Crimeatorium - The Murders of Alec and Asher Leteve

Episode Date: July 16, 2026

Five year old Alec and one year old Asher was spending the night with their father Andre. Their mother Laurie received a phone call the following morning that would change her life forever.Music:CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic1823Jesse Gallagher https://jessegallagher.bandcamp.com/ Marissa Nadler https://marissanadler.bandcamp.com Sources: Bulletproof, by Laurie Beth Morales https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DSFG3XH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HPTQBY2S26D963XFCJ2Jhttps://mycrimelibrary.com/andre-leteve-arizona-death-row/https://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1710501.htmlhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2201171/Andre-Leteve-Trial-Jury-selection-begin-dad-accused-murdering-sons.htmlIf you have a case suggestion for Crimeatorium, please send it to [e-mail].

Welcome to True Crime Stories with Crime-a-Trorian. Laurie Zellner began dating André Ledevay in 1996. Both were in their late 20s. The two came from different family backgrounds. Laurie's parents had been married for 40 years. André's father left when he was three. His alcoholic stepfather was physically and emotionally abusive. His mother was codependent.

Their differences didn't matter to Larry. Andre was kind and witty, and she believed in him. The two got married on April 26, 1998. Both had good jobs. Larry was the director of 23 mental health clinics, and Andre was a real estate agent. Laurie always wanted to be a mom, so they began trying to have a baby right away. She suffered several miscarriages, including a set of twins at six months. After losing the twins, Laurie was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a highly treatable

form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. After months of chemotherapy and radiation, Laurie's cancer went into remission. Now she could finally start working again on becoming a mom. Because of Laurie's recent bout with cancer as well as her issues staying pregnant, she and Andre decided to hire a surrogate. After thousands of dollars and scores of interviews, they found a surrogate mother named Tracy through an agency. Tracy gave birth to Alec William Lettivet on December 4, 2004.

was six weeks early and weighed just over four pounds. Laurie and Andre were ecstatic when they were finally able to bring Alec home after his stay in the NICU. To Laurie, life couldn't have been more perfect. Alec was healthy and happy, and she loved being a mom. There was only one thing troubling her at that time. She noticed that Andre's drinking was picking up in frequency and quantity. She talked to him about it several times, and each time he argued that he was still functional, so he continued to drink. One morning after Larry came home from a convention, Andre started to cry and said to her, I did something really, really bad. I got drunk one night while you were gone and crashed the car. There was someone else in the car, another woman.

a prostitute. How could he do this to our family, Larry thought. At that moment, she never wanted to see him again and told him to leave, which he did. But he returned after being gone for five days, and even though she really didn't want to, she gave him another chance. Andre agreed to go to counseling, and the two went for 18 months. Andre's driver's license was suspended due to his DUI and he had to ride his bike to get around. Being unable to drive meant he could no longer continue as a real estate agent, so he did stock trading from home. In 2008, Laurie started to feel run down and nauseous. She headed to her doctor's office worried that her cancer was returning. After the examination, she was told that she was pregnant.

The doctor took every precaution possible to ensure the baby would go to full term. Andre stayed sober throughout the pregnancy and took over the care of Alec so that Laurie could rest. Friends and family also stepped in and helped. On December 17, 2008, Asher Samuel Letive was born, weighing almost 10 pounds. After seeing his little brother, Alex said to his mom, I'll never leave my baby. It was a happy time for the Lettivé family. Andre was working in real estate again and began dabbling and day trading.

He was still sober and seemed happy. The two decided to apply for a home mortgage loan modification in order to take advantage of the low interest rate. When Larry pulled up their 401k in preparation for the loan application, she was shocked after seeing what the total was. She called Andre into the office and said, We need to call the bank right now about our 401k. The balance isn't right. As soon as she looked at Andre's face, she knew he was guilty of something. What the fuck did you do, Andre?

