Episode 10: Cat Eyes

Summary

My Friend Daisy: Episode 10 - "Cat Eyes" Summary

Released on May 21, 2025 by iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction

In the tenth episode of the investigative series "My Friend Daisy," host Jenn Swan delves deeper into the tragic aftermath of Daisy De La O's murder. This episode, titled "Cat Eyes," explores the unsolved murder of Jeffrey Tinoko, Daisy's key witness, and examines the unsettling gaps within the police investigation. Jenn uncovers how social media played a pivotal role not only in solving Daisy’s case but also in bringing attention to Jeffrey's untimely death.

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Revelation of Jeffrey's Murder

Jenn Swan begins the episode with shocking news about Jeffrey Tinoko's murder:

[01:12] Jenn Swan: "I had just started making the show when I learned that Jeffrey had been murdered. It was just after New Year's Day, 2024. It felt completely inconceivable."

Jeffrey was instrumental in Daisy's case, having identified her body and testified against Victor, the eventual murderer. His death raised numerous questions about the investigation's integrity.

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Confrontation with Detectives

Determined to understand more, Jenn reached out to Detectives Lugo and Sanchez. During her interviews, she discovered that the detectives were unaware of Jeffrey's murder, despite his crucial role in Daisy's case.

[03:35] Jenn Swan: "Could I really trust any of it?"

[06:16] Detective Sanchez: "You put a damper on my day."

The detectives' lack of awareness highlighted significant lapses in communication within the police department.

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Detective Lugo’s Responses

In a follow-up interview, Detective Lugo confirmed knowledge of Jeffrey's death but provided vague details, further fueling Jenn's suspicions of dishonesty.

[08:20] Jenn Swan: "Did you know about that?"

[08:23] Detective Lugo: "Yes. It's very tragic."

Jenn noticed inconsistencies in Detective Lugo's reactions and responses, suggesting he might be withholding information.

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Interview with the Bartender

Seeking clarity, Jenn traveled to Mexico to speak with a bartender who had worked with Victor, the man convicted of Daisy's murder. The bartender revealed:

[17:09] Bartender: "He's a nice guy, quiet, relaxed."

[17:59] Jenn Swan: "Billy the Kid, the Wild West outlaw who went on the run after committing a series of murders."

The bartender provided insights into Victor's double life, working as "Billy" in a popular beach bar while hiding his criminal activities.

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Victor’s Arrest and Social Media Impact

Jenn explores the circumstances leading to Victor's arrest, emphasizing the role of social media. Multiple avenues—Instagram DMs, voicemails, and TikTok videos—converged to identify Victor.

[15:04] Bartender: "They're calling me."

[14:51] Wendy Tinoko: "Detectives told me, they're just calling me."

Ultimately, a viral TikTok video played a crucial role in exposing Victor's true identity, leading to his swift apprehension.

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Investigating Jeffrey’s Murder

Jenn shifts focus to the unresolved homicide of Jeffrey Tinoko. Through public records requests, she uncovers the official police narrative:

[27:29] Jenn Swan: "Jeffrey and a few friends had ordered a pizza when the pizza delivery guy got there. They flashed guns and attempted to steal his jewelry and cash."

Despite the details, no suspects have been charged, leaving Jeffrey’s case open and his family seeking justice.

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Wendy’s TikTok Tributes

Jeffrey’s mother, Wendy Tinoko, utilized TikTok to memorialize her son, inadvertently contributing to the viral spread that aided Daisy’s case. Jenn highlights the emotional significance of Wendy’s posts:

[30:40] Jenn Swan: "This little chihuahua that I have."

[31:03] Jenn Swan: "This video was taken at the mall food court. Jeffrey was wearing a white hoodie and sipping on a purple smoothie."

Wendy’s heartfelt videos garnered over a million views, showcasing how personal tributes can resonate widely on social media platforms.

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The Power and Pitfalls of Social Media

Jenn reflects on the dual-edged nature of social media in criminal investigations:

[22:16] Wendy Tinoko: "Or schools."

[31:14] Jenn Swan: "Sarah Turney ... said that TikTok, it's kind of like a slot machine, and you never really know what's going to hit, what's going to be rewarded by the algorithm."

While social media was instrumental in solving Daisy’s case, it also complicated Jeffrey’s investigation, leaving his family yearning for answers.

