Serialously with Annie Elise - 390: Part 1: “Turn Around & Close Your Eyes” | Angelique Robledo

Episode Date: April 27, 2026

When Angelique Robledo was 18 years old and pregnant, she thought she had found a friend in another woman who seemed to be going through the same experience.But that friendship was hiding something far more sinister.In this episode, Angelique shares the terrifying story of how someone she trusted was allegedly planning to kill her and steal her unborn baby; a rare but horrifying crime known as fetal abduction.From the early red flags to the day everything changed, Angelique walks us through what happened, how she survived, and the lasting impact it’s had on her life.She also opens up about the complicated legal outcome, her experience speaking publicly about the case, and how she’s using her story today to raise awareness and help others trust their instincts.This is a story of betrayal, survival, and resilience.⚠️ Listener discretion is advised..If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.⭐SponsorsWillie’s Remedy: Order now at http://drinkwillies.com and use code SERIALOUSLY for 20% off of your first order + free shipping on orders over $95.Ladder: Head to http://ladder.fit/AE and take a quick quiz to find your perfect ladder plan.Chime Financial: Head to http://Chime.com/SERIALOUSLY..👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [e-mail].📚 Episode Sources Arizona Psychiatric Security Review Board | Maricopa Police Department | Pinal County Precinct 8 Justice Court | Pinal County Superior Court, Arizona ••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

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and the faster you'll get back to a good night's sleep. The Credit Counseling Society. When debt's got you, you've got us. My name is Angelique Grubletto, and I am a survivor of attempted fetal abduction. They are gruesome headlines that read like a made-for-TV movie, but for the victims, they are all too real. Teen in Arizona attacked pregnant friends, tried to cut baby out of her womb. I can't share their story because they didn't survive, and that is how tragic this crime is. Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly.

Hello, hello, hello, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialessly. It's me, your host and your True Crime BFF, Annie Elyse, and we are here to talk about another case today. I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Hopefully you're having a good start to your week, whether you're listening to this on Monday or a different time throughout the week. I'm just happy that you're here, so thank you so much for being here. Now, today's case, I want to just give a little bit of a warning, okay? It is extremely triggering, graphic, and very personal. Now, what I want you to do for me for just a minute here is I want you to close your eyes, not if you're driving, but if you're in a safe space, close your eyes and imagine being 18 years old. And imagine being 18 and pregnant

and being in the final months of your pregnancy, preparing for what is supposed to be the most exciting and happiest moments of your life, while unbeknownst to you, somebody that you trust and you think is your friend, is secretly plotting to kill you and steal your unborn baby. Now I know that it sounds like the plot of a lifetime movie or some sort of true crime movie, but for Angelique Robledo, this was her terrifying reality. In 2011, Angelique was a pregnant teenager living in Arizona, and she befriended another woman who appeared to be going through the exact same experience. So the two of them bonded over their pregnancies and also what felt like a shared journey into motherhood. However, behind that friendship was a very disturbing plan, one that investigators, say,

involved murder and an attempt to cut out Angelique's unborn child from her womb. Now, crimes like this are known as fetal abductions, and they are relatively rare, although, unfortunately, we have talked about quite a few of them on here. We've talked about Rebecca Park, Heidi Broussard, Reagan Hancock. So unfortunately, more common than anybody would like. But even though they're rare, when they do happen, they are some of the most shocking cases in true crime. And speaking of the case of Heidi Broussard, I would imagine many of you are familiar with that name in that case. She was a young mother in Texas who was killed by someone she believed was a close friend of hers. Then that person abducted her newborn child and tried to pass the baby off.

as her own. Now, Angelique's story, it could have ended the very same way. But thankfully, it didn't. She survived. And today, we're lucky enough to have Angelique in the studio to share her experience firsthand. So please join me in welcoming Angelique. Hi, Angelique. Thank you so much for being here. And welcome to Serialessly. Thank you. It's so nice to be here. It's nice to have you. So what I would love to do before we get into everything and your experience and everything that you went through, I would love to just start with what high school was like for you. If you could just walk us through that. Yeah, absolutely. So high school, it was interesting. I ran with like a really bad crowd, I guess you could say. So I kind of started off

with, I moved here from, I moved from California to Arizona. And so I felt like I was out of place a lot of times. Like a lot of things in California were just different. So I tend to people please, I guess you could say. And I tend to like fall into the peer. What is it called? Peer pressure. Peer pressure. Yeah. So I fell into a lot of peer pressure as like a teenager. So I did a lot. I feel like I wasn't myself a lot. So I kind of ran with the wrong crowd, got in a lot of trouble. And it kind of like I went through like a lot of trauma when I was younger. So I got arrested by the cops and things like that. And it was just like like minor things just for like getting into a fight or I think at one point maybe I shoplifted something. And so it was a very small town.

