Dr. Insanity - Cops Discover An Evil Husbands House Of Horrors

Episode Date: December 9, 2025

On April 23rd, 2021, Las Cruces Police Department received a call from a bus driver. What they would learn, is that a heroic son just saved her mother's life. Subscriber for more crime content like this.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

911, what's your emergency? Hey, uh, I'm a bus driver for, and one of my students just passed me a note that says his mother needs help, and that his dad is hurting her. Okay, do you have an address? Yeah, they live on. It's the first house when you turn into the neighborhood. Okay, officers are being. dispatched now. Can you stay with the child until law enforcement arrives?

Yes, I'm just parked outside the neighborhood. I'll stay here. This is what the Los Cruces Police Department were informed of on April 23, 2021. Just the night before, Veronica had endured 12 hours of what could only be described as a living hell, all because of her abusive boyfriend, Eric Alvarado. Canada's Wonderland is bringing the holiday magic this season with Winterfest on select nights now through January 3rd step into a winter wonderland filled with millions of dazzling lights festive shows rides and holiday treats plus Coca-Cola is back with Canada's kindest community celebrating acts of kindness nationwide with a chance

at 100,000 donation for the winning community and a 2026 holiday caravan stop learn more at canadaswunderland dot com at this point fearing for her and her children's life the main thing on her mind was to call the police, but Eric had confiscated her phone and refused to let her leave his sight. However, Eric and Veronica's son still had to go to school. This gave Veronica an idea, an idea that would save her and her family's life. Can you explain me what's going on today? Last night he was taking me a lot. He was shrieking you?

And suffering with the pillows. He picked me up. He got my head against the cabinet and then he's sitting on top of here. And then my kids were screaming and crying. And he said that he was either I die or he's going to have a with you guys. Veronica is clearly distressed. and just thankful that the cops are here to save her. In fear of her life, she wrote a note behind Eric's back saying that she was in danger and to call 911.

She passed this note to her kids in hopes someone from their school would call the police. The note was given to a bus driver who immediately called the Los Cruces Police Department. The cops need to know exactly what happened. Veronica just told them that Eric would have a shootout with the cops if they came, so they know they're dealing with someone either dangerous or delusioned. or delusional, something they would quickly find out. Were you trying to get away from him or what happened? I just started doing whatever he asked me.

He would even tell me to follow him to the bathroom when he needed the bathroom. He would make me pick up the seat for him. He said, are you going to let me do? And then I was just like, what, me there? And then, when I was crying for my mom, he really think I would do that. He didn't try to get out and he didn't forcefully try to keep him leaving or anything at that. I've tried before and it never works. So I just stayed quietly and I stayed up.

On the back, I rolled to try to get away and he would just pull me closer and hurt me. Okay. But I don't have, I didn't have a phone to call you that, so I just don't know. What happened to your phone? He has it, but he always takes it because you know that I'm going to call the call.

Okay, so the marks on your face, is that from him or? Mm-hmm, mm. I love from him. Okay. And then. When the weather cools down, Golden Nugget Online Casino turns up the heat. This winter, make any moment golden and play thousands of games like her new slot Wolf It Up and all the fan-favorite huff and puff-and-puff games.

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19 and over. Physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggetcasino.com for details. Please play responsibly. Listen to exactly what Veronica is saying. It's obvious that this isn't just a one-time thing. She's using phrases like,

I've tried before and it never works, implying that she'd almost given up trying to escape him. This is known as learned helplessness, a condition where an abused person starts to believe that they're powerless to save themselves because of the repeated abuse and perceived lack of control. Unfortunately, it's more common than you might think.

On average, it takes seven tries for a victim to escape their abuser, and every single one of these failed attempts would start to make them feel more and more powerless, as though control of their life is slowly slipping away. Given that Veronica has a five-year-old son with Eric, the abuse might have been going on for years, with her essentially resigning her fate to his violence and manipulation. If that's the case, then her son's actions should be even more celebrated, finally freeing his own mother from a relentless cycle of abuse.

Can you explain to me what happened first yesterday? We were arguing. He was just more frustrated because he was yelling at the kids and then he started to get upset with me. He got upset because I didn't cook, grabbed himself something to eat, and he told me to go outage and give it to him, but it's good I had the baby in the bed and her day down.

She was getting upset every time I walked out. Okay. And then so I came in here all mad talking shit, and I was right there. by the microwave and he slammed it to close it because he had his food in and I was going to get up and he told me to shut up and then he got up and pulled me from my hair and pushed my head towards the cabinet in my head like that and it's why it's all the way right here when like that and my my eyebrow hair right here Veronica continued to tell the officer about

that night's abuse how he choked her threw her around and grabbed hold of her so hard that she couldn't force his hand away to save herself. Yeah, I was holding onto his arm, but he lifted me up because he's so strong. He lifted me up, and he slammed me on the counter. My kids are crying at the same time as my own son came out. What did you feel when you grabbed your neck? I don't know, like I was like trying to fight together at all. And then all of a sudden, like my body just started feeling weak.