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Conclusion

"Cat Eyes" underscores the intricate relationship between modern technology and law enforcement. Jenn Swan poignantly illustrates how platforms like TikTok can galvanize communities to seek justice, yet also highlights the challenges and emotional toll when investigations remain incomplete. The episode serves as a testament to the enduring quest for truth and the profound impact of social media in contemporary crime-solving.

Notable Quotes:

• Jenn Swan ([06:20]): "I know. Me, too. Me, too."
• Detective Lugo ([13:31]): "We know what we did. We know who we talked to."
• Bartender ([17:53]): "And he was always here. He always here."

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Dedication

This episode is dedicated to the memories of Daisy de La O and Jeffrey Tinoko. Jen Swan extends heartfelt thanks to everyone who shared their memories, including Juan de La O, Daisy's grandfather.

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About the Series

"My Friend Daisy" is a ten-part investigative podcast produced by London Audio and supported by Sony Music Entertainment. Executive producers include Paris Hilton, Bruce Gersh, Bruce Robertson, Joanna Studebaker, and Jonathan Hirsch. The series is reported, written, and hosted by Jenn Swan, an L.A. journalist dedicated to uncovering the truth behind Daisy's murder and the broader implications of community-driven justice.

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.

[Ferris State University Representative]

Your future patients are counting on you and at Ferris State University, you'll be ready for them. Healthcare isn't just a career, it's a calling. At Ferris State, you'll find the perfect path to meaningful community service with hands on clinical experience. From day one, you'll develop essential skills, get real world training and support to unleash your potential and change lives every day. Start your healthcare journey at Ferris. Edu Ferris State University. Healing begins here.

[Erin Andrews]

Hey, guys, it's Erin Andrews from Calm down with Erin and Carissa. So they say you can't plan for the unexpected. But whoever said that obviously didn't know about Aflac. You probably know the Aflac duck, but you might not know what Aflac can do for you. For example, did you know they pay cash that can help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover? If you get sick or injured, Aflac pays cash that can be put towards co pays and deductibles to even non medical expenses like rent or your mortgage. Mortgage payments. It's completely up to you. Get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover. Visit aflac.com to learn more.

[Jen Swan]

I had just started making the show when I learned that Jeffrey had been murdered. It was just after New Year's Day, 2024. I had been talking to Susie on the phone, and when she told me the news, it felt completely inconceivable. Jeffrey had been the one to identify Daisy's body. He made sure that she wasn't a Jane Doe. He testified at Victor's trial. The guilty verdict was partly because of him. Here's how Detective Sanchez put it on the stand.

[Detective Sanchez]

He was great. That kid was amazing, right? But if it wasn't for him, it would have been. It would have taken a lot longer, right? And when we talked to him, he was, you know, he wasn't scared. He was, you know, he was forthcoming. Just tell us what you know, okay?

[Jen Swan]

It was one horrific tragedy, one senseless act of violence that had ended the life of yet another teenager from the same apartment complex. And so, as I spent the next few months putting in requests to interview the detectives on Daisy's case, I realized I had another murder to ask them about. Jeffries, usually homicide detectives are the ones with all the information. They're the ones who get to choose when to withhold it and when to share it. Whether to put out bulletins on social media or to work the case without the help of the public. They're often the ones tasked with delivering horrible life shattering News telling people when someone they love has been murdered. But when I began talking to Lugo and Sanchez, it became clear to me that they didn't know about Jeffrey's death. Because when I sat down with each of them, they spoke about him in the present tense. For example, here's something that Detective Lugo said.

[Detective Lugo]

I'm sure now he's 13 or 14, but at the time he was 10 or 11. Not any older than that, and very bright.

[Jen Swan]

Jeffrey actually was older than that. He was 13 when he identified Daisy's body. He was 16 when he died of multiple gunshot wounds. Just three years later. When Detective Sanchez spoke of him, he said in the present tense. He's a young kid.

[Detective Sanchez]

You know, I'm not gonna tell you how old he is, but he's a young kid and he was very courageous to say, hey, listen, you know, I think I know who that is. Right.

[Jen Swan]

I found myself in this strange situation because now I was the one who had news to share with the detectives. I had to tell them that their main witness, the teenager who helped them solve Daisy's murder, had also been the victim of a homicide. I didn't really know how to share this news. Lugo had been on a tight schedule when we first talked. And I had so many questions about Daisy's case that it seemed like it wasn't the right time to ask about another one. Detective Sanchez and I talked just a few days after that. And during the end of our conversation, I decided to bring it up. I have another case that I wanted to ask you about.

[Detective Sanchez]

Is it a homicide?