so everybody knew each other. In Arizona, in your new town? In my new town. Yeah, everybody knew each other. So it kind of falls in line because the detective that ran my case had arrested me. Wow. And so she's been in my life for over like five or six years prior. Oh, so she saw it come full circle.

She saw it come full circle, yeah. So when you say you ran with a little bit of a tough crowd in addition to maybe the fights or the shoplifting, was there anything else that you would, was it just like house parties and things like that? It was. It was just like house parties. And then I kind of started, when I hit like 10th grade, I started to run with like, I say run with, but like I started to hang out with different people. And I feel like I kind of drew away from like the old crowd that I was hanging out with.

But unfortunately, like even going through all of that, I was going through a lot of stuff at home and hanging out with like the new friends that I was. Like I feel like I did get more of a high school experience. Like I was going to football games. I played soccer. Oh. So it kind of like. It was nice to get that like typical high school experience from one. before it was a little bit tougher. Exactly. So, like, I started actually doing, like, going

on, like, I remember, like, we would go and, like, run red quads and we would go to country thunder. So, like, I started to, like, be able to, like, feel like what it was like to actually be a teenager and be with friends who were genuine. And it was, it was a good experience. It really was. Unfortunately, at the end of my high school, though, before I got pregnant with my son, I did fall into an addiction. So I did fall into an addiction with meth. And when I got pregnant with Riland, I was doing meth at that time. So I feel like Rylund saved my life in a way. That's amazing. Well, let's walk through that a little bit. When did you discover that you were pregnant? And were you, was it a surprise? Were you with a boyfriend? You were 18 at the time.

So I was 17. Oh, 17. Yeah. I was 17 when I got pregnant. And I, me and Rylans' dad, his name is Josh. It's my husband now. But his name was Josh. And we were just friends at the time. And it was one of those things like where it just happened. And then we just didn't talk because I ran more. I was doing drugs at that time. So from then, me and him kind of just didn't talk at all. And I ended up, I was working at Jack in the Box. And I remember there were a few friends there that I was doing like the drugs with. And I remember sitting there thinking like something's wrong. And they were like, what do you mean? I was like like when I do this, like I'm not able to stay up. Like I'm vomiting. It's not having the same effect. It's not having the same effect. Yeah. So I wasn't feeling like how I was. And I remember my coworker was like, well, do you, like, what do you think? And I was like, I feel like, I think I'm pregnant. And he was like, no. And I was like, yeah. And so I remember I didn't take a test or anything because I was too scared. But I actually came home that night. And my mom was already in my room with a pregnancy test. Oh, wow. Mother's intuition. Mother's intuition. She was like, she like, she like threw the test at me. And she was like, no. Like, no. Why are you throwing this at me? She's like, you haven't started your period. And I was like, why are you tracking my stuff? Like, how dare, you know, then I became very defensive. Like, how dare you? My privacy. Like, how dare you do that?

And she was like, your period hasn't started. Like, I think something's going on. And so I remember I was in a panic and I was shoving her out of my room. And I took the test and I went into the bathroom. And I remember I smoked that day. Like, I remember, and I was in the bathroom and I was smoking meth. And I took the test and not even like within five seconds. The test came out positive.

Wow. And so that was like a really big, really. of like, holy crap, like what is going on? What did you feel in that moment? Were you scared, excited? I was terrified. I was extremely terrified and I immediately called Josh. And you had said you had stopped talking at this point, right? And was he using it all? No, he was not using it. So that's why me and him didn't talk because I was running. He was more like, oh, I heard you're doing things. Like, I'm going to stay away. He was more on the straight and narrow with, okay, I see. And so you guys, how long had it been that you hadn't been talking at this point? About two months. Okay.