I made a mistake while day trading and Larry interrupted him. Are you telling me you gambled away nearly all of our savings on a trade? Are you insane? There was nearly $180,000 in that account. Sex workers, alcoholism, lying, now gambling away our son's college fund? Larry saw red. It was clear to her now that this man was destructive and damaged beyond repair, and she could no longer look past it. Now she needed to figure out exactly what this separation and division was going to look like.

Each day was filled with pleas for forgiveness from Andre and the plans he came up with to get the money back. These pleas and plans fell on deaf ears. Larry was busy now preparing for her separation from Andre. She picked up extra shifts at the hospital and set aside all the money she could. One night, after the boys were in bed, she told Andre she knew there hadn't been just one sex worker. There had to have been more. You're right, he said. Disgusted, Larry got up and went to Alec's room to sleep.

She laid awake thinking about the discussions about trust and transparency they'd had while in counseling. She felt like such a fool. Twenty-seven, he said, as she poured herself a cup of coffee the next day. Twenty-seven what, she asked. Escorts. That's how many I was with. laurie was speechless questions were exploding in her head when did you find time to do it where in my home in my bed how come you know the exact number you were with where were the boys when this was happening is this what our savings was spent on

laurie pulled herself together and kissed her boys goodbye before heading out the door for work She told Andre they would discuss it later. One night, as Laurie was going into Alec's room to sleep, Andre said to her, You know what? Why don't you just leave now? Get out. She told him she just wanted to sleep. No, you have a choice. Get out now or I'll call the cops and they'll remove you. Soon there was a knock on Alec's bedroom door. Mrs. Lettivet, I'm Officer Talbot. What's going on this evening?

She opened the door and told him what had transpired between her and Andre over the last three weeks. After she was done, the officer could find no reason to remove Laurie from her home. Relieved, she locked the bedroom door and went to bed next to Alec. Laurie didn't want to wait for the sale of the home before going through with the separation. She and the boys would move out as soon as she found a place to live. When she let Andre know of her plans to move, she was surprised when he responded with only silence. In August of 2009, Laurie and the boys moved into a furnished two-bedroom patio home near the hospital where Laurie worked. Two months later, Laurie filed for divorce.

Andre purchased a gun the same day. Laurie began dating a doctor she met at the hospital named Alejandro who had two young daughters. Within a few months, the couple and their kids were doing fun things together. After Andre found out that Laurie was dating someone, he showed up at the hospital and begged her to give him another chance. Laurie was at work one day when she was told that a bouquet of flowers had been delivered to her. They were from someone named Dr. Boo Morales. Laurie's pet name for Alejandro was Boo, and Morales was his last name. She knew Alejandro wouldn't have signed a card with that name, and she figured Andre sent them to try and cause her trouble at work

over her relationship with Alejandro. He also sent an email to Laurie and Alejandro of a sexually explicit video that he and Laurie made when they were married. He didn't get the results he wanted from all that, making him angry. By March, life was good for Laurie. She loved the home she shared with Alec and Asher. The child visitation schedule was working out well for her and Andre, and she had a boyfriend she adored. On March 30th, Laurie and the boys went to a science museum,

then had a picnic on the grounds afterwards. When they were done, she dropped Alec and Asher at Andre's house for an overnight visit. Andre called Laurie's cell phone at 7 a.m. the following morning, but she didn't answer. A few minutes later, a friend from her old neighborhood called and told her that there were SWAT teams and police officers over at Andre's house. laurie called the school but the boys weren't there she and alejandro raced to andre's house and saw all the cops maybe he killed himself she thought to herself the house was barricaded so they went to her friend's house and saw her talking to two officers laurie alec and asher have been hurt are they okay she was afraid of the answer no honey they're dead

every single piece of her was shattered moving everywhere at once moving nowhere paralyzed exhausted she wanted to sleep sleep would give her respite once home she laid down grief covered her like a heavy blanket and followed her as she drifted off to sleep. Within a few days, the whole family arrived in Arizona for the service. As soon as Laurie saw her dad, she collapsed in his arms. She always looked to him for answers in life, but this time, there were no answers. Not yet. Boys were cremated and their funeral was held on April 4th, 2010.