Feeling weak? Yeah, and I just like, I felt like I was underwater and I couldn't breathe. When I was just like trying to calm him down, like, oh, baby, I love you, please stop, this is the mat. But I was just thick, because I already know how he is. Directly after being choked almost to death, she's still pleading with him and telling him that she loves him. Obviously, it can't be discounted that this was just an act to get him to stop. But again, this is a very common reaction.

Eric has likely used either love bombing or intermittent reinforcement to manipulate Veronica. Love bombing involves initially showering the victim with affection and attention, forming attachment quickly. And intermittent reinforcement involves quickly alternating between kindness, and cruelty. Both of these create a powerful emotional bond and dependency on the abuser, making it much harder. At Capital One, we're more than just a credit card company. We're people just like you who believe in the power of yes. Yes to new opportunities. Yes to second chances. Yes to a fresh start. That's why we've helped over four million Canadians get access to a credit card. Because at Capital One, we say yes, so you don't have to hear another no.

do with your yes. Get the yes you've been waiting for at capital one.ca slash yes. Terms and conditions apply. To leave despite making her feel like this. Is it happening about are you scared or die? You're normal like yes. If you think how does it feel because you almost died? I was just like if it just hurts and things, why? Why? Why are you scared or die? And then I said because my kids. But the last little piece of information the cops get might just be the most important one and unravel why tonight's abuse got so out of hand.

Yeah. Okay. Depression. And he hasn't took his medication, really. Bipolar depression and... He has a lot. It takes so much enough. He has excited.

He's bipolar. Yeah. So the only thing that set him off was the whole him not having food ready and all that. And no, it was the kid. kids who was yelling at my son and that if anything gets him upset, he gets really, really upset. Apparently, Eric suffers from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and bipolar. He's supposed to take a litany of meds to keep him stable, but that night he hadn't taken any of them. Of course, this isn't an excuse for his behavior, nor is it to be assumed that many bipolar people would ever act in this manner.

But it could be a possible explanation for the severe and continued abuse. How long have you been with him? I mean, I'm in awe for seven years. There's a time when he sent me to the hospital, but I didn't first try. So you never... Because he felt bad, because he always calls me, just like, I'm sorry, this is the man. I'm a sick man. Has you ever been charged domestic or anything like that?

He has? Mm-hmm. In Los Cruces or New Mexico? Mm-hmm. With his previous... What's his ex-girlfriend? Okay, but not with you. Yeah.

But a lot of times I dropped the charges because I feel bad. Eric is clearly dangerous and needs to be locked up, but that all depends on if Veronica is going to press charges this time or let herself be manipulated out of it again. But before she can even make that decision, the other cop comes into the room and lets them know that they need EMTs on the scene immediately. When you were standing out and you started...

Oh. I don't know if he was trying, he was making him do himself. Is that normal for us? He gets like that when he was really upset. Mm-hmm. And he's not active in an angry way if he does that. And sometimes, like, he'll fall on me and, like, I can't pick him. Oh, okay.

So panic attacks are normal, but... I've been out in it all week. She says he has nice natural, so... It seems as though Eric has had a panic attack and needs help from a medic. The thing is, the cops can't be sure if this is a genuine reaction or another way to try and guilt and manipulate Veronica. But either way, they get the fire department on the scene to check him out. You need to go to the hospital?

He's going to go. Oh, he's wanting to go over anything. We're trying to just take a blood pressure. That's about it. His oxygen's good right now. It's at 98%. Heart rates, fine, a little elevated at 98, but nothing crazy. Do you take your medications for PTSD and the depression?

No. Don't what? Do you take medications for it? Are you current on your medications? I do you have a spare. So we always recommend hanging up to hospital, especially because he has like PTSD. He has like PTSD, 5,400 depression, everything seems fine with Eric, but they still decide

to take him to the hospital temporarily at his request. In the meantime, Veronica is now curious about the rest of the process and has made a decision on if she's going to press charges. He bonds himself out. Okay. I'm starting to remember a little bit. It's like, I don't think I'm going to be that long. I'm going to be that long.

I'm going to go ahead. So I know you said you want to have a training order? So we'll work on getting that. Usually, it's going to be an emergency restraining order. Wouldn't it be able to brush charges on him? So in situations like this, it's up to the state to pursue charges. So usually we go through with, no matter if we have charges, we're going to go through with the charges whether you want to or not.

