was almost home as well. So I think Owen very much was aware of his location data being tracked like any other phone and that he turned it off to avoid the specifics there.

[Teeth]

Absolutely, 100% agree.

[Daphne]

Well, luckily police knew about this home in Lake Arrowhead, so they were hoping that this would be a slam dunk. After it was searched, the house turned up a bag of marijuana, lighter fluid and shovels. Remember that for a second. But no sign of Rhonda. However, the most damning piece of evidence from their journey came in the form of a Facebook message that Owen sent to his 21 year old brother Gary before they convened, which read, be ready for tonight. Get shovels and lighter fluid ready.

[Teeth]

I mean, what else could this possibly mean?

[Daphne]

More idiots sending damning messages. Just like in Nicole Lovell's case from last week.

[Teeth]

Yes. I mean, it's just like I think these people don't really think that police are going to look through all their social media accounts and find these messages, but they always do.

[Daphne]

But it's like, what else would you be talking about? Get shovels and lighter fluid ready. That sounds like you're trying to burn and bury a body.

[Teeth]

Yes, it does. And I'm. I'm assuming that this is exactly what that case was.

[Daphne]

Well after the arrests were made. Chapo Lee, remember this is Aranda's father, told the press angrily, quote, whoever killed my daughter, they're gonna have to meet their maker. When you meet God, let's see if you can stare him in the face. The day after the arrests, February 12, 2019, a press conference was held helmed by Lieutenant Chris Durham. When he was asked what the sheriff's department presumed happened to Aranda, he admitted, I don't know. Because of Owen's desperate pleasure employed to get a gun prior to his hangout with Aranda and because of the amount of blood that was recovered in the trunk, it seems most plausible that he was able to illegally obtain a gun and that he shot her before disposing of both her and the gun. This is what police were surmising. Thus, Owen Shover was charged with felony first degree murder, and Gary was charged with second degree murder and conspiracy to commit a crime. Crime. And both men pleaded not guilty.

[Teeth]

Well, with COVID delays, Aranda's case was dragged out for years to the obvious agony of her family. Now, because of the added special charge of lying in wait, the possibility of the death penalty loomed heavily over Owen's case. In the opening statements of his client's trial, Owen's defense attorney against Stephen Allen delivered a scathing overview of Aranda's short life, attempting to portray her as someone who brought on her own fate. Which is just such a messed up way to go about this entire thing. Stevens said she was into drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, using cocaine, doing drugs, and hanging out with people without any restrictions. She was running around late at night doing things that maybe she shouldn't have been doing. Some of those things might have included robbing drug dealers. He added smugly, quote, maybe it wasn't the right path, but it was the path that Aranda was on.

[Daphne]

Uh, what about your client?

[Teeth]

Yeah, I mean, and this is his whole thing. He has to attack her, and, and that way he can defend Owen, and this is the way he's doing it.

[Daphne]

Well, that's why it's so despicable. I understand this is his job, but it's almost like the things he's saying. He's trying to make Aranda look bad. But Owen was doing these things, so. So it's kind of like. It's a. It's kind of a hypocritical thing to say.

[Teeth]

It absolutely is. Well, he continued on to clarify that Aranda had no reason to be afraid of Owen, as her brother alleged, and that she likely wasn't fearful of Owen, as the prosecution said, because she had willingly gone along on the excursion when Owen invited her that day and seemed to be posting happily alongside her old friend Stephen explained, quote, when you look at it, you don't see any sense of fear in Aranda being with Owen Shover. In fact, she's Snapchatting the entire thing. And the people want you to believe that this incident from over a year ago, where both Aronda and Owen were expelled, led to somehow this murder that they believe occurred. But you know, what you don't have is proof of that. There's no body, there's no weapon. There's no evidence that Aranda Briones is dead.

[Daphne]

Stephen also proclaimed that the lack of physical evidence should cast enough reasonable doubt on his client, saying, quote, if Owen were planning this murder that the people want you to believe, without a body, without a weapon, do you think he's gonna let Aranda Snapchat pictures in the car with him? It doesn't make sense.

[Teeth]

I mean, he's not gonna sit there and tell her, hey, don't Snapchat, you know, inside my car as we're driving around, because I'm gonna kill you later. So he probably wouldn't have said anything anyway.

[Daphne]

I mean, I understand why Steven is saying this, but it just feels like all of his arguments are really loose and flat, you know, like, as if just because he didn't stop her from Snapchatting means that he couldn't have planned her murder.

[Teeth]

Right.

[Daphne]

It's just that's all he has. Right.

[Teeth]

Again, grasping at straws.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Well, in his next argument, he attempted to malign Aranda's family, describing how Aranda had disappeared from home before and that perhaps she didn't want to come back. He explained Aranda liked to run around at night, but she usually comes back. The defense even went so far as to try to justify Owen's spontaneous trip to the mountains, saying that it was one of Aranda's favorite places to go. Stephen said, the Box Spring Mountains. That was an area that Aranda frequented. She liked to go up to that area. She liked to hang out. She liked to drink. She liked to do the things that she did up there. And so Owen drove her around. But Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin stood by Aranda's role as the innocent victim of a heinous crime. Mike said morosely, quote, the victim didn't deserve this. She was just a kid. She had her whole life ahead of her. This was a tremendous loss, all because of one person's choice. It's truly heartbreaking. Mike added that he found Owen's behavior in the courtroom distasteful and despicable, saying he's a stone cold killer. On the day of his conviction, he spoke to his grandfather from jail, wondering whether he should get a trophy for being a convicted murderer. He has shown no remorse.