[Jen Swan]

Yeah, it's a homicide case.

[Detective Sanchez]

Did I handle it?

[Jen Swan]

I don't know. I don't know who's handling it. Maybe you can tell me who is. Figuring out the words to say was really tough. So I decided to pull up a local news article on my phone. It didn't mention Jeffrey by name, presumably because he was a minor. But I decided to read the first couple of lines of it to Sanchez and see if it rang a bell. 16 year old boy was killed in Compton. Sheriff's Department said a man was also found at the scene who had non life threatening injuries. And so this is the homicide department's number. I just don't know if you're working this case. And I'll. I'll tell you why. It's not. It's not totally random.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'm listening.

[Jen Swan]

But. So. So this case, the. The 16 year old boy that was killed is. Was Jeffrey.

[Bartender]

No way.

[Detective Sanchez]

No way. It's the first time I've Heard it.

[Detective Lugo]

Holy shit.

[Jen Swan]

Sanchez and I sat there in the conference room in silence. He looked visibly uncomfortable. I mean, his mouth was literally hanging open, and his eyes kept darting back and forth between me and Miguel, who had been sitting next to me holding the microphone across the table. It was as if Sanchez wasn't sure whether we were playing some kind of sick joke on him. I didn't know what to say. Finally, I broke the silence. Yeah. So I guess I would just be curious to know if there's any sort of headway in that investigation.

[Detective Sanchez]

Let me look into it.

[Jen Swan]

Okay.

[Detective Sanchez]

Why'd you just wrote me? That's part of my French.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. I'm sorry to tell you that. I know. I know. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I knew it would derail. Kind of. I wanted to find out.

[Detective Sanchez]

I would have walked out, like.

[Jen Swan]

I know.

[Erin Andrews]

I know.

[Jen Swan]

It's so upsetting now.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'm gonna call the mom.

[Jen Swan]

I know. I really want to know what happened, because I feel like there's things that happen, like, you know, all over LA all the time, and then you never hear about it, and you're like, what happened to this kid? Or what was their name? What was their story? I'm sure you deal with that a lot, too.

[Detective Sanchez]

You put a damper on my day.

[Detective Lugo]

I want.

[Jen Swan]

I know. Me, too. Me, too.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'm about to go fill this thing with vodka or something.

[Jen Swan]

Oh, my God.

[Wendy Tinoko]

I know.

[Jen Swan]

I've been sitting with this knowledge, and so, yeah. Upset about it. But I would love to know if there's.

[Detective Sanchez]

Look into it. Okay. And if the investigators are willing to talk, I'll. I'll. I'll forward them to you.

[Jen Swan]

Thank you. Because he's a part of Daisy's story. And like you said, he's a part of why Victor ended up getting convicted. You know? Damn.

[Detective Sanchez]

Holy crap.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. And he was 16.

[Detective Sanchez]

Pardon my French. I speak a lot of French. Edit that, Miguel. All right, dude, you. That's messed up. You got it. Like, I wish the mom would've called me. She wouldn't have called me.

[Jen Swan]

You don't know who's working it.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'll have to look.

[Jen Swan]

Okay.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'll have to look.

[Jen Swan]

Okay.

[Detective Sanchez]

I'll have to. So I'll have to ask the guys at the front desk to say, hey.

[Jen Swan]

Damn, come on, this is your job.

[Detective Sanchez]

Yeah, but that kid was a good kid. Like, and he.

[Wendy Tinoko]

I know.

[Jen Swan]

So was Daisy.

[Detective Sanchez]

I know. I know. I mean, yeah. Damn. I remember walking the kid into the courtroom. Like, right. The Keith. Like, Keith was my kid. Like, you know, hey, don't worry about it. You'll be good. That's messed up.

[Jen Swan]

I'm Jen Swan From London Audio iHeartRadio, and executive producer Paris Hilton. This is my friend, Daisy. Episode 10 Cat Eyes After I told Sanchez about Jeffrey, I knew I had to tell Luco, too. He agreed to meet me at the Homicide bureau for a follow up interview. And that's when I filled him in on my conversation with Sanchez. The other thing that I told him during our interview, and I don't know if he told you too, was that I found out that Jeffrey, the main witness, was murdered.

[Detective Lugo]

Yes.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. Did you know about that?

[Detective Lugo]

Yes. It's very tragic.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah.

[Detective Lugo]

He was such a nice boy, but he's. He's just a victim of the area, right? I think it's so dangerous for them in the area. It's almost heartbreaking that things like this occur in Compton.