So I was about like eight weeks pregnant when I found out. Okay. So relatively early in the pregnancy. Okay. So then. So you called Josh. I called Josh and I told him like, hey, like I'm, I took a test and I'm pregnant. And I'm saying it very nonchalantly and he's like, what?

And I'm like, yeah. And he's like, well, what do you want to do? And I was like, are you on board with me? Like I wanted to make sure that we were on the same page. And he was like, yeah. And he actually was throwing up on the phone. Oh my gosh. Just like made him like throw up.

Is he your same age? Was he older? He was about two and a half years older than me. So I was 17 and I was turning 18, though, so he was 20. Now, let me ask this, not that it matters. I'm just curious. If you hadn't been talking for two months at that point, what made you feel like you wanted to call and share the news with him? My mom had told me. So I missed that part after my mom found out that. So when I took the test, I went into my room and she was like, what's going on? And I was like, I'm pregnant. Are you happy? And I threw the test at her. And she was like, you need to call the dad and tell him, like, you can't just do this on your own. And I was like, I don't even want this baby. Like, it was a whole commotion between me and my mom. But I was also high at the time.

So, like, I was very, like, not in the right state of mind. And so I called because my mom told me, like, I should call. So I did it, like, kind of in the room all by myself. And when I did that, he was just like, you mean, like I said, he was vomiting. Like, when I told him the news. And then I told him, don't worry, like, I'm going to get rid of it. And he was like, you're going to have an abortion. And I was like, yes, he's like, I'll help to pay for it.

So he was on board with everything. And I remember that night my brother, my stepbrother was visiting us from California. And he's about a year older than me. But he started to, he was, he kind of had an idea of what was going on with me, like what I was doing. So he had went, like, searched my whole room, grabbed all my stuff and flushed it down the toilet. And that night, I remember going into the bathroom and staring at the toilet. And I was so, like, out of my mind.

And so just like I wanted to figure out how to get that stuff out of the toilet. So I, like, turned the water off. I came out with, like, a wrench. Like, I thought I was going to take apart the toilet. And I sat there on the floor with like water everywhere and like realized like holy crap like I'm I'm trying to take a toilet part right now. Like is this where my life has gotten to. Like this is what I want. Like I'm willing to do all this for drugs.

Like that's crazy. And so as like the come down started happening, you know, I stayed up all night. But then I finally fell asleep. And when I woke up, I texted Josh. And I said meet me at the park. Like meet me at our spot. Like we were friends prior. So he already knew like where we would meet at.

So he met me at the park and I remember walking down the street and I was in a big hoodie and I had glasses on because I was coming down at that time and I remember like pulling him and he's like, what's going on? Like, do you need the money right now? And I was like, I'm not going to have the abortion. And he's like, why? So this wasn't even 24 hours later that you had this realization. Wow.

Wasn't even 24 hours later. And I remember taking off my hood, taking my glasses off and being like, look at me. And he's like, yeah, you look like crap. And I was like, exactly. I said, I'm high. Like I'm coming down right now. And I said, I don't want to do this. Like, I don't want this to be my life.

And if I don't have this baby, I'm going to continue and I'm not going to stop. And it's going to ruin my life. And you don't have to be a part of it. You don't have to agree with it. But like I'm going to have this baby because I want my life back. And even if that means of having a baby helps me, then that helps me. I have to say it's 17 years old because you were 17 when it's that. That is pretty courageous and admirable to have come to that realization on your own.

realize like this baby will essentially save my life, it will stop me from using. And to have that determination too within 24 hours just while you're coming down, that's pretty incredible. Because even grown adults don't have that, you know. Are you tired of waking up hungover and worrying about what happened the night before? Well, now you can have fun and relax without any of the regrets with Willie's THC-infused social tonic. Willis is a premium THC-infused social tonic that is crafted by the legendary Willie Nelson, inspired by Willie's way of living where peace flows freely and hangovers are a thing of the past.

