Law&Crime Sidebar - 4-Year-Old, Mom Executed by Ex in Disturbing Ambush Murder: Cops

Episode Date: June 16, 2024

Odalys Maria Bancroft and her four-year-old stopped at a bank ATM one week ago when another car suddenly pulled up next to them and a man opened fire into their minivan. According to Miami police, the alleged shooter, Michael Andres Pineda Lozano, 41, was Bancroft’s ex-boyfriend. The Florida man turned the gun on himself and his body was found next to the van. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber discusses this tragic case with criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Anthony Osso.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. The sudden, vicious killing of a Florida mother and her four-year-old son has shocked and devastated a family and community. Police say they have identified the shooter, but getting answers may not be so simple. We discussed with criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Anthony Oso. Welcome to Sidebar,

presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. There is a deeply troubling and sad story out of Miami, Florida we want to talk to you about right now. 43-year-old O'Dales, Maria Bancroft, and her four-year-old son, Theodore Cotto, also known as Teddy, were killed in a drive-by shooting.

This happened as the pair had pulled up to a drive-thru ATM at a chase bank in their minivan. This was just after 7.30 a.m. in the morning. Authorities indicate that as she was there, as they were there, a vehicle pulled up next to O'Dallis and Teddy, and the man inside fired his rifle, killing both of them. And do you know who authorities say was the killer of this mom and her four-year-old son. O'Dales's ex-boyfriend, 41-year-old Michael Andres Panetta Lazanzo.

Now, to be clear, he was not the boy's father. But from there, police say that after killing O'Dallus and Teddy, Lazano shot himself, dying by his own hand. O'Dales was a nurse. She had worked as the Director of Regulatory Affairs with the Jackson Health System. Jackson Health President and CEO Carlos Magoya released the statement saying, O'Dales has been a valued member of our team, known for her unwavering dedication, kindness, and exceptional talent. O'Dales believed deeply in the work we do and never shied away from showing off her Jackson pride. Jackson is better because of O'Dales and the indelible mark she made on our organization. O'Dales's brother, Michael Trujillo, described her as kind-hearted and empathetic.

Teddy had apparently just graduated pre-K, only days before his death. His aunt telling WSVN that this is 7 News Miami, quote, My nephew, he was the best kid in the world. He was fun, smart, everything that you can imagine about him. And that how when he graduated, he was so excited and he was asking, why is everybody giving me gifts? Why do I look so pretty today? Now, Teddy's aunt also said that O'Dales was a great mom, a great nurse.

great sister and that she was amazing. And she concluded by saying this, which I don't think there's anything more true you can say than this, that they didn't deserve to die like this. It is a horrible story, horrible story. I want to bring in right now criminal defense attorney Anthony Oso, who before entering into private practice, served as an assistant DA for the Harris County District Attorney's Office out in Texas, where he was recruited into the office's domestic violence division. He was responsible for 40 active murder cases, including, unfortunately, those of intimate partner violence. Anthony, good to see you. Thanks for coming on. I want to start with this. O'Dales's brother said there were some concerns about Lozano,

but nothing that stuck out like this. They were going through a breakup, but there were no signs that I was aware of that there was fear like that. How many times have you heard something like this? in a domestic violence situation? It's become an unfortunate and all too common storyline that we hear. When you include sort of intimate partner emotions and people split up and people leave, red flags that didn't seem like major red flags can oftentimes turn into murder. And so I've seen it before. Typically, you'll see more violent situations beforehand before going off to the

deep end, but it's not uncommon for it to go that far on our first filing occasion. It just comes out of nowhere. Just can come out of nowhere. People at least expect it. And when you think about a motive here, reportedly, O'Dales and Lozano, they had broken up just last month. According to NBC 6, court records indicate that in 2018, he and his wife had filed for divorce, but maybe it was retracted because it wasn't until 2020 when they were officially divorced. But thinking about that breakup, typically do you see? that happen that after a relationship ends is sometimes when unfortunately we see these situations? Absolutely, Jesse. I think from both sides that I've been on defense as well as

prosecution, the most dangerous time in a relationship for the side that's being abused, which is most commonly the woman, is going to be at the end when there's a breakup. Fear of not having that person in their life oftentimes exacerbates emotions and can result in violence like this. Unfortunately, we don't have Lozano to get answers from about why this happened or, you know, what led to this. Again, he is the suspected shooter. But I find that location and I find that time so interesting, right? I mean, pulling up to an ATM, 7.30 in the morning, you ask me, it seems like this is a situation where he was stalking her, following her? Would that be fair?

I think so. I think in this situation, he knew her morning routine. I think he fired multiple shots into the vehicle. And I think that he probably knew where she was going at that time. It's tragic also that her son was killed during the shooting. And I imagine he knew that he was in the car. But I don't get it. Like why in your experience, do you see people, we've talked about domestic violence situations happening in a home, someone going into the significant other. or their ex's apartment or house. But in the middle of an open area like this with a rifle, what does that tell you?

I've seen it before. I've had cases where I've had one partner in the relationship, track the other partner in the relationship to the gym and shoot them in the parking lot. Again, when you've got a relationship and you introduce, I would say in this situation, mental health problems, they can commit those crimes in public.