[Jen Swan]

Lugo's response was surprising to me, especially because when we first sat down in his office just two weeks earlier, he gave no indication that he knew about this other homicide case, about how it dovetailed with daisies. And so I asked him, do you remember where you were when you learned about Jeffrey.

[Detective Lugo]

About his murder?

[Wendy Tinoko]

Yeah.

[Detective Lugo]

I think they talked us here.

[Jen Swan]

Maybe it was the way he hesitated or restated my question, or maybe it was just the stark difference in his reaction versus Detective Sanchez's. But I had this feeling that he was not being honest with me. He'd always been a little defensive when speaking about Daisy's case, and I understood why. Here I was questioning him about what he'd been doing during the investigation and. And why Daisy's friends felt like they had to start their own. But I guess I thought that since this case wasn't one that he was working on, he might be a little more forthcoming with me. But to me, it felt like he was again assuming the role of the detective with all the answers, the football coach with all the plays. As we walked out of the conference room, I began to question other things that he had told me about Daisy's case. About how he'd been working the investigation, about how difficult it was, about how exactly Victor had been caught. And I wondered, could I really trust any of it? In the hallway, Luco stopped and introduced me to a detective named Joe Purcell. He's an old timer who trained Luko here. That was about three decades ago.

[Detective Lugo]

This is Jennifer Swan. She's a podcaster. She used to write for New York Magazine.

[Jen Swan]

Oh, is that right? Yeah, I'm a freelancer, or doing a doing A podcast about a story that I covered a couple years ago.

[Bartender]

Oh, no kidding.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah, about a murder in Compton.

[Detective Sanchez]

Oh. First date that's never happened before.

[Detective Lugo]

Yeah.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. Maybe he didn't mean it that way, but it sounded like what some of Daisy's neighbors had imagined the police might say. A murder in Compton that's never happened before. Like it was some kind of joke, some kind of punchline.

[Detective Lugo]

Compton murder. But we. We caught the guy at Papas and Beer Rosarito Beach.

[Bartender]

Is that.

[Detective Sanchez]

Wow.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. Well, it had been a couple of months, and the family. You know, the family was wondering, what's going on with this? Why isn't he be arrested? So they put out their own TikToks and Instagram trying to find him. And on the same day, I felt like I had to jump in and explain that the police had gotten this big assist from social media. They were, like, putting his photo out. People were calling, blowing up your cell phone, saying, I've seen him here.

[Detective Sanchez]

Yeah, yeah, seen him everywhere.

[Detective Lugo]

And it could be dangerous, right? If the parents in this case, it worked out fine. But I was telling her, it could be dangerous if they wanted to be someone. And they put his picture up as a murder, and it turns out someone else committed the murder.

[Jen Swan]

Right. Lugo was always downplaying the role of social media in solving this case. Like when I first interviewed him in this office just a couple weeks earlier. I asked him about the moment he saw the screenshot showing Victor at Papa's and Beer. He told me he barely saw came.

[Detective Lugo]

Yeah, I remember seeing it late in the evening, maybe. We're so busy during this time. And I remember seeing something to that effect. And we already knew where he was at. And we're not here to. And I told you this already, Jennifer. Our relationship. We want it to be. Those are our victims. Right? Suzy has suffered enough. And I know she was upset for a time because nothing was being done, but we have to wait to make sure that we have to be able to prove it. Right? We can't just arrest someone, and then we have to cut him loose, and then he leaves to a country that we don't have a treaty with, and we'll never get him back. Right?

[Jen Swan]

Okay, maybe it's worth pointing out that Luko actually did have proof. This is based on his own admission. He had the DNA match. Sanchez confirmed this when he gave testimony at trial. He said the CODIS hit came back less than two and a half weeks after Daisy's murder. The first results came back on March 12, and the official Letter from the California Department of Justice that came back March 18th. Anyway, I was curious about this screenshot about how it led to Victor's arrest. But when I asked Lugo about it, he seemed almost agitated by the question.

[Detective Lugo]

I don't want to get in an argument. And if they think they had a lot to do with it, I want them to. It's okay, right? It takes team and whatever. But we know what we did. We know who we talked to. We know the fly. Once the flyer went out with the arrest and wanted all over social media, that's when things happen. But if they want to believe that it was them and all of them, that's okay, too.