I should brush charges when I couldn't even open my eyes. Emergency restraining orders are common in cases of domestic violence, especially where there's children involved. Courts are often available 24-7 for the filing of the, And in open and shut cases like these, they'll usually get approved on the same day. That means that Eric physically won't be allowed near Veronica, her kids, and likely they're home unless he goes through a rigorous legal procedure. But it turns out, that might not even matter,

as it looks like he's heading straight to jail. It isn't going to be a 40th for him? He's going to be cleared already. As long as he's clear, he should be fine, then. It's going to bring me the ERO. Hey, can I get the district court dress for the ERO? Oh, okay. Cool.

From this point, the officer fills out the restraining order and takes care of some other paperwork and investigation around the house. But the day isn't over for Eric yet. Far from it. He was taken to the hospital, but as the officer figured, he was discharged almost as soon as he got there. That meant that it was his turn in the spotlight, and he was handed over to the police, who were going to make sure that he got exactly what he deserved. Stand up, face me, turn around for his officer. Turn around from, brother. Oh, there you.

Oh, my, I got all the kids, bro. All right, well, before you take you in, all right, you're going to be a place under arrest, okay? CID is the one that we're going to take you the charges. Unfortunately, I don't know them. What was that? What was that? What was that? I would suggest not contacting her, riding her, going to the house, none of that.

As the officer mentioned, the case was handed over to CID, or the officer. CID or the Criminal Investigation Division. In even simpler terms, the detectives. Usually a case is passed over the CID if the crimes were particularly severe or if it requires the specific resources or skills the CID have. In this case, it's very likely the chronic abuse and psychological manipulation that warranted their intervention. As to truly unpack what happened here, it would require an expert to dig deep and use their skills to figure everything out. That's why less than an hour after he was released from the hospital, he was sat face-to-face with a detective that was about to grill him for his side of the story. Unfortunately, Eric didn't exactly make that easy, and it ended with him back in handcuffs and on his way to a cell.

Eric, Mr. Eric, Mr. Bartow went to the Los Kisses Police Department. How you doing? I don't know. What happened last night? Okay, so you're here for a reason, and I'm here with you for a reason, and that's to get your side of story. If you're going to tell me nothing, I'm going to go ahead and leave and proceed my investigation. So right now this is your chance to be... When am I being charged with?

I'm not there yet. But I'm in an investigation. I'm investigating you. I don't feel good, man. Okay. Correct. You're going to take you back to the holding tail, okay? So the last thing that I need to do is get your side of story since you're not going to give that to me.

I'm going to go ahead and charge you with three counts of aggravated battery on a household member. Two of them are strangulation, the other one's going to be suffocation. Two of them is suffocation. One is going to be suffocation. regulation, battering a household member, and also the information of properties. Three of the five are going to be felonies. Okay? What?

Why are you the felonies? Why? Do you want to talk to me about it? What did I do? What did she? I don't know you were there. I didn't do nothing, bro. Okay.

I do nothing for her. Stay with that. Stay with that story. I want to know what the felonies are. I'm not going to tell you anything because you don't want to tell me anything. As it turned out, Eric would only be charged with two counts of aggravated battery of a household member, one count of battery against a household member, one count of battery against against a household member and deprivation of property.

And with Eric's safely in coughs and in a holding cell, the police had only one more job to do to put Veronica's mind at ease. Hello? May I speak to Veronica, please? This is her. Yes. Okay, just real quick, I wanted to let you know that I'm gonna go ahead

and charge Eric. He's gonna have three felonies, which is gonna be aggravated battery and a household member. Two of them are strangulation, one's gonna be, strangulation. The other one is going to be battery on a household member and the other one's deprivation of property of a household member. So another thing I'm asking the officer to call a Sky Report to CYFD because of what he exposed the children to. They'll probably just reach out to you, ask to see the conditions of the house, make sure that they're suitable for the

children. I know because of what happened, but then at the same time, I don't, I don't know how to say this. I accept what you're doing, but there won't be any way he can see his kids. There will be, but it's got to be in different terms now. The way you guys had it, it obviously didn't work because look like he's exposing the children to. As of July 2004, Eric Alvarado is still awaiting sentencing and is being held without bond. However, based on his charges and history, it's estimated he'll likely spend up to eight years behind bars. With intervention and checks by CPS, the children will also receive treatment and care for any trauma or abuse caused by their father. and Veronica will finally be free of the horrific treatment caused by her evil husband.

And remember, none of this would have happened if not for what Veronica's five-year-old son did that morning, being brave and strong enough to reach out to save his mom, changing his whole family's lives in one heartwarming and heroic move.