It's to a point where they lose control, and it's not justified, and it doesn't make it right under the law, but that's how people get to that point. Again, not saying it's okay, but it's not uncommon to see people commit these crimes in public. And I think one thing to take note of, when you're talking about ongoing physical abuse that happens behind the closed doors in the house, that's before things become unhinged and before you get to a point like we have here with Mr. Lozano. in our Dallas. We hear such a sad and disturbing story like this, and we ask ourselves, how well do we really know the people in our lives? It's scary to think about, right? Well, that is why I want to highlight our incredible sponsor and partner who may be able to help you out here. TruthFinder. So TruthFinder is a service that can provide actual safety for you guys. And I say that because TruthFinder is one of the largest public records search services in the

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Look, you can never be too careful. And here's the kicker. Right now, you can get 50% off of your first month of confidential background reports. Just go to truthfinder.com slash LC sidebar. To make it even more sad, reporting indicates that they had stopped at that ATM while they were on their way to daycare. So, you know, in a different timeline, she could have dropped him off. And, you know, obviously it's not. not her fault, but just the way it worked. It's like if she had dropped him off, maybe Teddy

could still be alive. And it just, that aspect of when it occurred and how it occurred and taking that moment, it almost makes me wonder if this was an opportunity where he, again, we don't know. We're purely speculating. Did he plan to take his own life? Did he plan to maybe say this was a drive-by shooting and, you know, pull away? I think the fact that he was so quick to turn the weapon on himself tells us something too as well, right? I completely agree. And I think to your earlier point about him stalking her, him knowing that she routinely takes her- And that's an allegation. I'm just basing it off of where it happened. It seemed like he knew her route or route and where they were going.

Absolutely. And that's why I just think it's a good point, right, knowing that she takes Teddy to daycare. They were in a relationship prior to that. It's, I think it's safe to assume that he knew sort of her daily routines. And so I imagine that he went there with the plan to end her life, to end Teddy's life, and to end his life as well. But again, there's not going to be a further police investigation. So we won't really know what was going on in his mind. Do you don't think there will be? They go through his text, to go through his emails, go through what's happening, you know, his apartment. You don't think the investigation would continue on that way, at least for for the, so the family has answers as to what happened. So I imagine. So I imagine,

that they'll release her phone to the family. And then at that point, the family will be free to go through the cell phone. I don't anticipate that Miami's going to use and Jackson's going to use their resources to investigate a case that's just not open. The unfortunate reality is it's a big city and there's a lot of crime. And there's not going to be a further criminal proceeding in this case. So I don't anticipate further investigation. So no search warrant issued for his home. And would you even need a search warrant if he's deceased? No. There's no one to have standing to challenge a search warrant, so or to challenge a search. So there's really no need for a warrant at this point.

When they move, I don't, look, I'm jumping a gun here, but jumping ahead of here, but I imagine when they retrieve his items and they go into his house to whatever it is to sell the property, there's got to be something that they can find a little bit more answers. Again, I'm going to, I'm going to make a guess here and say that they're not going to do that. I'm sure that what they'll do is contact his next of kin and allow them to go and and let them know what happened and let the families take it from there. You know, Anthony, one of the reasons we wanted to have you on is because not only your expertise in this area, but Teddy's father was reportedly at the scene. And it's kind of hard to imagine

what he's going through. But I also imagine in your career, you have had to speak to a lot of family members who were victims of this and who have lost loved ones. What do you say to them? Well, in their situation, they're dealing with extreme grief that I will never understand and hopefully never have to understand. But in addition to that, they're dealing with frustration and the court proceeding, a chance that the person that caused their loved one to lose their life might get off with the, get away with the crime that they've committed. So with them, I preach patience.

I always pass along my condolences. And I just try to assure them that I will do everything I can do in my power to make sure that justice is accomplished for them and for their for their loved one. I wonder what's more painful or frustrating the fact that they don't get an opportunity to see this suspected, you know, shooter face justice, go to a trial, found guilty, spend the rest of the life in prison, get answers as to what happened versus what happened here. I agree. I think it's a very inconclusive turn of events and it's probably leaving him in addition to extremely in shot he's probably in shock right now but confused in addition to just sad beyond belief

there's what's concerning about this too and w svn reported this that south florida authorities are looking into multiple cases of violence against women and children alike and that according to when we look at law enforcement data from let's say 2021 Apparently, 76% of women who are murdered are killed by somebody that they know and more than a third are killed by an intimate partner. Now, you told me that especially since the pandemic, that we have seen this increase in domestic violence situations, right? I think since 2020 and we had COVID restrictions and people were cooped up and together, I think there was a lot of time for frustrations to rise. And additionally, I think people being at home and not being out about, they didn't have. have the ability to kind of the resources and outlets to get rid of their anger or feelings

against one another. And so I'm speculating a little bit, but we have definitely seen a rise in domestic violence and intimate partner homicides since the COVID restrictions. Obviously, like we talked about when we started this, it can come out of nowhere. It can be completely unpredictable. You don't know what someone's about. But what would you recommend to people. When they hear a story like this, to take certain precautions, is there anything anybody can do? Because, you know, one of the reasons we cover these cases is for people to be aware of what's happening in this world. What would you recommend to people to do? Absolutely. Reach out to someone that you trust and love. If you identify a red flag or you're in a situation

where it's becoming violent and you notice it's becoming violent at all or increasingly violent, now is the time to speak up. Now is the time to reach out for help. There are several barriers to reaching out to someone for help, whether it's economic or it's just emotional manipulation or you have children together and you don't want to disrupt the family. But when violence enters a relationship, I think the studies show that there's a serious risk for fatality.

And so reach out, find someone you trust and love. There are plenty of shelters throughout major cities and smaller cities that you can reach out to for help so just don't be afraid to reach out yeah um and let me leave everybody with this there is a go fund me page that was set up if you want to donate um we can put it up for uh for anybody who wants to and on the page it says in part quote we are reaching out to our community in this time of need if you're able we would be incredibly grateful for any contributions to help cover the funeral expenses and family assistance for theodore your support during this difficult time, it means the world to us. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers,

hold your loved ones close, and cherish every moment together. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. Anthony also, thank you so much for taking the time. Great seeing you and appreciate your insight on this one. Thanks for having me on Jesse. All right, everybody, that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series, ad free right now on Wondery Plus.

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