[Jen Swan]

This flyer that he's talking about, it's the one the sheriff's department put out on Facebook. Lugo is saying that it was this social media post that led to Victor's arrest, not the ones put out by DZ's friends and family. But those TikToks had apparently made an impression on the detectives. That's at least according to Victor. When I interviewed him recently, he told me that when he came into the office for his interrogation, which, you know, never actually happened because Victor didn't know what a lawyer was, he told me that that was true. The detectives, he claimed, had teased him for being famous on TikTok. Here's how Victor says that conversation went. How do you. How did you become aware that they were looking for you on TikTok?

[Wendy Tinoko]

Detectives told me, they're just calling me.

[Detective Lugo]

Names, telling me that, oh, you're seeing this like you were on TikTok.

[Jen Swan]

So what really happened? Did Victor get arrested because he was TikTok famous? Was it the Instagram DM that led to his arrest? Or was it the voicemail that Sanchez said that he got? That very same morning that Susie saw the screenshot, I realized I wasn't going to get a straight answer out of the detectives. If I really wanted to get answers, I had to take matters into my own hands. I had to go to the scene of Victor's arrest. I showed up to Papas and Beer on a weekday afternoon. It was the off season and the bar was nearly empty, which was honestly a little weird for a place that feels a bit like a cruise ship docked on the beach. There's this sprawling outdoor area and there's clusters of tables surrounding a mechanical bowl and a live music stage that sits directly on the sand. I ended up taking a seat inside. It was kind of a smaller area. It felt more like a sports bar with wood paneled countertops Big screen TVs and loud reggae and rap music blasting over the speakers. I ordered nachos and I started talking to the bartender. And when I told him about why I was there, his eyes lit up. He had followed Victor's murder case. He'd even tracked down news footage from the trial.

[Bartender]

When I see his mom in the news, she touched my feelings.

[Jen Swan]

She touched your feelings?

[Bartender]

Yes. Like what?

[Jen Swan]

Daisy's mother? Yeah.

[Bartender]

It's hard. And we lost a life. Innocent life.

[Jen Swan]

It's hard when we lose innocent life. The bartender said he didn't want to be identified by name, so I'm just going to refer to him as the bartender. He said that he felt for Daisy's mother and for Victor's, that he was shocked by the details that emerged at trial. And the reason he was so invested, the reason he wanted to see how the story had ended, is because he himself had been part of it. Victor had been his co worker.

[Bartender]

He's a nice guy, quiet, relaxed. She's coming and doing his job. He's nobody suspect nobody, Nobody when we know like everybody was bullshit.

[Jen Swan]

Nobody had suspected that he'd been hiding in plain sight after committing a murder across the border. I mean, the bartender did think it was a little weird that his new co worker came from the US to work in Mexico essentially as a food runner. Especially because he really didn't even speak much Spanish. But the bartender never questioned the only two things he thought he knew about his co worker. That his name was Billy and that he was from Arizona. Both, of course, would turn out to be lies. Anything else that he told you about himself?

[Bartender]

Billy the Kid? Well, he's not really. Don't talk to nobody.

[Jen Swan]

Billy the Kid, the Wild west outlaw who went on the run after committing a series of murders. It was the nickname this bartender had given to Victor, having no idea just how fitting it really was. The bartender's main impression of him was just that he kept to himself except for when he was drinking. That's when he became an entirely different person. The bartender described this version of Victor as aggressive, violent, unpredictable. How long did he work here for?

[Bartender]

He's coming by in April.

[Jen Swan]

April.

[Bartender]

April, yes, the first days of April. And he worked like three months when.

[Jen Swan]

The police arrested July 2, I think.

[Bartender]

See? Yeah, like three months.

[Jen Swan]

Wow, that's a while. Did he ever. Do you think he ever went back and forth? Because people kept saying they saw him in la, but maybe they saw somebody else.

[Bartender]

Probably they think there's somebody else.

[Jen Swan]

So you think he never left once he got here?

[Bartender]

No, he was always here. He always here.

[Ferris State University Representative]

Your future patients are counting on you and at Ferris State University you'll be ready for them. Healthcare isn't just a career, it's a calling. At Ferris State you'll find the perfect path to meaningful community service with hands on clinical experience. From day one you'll develop a essential skills, get real world training and support to unleash your potential and change lives every day. Start your healthcare journey at Ferris Edu Ferris State University. Healing begins here.

[Erin Andrews]

Hey guys, it's Erin Andrews from Calm down with Erin and Carissa. So they say you can't plan for the unexpected, but whoever said that obviously didn't know about Aflac. You probably know the Aflac duck, but you might not know what Aflac can do for you. For example, did you know they pay cash that can help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover. If you get sick or injured, Aflac pays cash that can be put towards co pays and deductibles to even non medical expenses like rent or your mortgage payments. It's completely up to you. Get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover. Visit aflac.com to learn more.