Life-size pictures of Alec and Asher hung on the walls of the church. Larry delivered the eulogy to the 800 people that were in attendance. Just after Andre shot and killed Alec and Asher, he shot himself in the chin. the bullet blew off part of his tongue and some of his teeth before exiting through his nose still can't understand what's the address sir it's 7617 east cactus ren okay pd that's what i believe it is 7617 7617 east cactus ren we're staging for you okay we'll go ahead and get somebody out there okay sir where did you get shot what part of body did you shoot yourself okay in the face are you putting anything over where you're bleeding

from no okay i'd like you to put something over where you're bleeding from okay how old are you okay how old is your son are you still there hello Okay. I didn't understand what you said. Okay. Your son is how old, sir? 15? Okay. Are you and your son the only people who are there? Correct. Okay. Just keep the pressure on your face where you're bleeding from. Okay. I'm going to send the fireman over. Do you know your phone number? oh okay all right is the door unlocked i don't know okay i want you

to open the door if you can get to it and i want you to sit down okay what kind of gun did you use officers arrived they found alec on the couch and Asher upstairs in his crib. While paramedics were administering CPR on the boys, Andre admitted to the officers that he had shot both boys in the back of the head. Three letters left by Andre were found, one of which was signed by Alec.

The first note said, This should fuck you up for a good long time to come. None of this had to happen this way if you had made the effort. The second note said, For everything you get in life, you must give something up. I wonder if you'll understand what price you'll have paid for your freedom. The third note was signed by Alec and said,

Enjoy the rest of your life without us. One of the notes was found on the computer, typed a few days prior. Andre was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and face life in prison or the death penalty. his trial began on september 17th 2012 he pleaded not guilty prosecution told the jury that andre committed the ultimate act of revenge against his wife who was divorcing him the killings were carefully planned execution driven by spite and jealousy resulting in little remorse andre placed a pillow and a blanket to the back of Alec's head and shot him. He then went upstairs and shot Asher while he slept in his crib. The defense cited the following mitigating

factors for the jury to consider. Andre's bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses, his dependence on alcohol and drugs to self-medicate, his financial ruin, and overwhelming stress during that time, the abuse and neglect he suffered as a child. Larry took the stand and testified for six hours, answering questions from both the prosecution and the defense. On December 18, 2012, the case was handed to the jury and they came back with a guilty verdict on both counts. Before the jury decided on the sentence, victim impact statements were presented to the court.

walked near Andre looked him in the eye and spoke to him directly you are not mentally ill she said you killed our children you're the stupidest person I have ever met because I loved you and believed in you Alec loved you and you killed him I wish you good riddance you will never feel love again you will never be hugged again no one will ever care about you again Andre's mother also spoke. I believe in him. I believe in his kind heart. We wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the drugs he was taking, she said. She added that she sends him meditation books and $225 a month to buy water and canned goods because prison food is vile. After Andre was asked if he had anything to say, he briefly stood before the jury and begged them for forgiveness and mercy.

Judge Karen O'Connor announced the jury's decision and sentenced Andre to death for the first-degree murder of Alec and Asher. Upon hearing the verdict, Laurie smiled and kissed her husband. Andre underwent 12 surgeries to repair the damage from his suicide attempt. In a hearing in 2013, Andre was ordered to pay over $20,000 restitution to Lari. 50% of any of the money he earned in prison would be applied to the balance. In 2015, he appealed his sentence, citing, among other things, the admissibility of the statements he made to the officers in his home on the day of the crime, as well as the admissibility of some evidence.

He also argued that the amount of the restitution owed to Laurie should be offset by the value of the marital property she received after the divorce, as well as money she received from a charitable fund. Several other issues were cited, each was addressed, and the appeal was denied. Laurie wrote a book called Bulletproof, which details the senseless tragedies before, during, and after story. Laurie is a therapist in Arizona specializing in grief, addiction, and relationship issues. Laurie and Alejandro got married just before Andre's trial. They are still married and happily so to this day.