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No thinking, everything planned for you. If you have an iPhone, head to ladder.fit slash A.E and take a quick quiz to find your perfect ladder plan. Use my link and get a free seven-day trial with no credit card and $10 off your first month if you join. That's ladder. dot fit slash a e i come from a family of addicts and so like i've i've seen it um i've seen the lifestyle of it and and like i just i didn't yeah i didn't want that for myself and i i sit there and i replay that that that night all the time like because like you said like a 17 year old doing that like normally they don't care they're very selfish they i was very proud of myself they think they know everything yeah

you should be you should be incredibly proud of yourself thank you did your mom know when you that you had been using leading up to this? No. Well, she had an idea because there were moments that, like, within that two months, like, I had ran away. I had tried, because my mom found out I was doing drugs and I was, she was like, you need to stop. And of course, like, you know, just teenager. Like, no. Yeah, you think you know everything. I would run away to people's, not run away to people's houses that, like, she knew. And bad thing was, it was like those parents knew I was doing that and they just let it happen. So I knew this would become, like, just a cycle. And living in a small town, it's sometimes it could be good, sometimes it can be bad just because everybody knows each other

and then you know which, like who you can get away with things with. Absolutely. So you tell Josh, you know, I'm not going forward with determination. I want to keep this baby. I'm going to get clean and you can be as involved as you want or as little as you want. And what was his response to that? He said that he would support me and he would be here for me. And I remember at the very end he gave me a hug and he like kissed my forehead and I said about There's one, like there's one stipulation and he said, what? And I said, we are not together. I said, I do not want you to pity me and be with me because I'm having your baby. If you do decide to be with me, I want it to be later down the line because you want to be with me. I don't want you to feel like

I put you in a situation that you're stuck in. So for the long, it's funny because like for like five months, I refuse to call him my boyfriend. So people would be like, oh, your boyfriend. I'd be like, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a father. Just a hardheaded woman. I respect it. I love it. So what was that like then in the couple of months after you decide we're going to keep this baby? We're going to maybe rekindle, see where this goes. How often were you two speaking? How challenging was it to get clean? How were those first few months?

They were very – it was a struggle. It really was. I came clean to like my OB. I told them. I was very open. So I told them, you know, I have been using like I'm stopping. and, you know, I'm feeling, I was, I was like 106 pounds. Like, I was very, very little. I'm normally like 130. So that's just like what the drugs did to me. And so it was basically

just trying to build up like my nutrition. I smoked cigarettes a lot too. But the, I was having like a lot of panic attacks and anxiety. So they told me like basically like take a cigarette and like take a couple hits and then put it out. And keep doing that throughout the day until you start to like wean yourself off because like weaning yourself off meth and also like being pregnant can sometimes just, I guess, like, to shock your body. So they were very helpful with teaching me, like, how to do that. And within, like, a week or two, like, I was fine. Okay. I feel like I started to gain weight. I got my friends back. Like, a lot of my friends that I had become, like, the ones I was going, like, out, like, on quads and, like, going to Country Thunder with. And,

you know, they had taken, like, they left me because I was obviously going down a different path than they were. And so, you know, they came back and they were here to support me. That probably felt really good. It really did. I still worked at Jack in the Box. too. And my coworkers, even if they were doing something, they were very supportive of me. And I kind of just lived. I was in high school. So I was a senior. I did drop out. It was just really overwhelming, like coming off of everything and like getting to classes. So I took myself out of high school. And I ended up getting my GED. But I still continued to work. And I kind of just stayed to myself, to be honest. I had like maybe four or five friends that I talked to. But that's what I needed.

I needed to get myself out of everything in order to feel confident that I wasn't going to use again. And just have a tight circle, close-knit. And your mom, I would imagine, was very supportive through all of us. My mom was very supportive through this whole thing. My mom was my best friend. My mom had my, to believe it or not, you know, when they say you follow your parents' footsteps. My mom had had the exact same thing at 17 years old. She was doing meth and she found out she was pregnant with me. Oh, my gosh. So I almost wonder self-conscious, like if I did that because like my mom did that. Yeah, you knew her story. I saw the courage. I saw like that she could do it. And it was like if she can do it, like I can do it. Yeah, she did it for me. I could do it for my child.