[Jen Swan]

Finding out just how many months Victor had been in Mexico made me rethink so so much of what I thought I knew about the hunt for him. It meant that all of those sightings of Victor all around Southern California and all of these surrounding states, they were sightings of guys who weren't actually Victor. It made me think of people like Valerie Arellano. She went to high school with Daisy and she thought she may have seen Victor on the train platform. She and so many others were on high alert for months, watching their backs around Compton and southeast la. And it also made me think of the skateboarders or maybe the guys with gauged ears who had repeatedly been mistaken for a murderer. I thought about what could have happened if someone had tried to capture the wrong person. When I talked to Victor on the phone, he didn't specify exactly when he left for Mexico. He just said that he had been eating breakfast one morning at a shopping center, which is really casual, right? And he met someone who was on their way to Mexico. Victor suspected that authorities might be looking for him and so he decided to catch a bus with this person. He claimed that he later discovered he'd been recruited into some kind of drug smuggling operation. So he ran away. Next thing he knew he found himself busing tables at Papas and Beer. I can't confirm this story, but it did make a lot of sense what the bartender was telling me, which is that Victor had been in Mexico nearly the whole time he'd been on the run, sticking around LA or crossing back and forth across the border. It would have been risky for someone who had just committed a heinous crime. Then again, it was also risky to be working at a tourist bar. That's something the bartender couldn't quite figure out either.

[Bartender]

I don't understand why he's coming and work in this place.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah, it's such a strange place because it's so visible. It's so, like public.

[Bartender]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And when he's busy right here, thousands are coming from la, from everywhere.

[Wendy Tinoko]

Or schools.

[Jen Swan]

You know, it's kind of wild to me that Victor went under the radar for as long as he did while working in such a popular place. But eventually his past caught up with him, as it almost always does. He was having beers with some co workers after work. The busy season of spring break had finally ended and they were looking to relax. The bartender I talked to told me that he usually didn't like to go out drinking with his co workers. But that night he made an exception. He got a bottle of tequila for the table. Everyone was celebrating. One of his co workers decided to film a video of the group. And I should point out that this was actually a different co worker than the one who sent that video to the justice for Daisy Instagram. Pa. The guy who took this video, he didn't know at the time that the food runner known as Billy was wanted for murder. Nobody did. He took the video, I assume for the same reason that anyone does. He wanted content for the gram something to post on the feed. Evidence of a good time had. On a sunny, breezy morning in early July, the good times came to an end. Victor showed up to work in the morning. It was July 2nd. And he began sweeping the streets. It was part of his job to clean the windows and all the outdoor areas of the bar. That's when the Rosarito police pulled up, got out of the car and handcuffed Victor. The bartender had no idea what was going on. He just remembered that the arrest happened really quickly. There was no big struggle. There was no argument. It was all over in a minute. The bartender said his boss later pulled him aside. He looked distraught. He'd come across a video on TikTok and discovered that Billy the kid was actually Victor the fugitive. So he called the police. And then he felt bad about it. The bartender said he tried to comfort his boss.

[Bartender]

My boss, he feels sad because he report Billy I give you a hug and that, you know, you're doing great, you're doing great. You're doing justice. That's it. The rest is history.

[Jen Swan]

The rest, he said, is history. But the more I dug into that history, the more I talked to people in all these different places, the more complex it became. I had come down to Mexico in search of the definitive story of how Victor came to be arrested. I had been thinking that there were only a couple of possible explanations, and I was hoping that whoever I talked to at the bar might be able to confirm one of them from me. It was either the Instagram DM or it was the phone call that Sanchez said he got as a result of the sheriff's Facebook post. But here I was at the bar, presented with a third scenario. Victor's boss had seen Daisy's friend's TikTok, and he called the police on him. Maybe Victor being TikTok famous did have a lot to do with his arrest. I mean, it's possible that all of these scenarios unfolded roughly at the same time. Maybe. There's no way to know for sure. But what seems clear to me is that in all of these scenarios, the arrest was a direct result of social media. Whether it was a TikTok or an Instagram DM or a Facebook post, the influence of these platforms was huge. And maybe it's cheesy to say, but it really is a testament to the power of the Internet, of social media, of information traveling and converging at exactly the right moment, being seen by exactly the right people. All of them in different cities, honestly, different countries, and all of them with the same goal of getting justice for Daisy. And they did it. They found her killer. And they made sure that nobody would forget Daisy's name or her story. Jeffrey's mother, Wendy, is still waiting on justice and wondering what that might look like in her son's case. I reached out to both detectives assigned to it. They said it was an active investigation and that they couldn't comment on it. I also submitted multiple public records requests. I wanted to get police reports from that day. They all got denied for the same reason. They told me it was an ongoing investigation. Then I requested a copy of Jeffrey's autopsy report.