[Teeth]

Well, 23 year old Owen Shover was found guilty of Aranda's murder in August of 2024. After the jury deliberated for just one day ahead of Owen's sentencing, Judge Timothy J. Hollenhurst told him, there are many questions left unanswered, none more than where is Aranda? Mr. Shover, from. From what I can tell about you, it appears that you are not capable of feeling remorse. So I do not intend to lecture you on how devastating your actions were in this case. However, there is no question in this court's mind that you are the face of pure evil.

[Daphne]

These are really big statements from two different people, a judge and the da.

[Teeth]

I mean, yeah, they really ripped into.

[Daphne]

Him, but that shows you how horrible this was in their eyes and how guilty he was in their eyes.

[Teeth]

Yep, absolutely. Well, on October 25, 2024, Owen was sentenced for his crime and was handed life in prison without the possibility of parole. In response to the sentence, Stephen Allen, again his defense attorney, said, quote, we are sad about the sentence and hopefully the appellate process will find some instructional error or error along the process. But thus far, his defense team has not announced any plans to appeal. 20 of Aranda's friends and family members gathered in the courtroom, and multiple people made tearful victim impact statements before the shover brothers and the court. Aranda's teenage cousin said through sobs, that regret physically hurts that I didn't hug you and tell you how much you meant to me. Even though we were cousins, you were like a sister to me. Aranda's aunt Deborah, bemoaned that the family would miss out on so many firsts that she would never get to share with them, saying, we had no idea that the sun would set so soon on her dreams. Her uncle Matthew, who viewed her more of a sister than a niece, called losing Aranda the most heartbreaking thing that he had ever been through. On what should have been the day of her high school graduation, he wrote, in all of our eyes, even though she isn't here, she graduated early. Also, she probably would have been manager by now. She loved to work more than anything.

[Daphne]

To the shock and disappointment of Aranda's loved ones, Gary shover received just 12 months of probation for his role in Aranda's murder. He served time in prison while awaiting trial, but managed to vacate his charges in a plea deal with the Riverside County District Attorney's office. The charges against him were waived by a judge in a preliminary hearing, and he was ordered to serve just 12 months of probation, as well as to pay restitution to Aranda's family, and that amount will be decided by the Department of Probation. Aranda's body, though believed to have been left in the San Bernardino Mountains, still has never been found. Current lawyer and former FBI agent Bobby Chacon weighed in on how he believes Owen was able to conceal her body, saying, this is an area of California that's over 2,000 square miles or 5,000 square kilometers, these mountains, and they are rugged terrain. These are difficult mountains to search. They do it by helicopter in a lot of places because it's too steep to get in there. Now, how he was able to hide her body, because by no account is he an avid hiker or an outdoorsman. I don't know how he was able to hide her. I assume she was buried because on his property they did find some burned out clothes and blankets buried on his property. So he has a habit maybe of burying things. So I assume he buried her. Volunteer groups have scoured the mountainsides over the years, but the chances of finding her remains are sadly pretty minuscule. Mike Hester and again the DA agreed that it would be an uphill battle and one which may never come to fruition, admitting there are sheer cliffs out in those mountains. Thousand foot draw. On the day of her disappearance, Aranda Briones was wearing a white and blue jacket, a dark colored shirt and dark jeans. She stood at 5ft 4 inches tall and weighed about 110 pounds. She had brown hair and hazel eyes and her nose was pierced. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Aranda Briones, please call the Riverside County Sheriff's department at 951-955-2400. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

[Teeth]

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. In a lot of cases that we've covered where a body has not been recovered, sometimes, you know, years later remains are found. So hopefully at some point soon, hopefully, Aranda's remains will be found and she can be laid to rest by her family.

[Daphne]

Yeah. Because I mean, at this point we really have no answers. Her family has no answers. They only have what we can all prepare, presume what happened because everybody kind of thinks the same thing.

[Teeth]

Yeah.

[Daphne]

But we don't know for sure. We don't know exactly what happened, where she is, what exactly she went through. So yeah, that's why we said in the very beginning, please, even though there is some resolution, of course, which is so important, please make sure you share this case because if her remains are found one day, we can really only hope that that happens and then her family can have some much needed full closure.

[Teeth]

Absolutely. And if you want to see photos from this case and all the other cases that we've covered, head on over to our socials, give us a follow. We're on Instagram, oingwestpodcast and we're also on Facebook.

[Daphne]

Yes. Thank you guys for tuning in. Again, big shout out to the two who recommended this episode or this case. Jessica and Justin, if you have a case that you want us to cover, just shoot us an email. Goingwestpodcastmail.com we have a massive list of hundreds of cases, but we're always excited to get new ones sent in, so please do so.

[Teeth]

Alright, guys, so for everybody out there.

[Daphne]

In the world, don't be a stranger.