Exactly. So it was like a full circle moment. I think her moment was like I'm so proud of you. Like my mom, me and my mom were really close. Even though if people ask in high school, like we fought a lot. Of course. I mean, that's typical. Yeah. When you're a girl and you're in high school, that's same with me and my mom. And I ran with a bad crowd too. It was very similar in that regard. And we, I always thought I knew better than anybody else. And I remember you. had mentioned earlier how you like through the pregnancy test data and how you were mad, you're like, why are you going through my thing? And my dad had once told me a saying that sticks with me to this day, fear generates anger so that if you're scared or paranoid in that moment or you're

scared of what's happening and getting caught, you out, you lash out at the ones who love you the most and it just generates anger. So I think that every, I would argue that most girls' high school experiences were similar in the sense that they maybe didn't see eye to eye with their mom all the time. That's good. Yeah, I've noticed that too, and especially being a mom now. Like, I have three kids. Do you have any girls? Do you have any girls? I have one daughter. She's my youngest, but man, like, she's eight going on 16 right now, so. You know you're going to be in for it. I know I'm going to be in for it. Oh my gosh. So, okay, so the first few months of pregnancy, you have your tight circle, everybody's supportive. You're getting healthy. You have winged yourself

off of drugs. And then when did you and Josh start reconciling in a bigger way? And, spending more time together. So I feel like once we hit, once I hit like six months, give or take, like he was working on, it's called the Zabawa Farm. It's, um, just because like Maricopa, basically think of like a big circle and there's only two ways out of our town. So you have the Cassagran Highway, which takes like 25 minutes and then you have the 347, which takes like 25 minutes. So you're stuck. And then you have this one row that takes you like the farmland. Okay. So he lived out there. And there was this, he had friends that owned like the farm. So he worked out there. And I remember it was a, they called it picking season because it was, they would pick cotton

in the season. And so he, I remember he would work constantly, like literally day and night. So he, I remember he started to, when I started to like kind of allow him to be more part of my life, he would come and like see me for like 10 minutes and then have to go back to work. So it was constantly like I didn't see him for like a couple weeks. And it was just like that. And then my dad also wasn't very inviting. He was like, no. Like I don't want to meet him. So all the time my dad had rules like, you can go outside and talk to him, but he's not welcome in our house. So like I'd have to like walk.

And why was that? Because he came from, he had more of a calm background, right? Josh Stewart did? To a sense, yes. But my dad was just very, very strict. Okay. We come from, I'm full Hispanic. And so I come from the Mexican household.

And I'm the only girl. And so things were just, I hate to say it, but I feel like most, most Mexican women can say this. Like, you're treated differently. The daughter is always treated. It's always more strict. Like the boys can kind of do whatever they want and they can. And your eyes just more protective over you.

My dad's way more protective over me. And so like it just was like that. And he did not like the fact that I mean, he still couldn't come to terms that I was pregnant. So it was like, dad, I'm six months now. Yeah. Yeah. But after a while, I remember my dad.

So after like that picking season, I think we hit whenever this, there was a football game in Arizona and my dad had let me invite Josh. So that was my dad's first time, like, meeting him. Okay. And it happened to be with, like, all of our family. So he got to, like, go out to, like, a family event with all of us. How was that? It was fun. It was fun. And did your dad like him? Did they get along? My dad doesn't trust everybody. Okay. I'll tell you this right now. I got married in 2020, and I'm actually, I don't even know if my dad would have actually gave the okay. Like, he was, he's still like, I'm not sure if I trust him. And I'm like, dad, it's been 15 years.

You're always going to be daddy's little girl. I'm always going to, yes. So for the most part, like they have a good relationship now, but my dad was always very weary of guys. And I think it was just being very protective. So I don't think my dad really like was inviting of Josh until the incident happened to me because that was more of like a everybody kind of came together. Yeah. But before that it was like a so he met him that one time and then it was like, okay, like I'm good. I don't need to talk to him again.

Okay. But he's like aware of what's going on who Josh is. So around what month of your pregnancy did you meet your new friend who you bonded over? Yeah. So friend-wise, like, I think I told you, like, I had like my group of friends. There was probably about like four or five of them that like were in my inner circle. And nobody could really relate to me. Nobody was pregnant at that time.

We maybe had like maybe two other girls that had babies like earlier. But for the most part, like nobody was pregnant. So I didn't really have anyone to talk to and like relate to me. and everybody else, it was senior year. So all my friends, like, they all were in high school. They were all doing the senior things, like senior prink and, you know, homecoming and prom and, like, just all these different things that I kind of missed out on. And so my friend Hannah, she had called me one day and she was like, hey, I met this girl. Her name is Cassandra. She's pregnant, and she's just like you. She just moved to our town. I thought maybe you would like to meet up with us.