[Erin Andrews]

Thanks for calling the Medical Examiner's office.

[Bartender]

This is the records section.

[Jen Swan]

How can I help you? The LA County Medical examiner building is on the east side of LA, kind of near where the 5 and the 10 freeways meet. It's housed in this brick building from the early 1900s, and it's got Marble walls and these big chandeliers. The place looks regal, but inside, people are having some of the worst days of their lives. They come here to get autopsy reports, but also to do things like collect their loved ones belongings after they've been sent to the morgue. It's pretty heart wrenching stuff. I waited in the lobby and then I was escorted down into the basement where all the records are stored.

[Ferris State University Representative]

Do you want to do a card?

[Jen Swan]

Yeah, I'll do a card. I handed over my credit card and I was given a manila envelope. I walked down the hallway, took a seat on a wooden bench, and opened up the envelope. I started thumbing through the report. It was about 30 pages long. And as I flipped through it, I found a summary of what detectives believe happened on the day that Jeffrey was killed. Which is this. Jeffrey and a few friends had ordered a pizza when the pizza delivery guy got there. This is according to the report. Jeffrey and another friend flashed guns and attempted to steal his jewelry and cash. At some point, the pizza delivery guy apparently took hold of one of the guns. One of Jeffrey's friends ran away, and at some point, about a dozen shots were fired. The police know this because of the bullet casings they found on the ground. Most were from a rifle, some were from a handgun. But that's about all the authorities know for certain. That and the fact that three different bullets pierced Jeffrey's body. One in his arm, one in his chest, one in his head. As far as I know, the police have not charged anyone for Jeffrey's murder. Again, they've told me that the investigation is ongoing. This is also what they've told Wendy, his mother. One way that she's been attempting to process her grief is by posting videos of Jeffrey on TikTok. By remembering the good times and sharing them with others. Oh, I can see the brown in your eyes.

[Wendy Tinoko]

Let me see, let me see, let me see. Damn. No wonder the name I want them are. Yeah, that's the original video.

[Jen Swan]

This video was taken at the mall food court. Jeffrey was wearing a white hoodie and sipping on a purple smoothie.

[Wendy Tinoko]

And that day, I remember we were sitting, and then I was recording him and I told him, I'm like, dude, you don't even have green eyes. I see all brown. And just like teasing him around, and he's like. He's like all shy and everything. And I'm like, jeffrey, let me see your eyes. And he's like, he's like hiding. He's like, no, mom, stop. And I'm like, let me see how.

[Jen Swan]

Old was he there?

[Wendy Tinoko]

This was. It was last year. The beginning of last year. Yeah, the beginning of last year.

[Ferris State University Representative]

2.23.3.

[Jen Swan]

It was filmed on February 23, 2023. It only hit me later that that date was the anniversary of Daisy's death. It was exactly two years to the day after Jeffrey identified her body. The day after his death, Wendy uploaded this video to TikTok. She put a sentimental music track over it. The lyrics went, I didn't know today would be your last. Jeffrey's smiling and laughing in the video. When he looks into the camera, his eyes are, of course, green. R.I.P. miojitos de gato. Wendy wrote on the video. My little cat eyes.

[Wendy Tinoko]

I didn't have any followers. I had just started my page and I started with my. With my little dog.

[Jen Swan]

Oh, yeah, I saw that.

[Wendy Tinoko]

With the little. My little dog, my kids. That. Uhhuh. This little chihuahua that I have. Then I just posted a few videos of my mom after that when she passed away.

[Jen Swan]

Oh, my gosh.

[Wendy Tinoko]

And then that was the first video that I posted of Jeffrey, which was. That one was the one that went viral.

[Jen Swan]

Wow. Has a million views.

[Wendy Tinoko]

That's what I'm telling you. That's why. That's why I noticed it went viral. And then I got a lot of.

[Jen Swan]

How do you think it went viral?

[Wendy Tinoko]

I don't know.