You know, I told her about you, and I thought you guys kind of hit it off. And I was like, That's great. Somebody like-minded, going through something similar. And how did Hannah know Cassandra? Hannah had met Cassandra. And I actually just found this out because I've never asked her. But I guess she met her like just like at a like a friend's house, like a kickback. I guess. So I don't know too much. It's so funny. You say the word kickback. Because literally I was recording an episode yesterday. I was talking about like it. It wasn't a house party. It was a small gathering. When I was in school, we used to call it a kickback where it's like 10 or 15 people. Yes. Yes. The kickbacks. It's funny. I told my, whenever. I tell my 15-year-old now, like some terminology that we use, they're like, huh? I'm like, yeah, it's a kickback. Like, there's not too many people there. You can't call it a house party. Yeah, but enough. It's not just like a close circle. Okay. So they were at a kickback and they met each other. Yeah, they met each other. And I don't know too much about like the backstory of that. I think what

happened from what I understand is that Cassandra moved to Maricopa. And somehow she met like other friends of ours. And she kind of had the story that, like, her sister lived out there, but she had the story that she had, like, nowhere to live. So at some point, she lived with one of my friends named Sebastian. And while she was pregnant. While she was pregnant. And so I don't know the too much of the dynamic of that, but I do know that Hannah met her there. And so Hannah was like, oh, like, Hannah was one of the teen moms that, like, had a baby early. So she had a baby, like, a year and a half, two years prior. And so she was like, oh, like, I, you know, I have a son. But, like, I have a son. but like I know what it's like to be pregnant and alone.

Like, let me introduce you to my friend Angelique. And so she was like, oh, yeah, I would love to enter. Like, love to meet her. And I want to say that Cassandra asked, like, if there was anybody that was pregnant. And lo and behold, I was the only one. Yeah. Small town. Yep.

Small town. Okay. So tell me about your first time meeting Cassandra and what made you to click with one another. So Hannah had picked me up and we went to Chandler. So Chandler was about like a 25, 30 minute drive. And we went to, it's like right off the I-10. And it's a Denny's. And I remember Hannah picked me up and Cassandra was in the car also. So we had talked a little bit before we got there. Once we got there, we kind of just like hit it off. And, you know, I feel like we were able to connect and just relate on each other. Like, oh, like morning sickness or, you know, my back hurts or I'm getting a lot of heartburn. Like I heard that means that they have a lot of hair. Like it was just really nice to be able to talk to somebody. And I felt really good about it. Like it felt really good. I didn't think anything weird or. anything was wrong. And was she similar in terms of her, how far long she was? So she, I think at that

moment, I met her like the end of November, maybe beginning of December-ish, and I was about six months, and she was about three months, three to four months. But still, so you're relating on the symptoms you guys are going through, probably being like, how was your first trimester? And here's what mine was like. And it felt nice to have someone that you could talk to and share those moments and experiences with. Yes, it felt really nice. And like I said, nobody else could really relate to me on that, except, you know, my mom could tell me things from that, you know, from my brothers and me. But it just, I don't know, I feel like as a pregnant woman, sometimes you feel like everything got taken away from you. You made this choice, but like everything got taken away from you, you feel

alone. So it was just really, really nice. You know, you see nowadays where people go on to mom groups and they want to get friends. And especially when you have a baby and you want somebody to, like, be there with you that has a child that's the same age as yours. Like, it's kind of like the same thing. I felt like really relieved and I felt like, wow, I made a really, like I made a good friend. We even, even later on that day, we went to baby, babies are us. And, you know, we got that like that little gun and you like run around and start scanning things. Oh yeah. Scanning for the register to register. Exactly. So we both created our registries that day. And we did like our, like, we just did like a little bit of things that we found. So that was really nice. And then after that, we went home and

we exchanged, you know, numbers. And at that time, socials was just like MySpace. And I think Facebook was just coming around. So, like, we exchanged like our Facebooks. Okay. And we honestly stayed in contact all the way until the incident. We, we texted all the time. How often would see each other? You would text all the time. How often would you guys get together and see each other? Because at that point, you said you were, what, around six months? So you had, I guess, three, but technically probably like four more months to go. So how often would you guys get together and what would you do? So we actually never got together after that.