[Jen Swan]

Wow.

[Wendy Tinoko]

I don't even know. I don't know. I don't know how they go viral, but I guess it started popping up on everybody's, like, for you page or something.

[Jen Swan]

That's right. This video has over a million views. It reminded me of something that Sarah Turney, that true crime tiktoker and podcaster I spoke to in the first episode, told me. She said that TikTok, it's kind of like a slot machine, and you never really know what's going to hit, what's going to be rewarded by the algorithm. In Wendy's case, it was this short clip of her son just being himself, being a kid in a food court with his mom. Wendy wasn't using TikTok to try to find his killer. It wasn't a call to action. It was simply a way of remembering Jeffrey and maybe of finding comfort from strangers. Wendy scrolled through her phone and showed me more photos of Jeffrey over the years. Some of them were goofy. They captured these random, silly moments at home.

[Wendy Tinoko]

Oh, my God. I found a video the other day. I was going through my pictures and then I saw a video. If he's like, yeah, I'm a YouTuber and my mom's mad because I don't give her my. Her phone back. I'm like, dude, what? You're doing it on my phone. I was like, of course I want my phone.

[Jen Swan]

Wait, was he actually a YouTuber or was he making fun of YouTubers?

[Wendy Tinoko]

No. What? He was. I guess he was like, he wanted to be a YouTuber. He's like, hey, guys, welcome to my YouTube channel. And I don't know what, like, this is a famous YouTuber. I'm like, dude, you're not even anything yet. Like, be quiet.

[Jen Swan]

And there were other photos and videos that marked these big milestones. Where was that? He's all dressed up.

[Wendy Tinoko]

He got. He graduated. That's when he graduated from middle school.

[Jen Swan]

He looks very serious.

[Wendy Tinoko]

He was mad because I was having him close everywhere at the park.

[Jen Swan]

He's like, mom, another photo? Yeah.

[Wendy Tinoko]

He's like, mom, just take one or two pictures. And that's so funny because it was hot. It looks like, mom, stop. It's hot already.

[Jen Swan]

And now I'm. You're glad you have all the photos, you know?

[Wendy Tinoko]

Yeah. That's what I told my kids. I'm like, dude, you guys can't be mad at me trying to take pictures or videos. I'm like, because that's all. I'm gonna keep memories. I'm like, you guys are gonna get older and all that. Like, nobody's gonna know anything about you guys. I'm like, only me. I'm like, only me. I'll have all the memories.

[Jen Swan]

Yeah. This series is dedicated to the memories of Daisy de Lao and Jeffrey Tinoko. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their memories of them with me, including Juan de Lao, Daisy's grandfather. He died in late 2024. And thank you so much to all of you for listening.

[Podcast Announcer]

Hi, everyone, this is Paris. Thanks for listening to my friend Daisy. If you or someone you love is experiencing abuse, you are not alone. Help is available 24. 7. Contact the National Domestic violence hotline. For free confidential support, call 800-799-7233 text START to 88788 or visit thehotline.org your safety matters.

[Jen Swan]

My Friend Daisy is a production of London Audio with support from Sony Music Entertainment. It's reported, written and executive produced by me, Jen Swan. I'm also your host. Our executive producers for London Audio are Paris Hilton, Bruce Gersh, Bruce Robertson, and Joanna Studebaker. Our executive producer for Sony Music Entertainment is Jonathan Hirsch. Our associate producer is Zoe Kulkin. Production assistance and translations by Miguel Contreras Sound design, composing and mixing by Hans Dale Shee Tracey Lee Fact checked this episode. Joel Rickert is our legal counsel for this series. Our Head of Production is Sami Allison and our Production Manager is Tameka Balance Kolosny. Special thanks to Steve Akerman, Emily Rossick and Jamie Myers at Sony, Ben Goldberg and Orly Greenberg at UTA and Jen Ortiz at the Cut.

[Ferris State University Representative]

Your future patients are counting on you and at Ferris State University, you'll be ready for them. Healthcare isn't just a career, it's a At Ferris State, you'll find the perfect path to meaningful community service with hands on clinical experience. From day one you'll develop essential skills, get real world training and support to unleash your potential and change lives every day. Start your healthcare journey at Ferris. Edu Ferris State University Healing begins Here.

[Ryan]

It is Ryan here and I have a question for you. What do you do when you win? Like are you a fist pumper?

[Jen Swan]

A woohoo?

[Ryan]

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[Jen Swan]

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[Podcast Announcer]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.