Oh, you didn't? You would just talk via social media and text message. Just social media, just text message. I worked and I also just didn't, I don't know. It was really hard getting me out of the house. I kind of self-isolated myself for a while just because there was no reason about it. Just like I felt I wanted to stay away from things. And she lived in a house that had kickbacks.

And she was living with our friend Sebastian. So, like, I just stayed away from there. But we talked all the time. You know, she would fight with her. I do remember she has a husband. So that's one thing that was, like, very different. Obviously, like, I had Josh. I think at that time, I started to call Josh my boyfriend.

And was she your age? She was nine days younger than me. Okay. And was this her first pregnancy as well? This was her first pregnancy as well. Okay. But she was married. She was married.

She dropped out, I believe, like, her sophomore. year or maybe even junior year. Okay. And so this guy, she, with the story that she told us was like that she had been talking to this guy since she was like in like middle school. And so they had gotten married and she was having his baby. That was the whole reason. Like they got married because she was pregnant with his baby.

But he lived in like Chandler, I believe. And she lived in Maricopa. So about a 35 minute like drive. And everybody knew about this guy. So everybody knew who Edwin was. Nobody had ever talked to him. Nobody had ever met him. But they had heard about him.

They heard about him. we would hear him on the phone. Like she was always talking to somebody in Spanish. Which, did anybody ever ask her if you're married? Yeah, I guess 35 minutes is kind of a drive, but not really. If you're married and if you're pregnant with his child, why aren't you guys living together? Why are you couch surfing and living at Sebastian's house? So those were questions that, like, we asked.

And I feel like she said that he was working and, like, his mom didn't like. She had like a story, like, along the lines of, like, he still lives with his mom. Like, she doesn't like her. I do know that, like, Cassandra's. mom had passed away, which I did find out was like 100% true. She did pass away. The dad, I believe, lived in Mexico. And so she was supposed to be living with her sister in Maricopa. I don't know like what happened or why she never really opened up about like that situation. Yeah. She was kind of on her own. She was kind of on her own. So she was just, yeah,

couch surfing because she would stay at Sebastian's and then she would stay at Hannah's. So she would kind of go back and forth. Okay. So you guys would talk. You were friendly. You would share even through the upcoming months, seven months, eight months, nine months, here's how I'm feeling. How are you doing? Did you get your registry? Did you have a baby shower, things like that? Yes. Okay. And then I even invited her. So my baby shower was like, my baby shower was in February. I think I was due in March. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. So it was very close to it. And she didn't go to your baby shower, though. She didn't. I invited her. She did sound like she was going to come and then she didn't. I didn't even notice that she didn't make it because we had so many people between Josh and I, between our

families. Like my whole house was filled. I was very, very blessed. Like I got double of things off my registry. Like it was, it was a blessing. You had a lot of support. That's amazing. And it's crazy because I felt so alone. But that day of my baby shower, I felt like, oh my gosh, all my friends, like, they're showing up. They're showing up just because they couldn't. It was kind of one of those things where it was like, we're in high school. Like, they have things that they're doing too. And that's kind of like why I wanted a friend because we're in two different lifestyles. You're on this more like expedited adult grown-up path while everybody else is still having keg part. or going to tailgating at the football game.

And so going to the high bridge. Yes. Everything. It probably felt nice to finally be back and be like, okay, I'm not so different. It's not as isolating. So it was really, yeah, it was really nice. Oh, good. And then I realized she sent me a text message earlier that day and said, hey, I'm so sorry.

I wasn't feeling good. Like I wasn't able to make it, but I would love to like make it up to you. Oh, okay. And then I think that just, I had my baby shower. And then I want to say Valentine's Day happened on the fort. And then she messaged me on the 15th and was like, can I come over tomorrow? I have a baby shower gifts for you. Like I'm so sorry I wasn't able to make it. But I would love to spend a day with you. Trying to make up for not being there. Yes. And actually, she wanted specifically she wanted me to come to her. So she did

want me to come to her house. But I told her. At Sebastian's? Okay, sorry. I jumped ahead. No, that's okay. She had gotten kicked out of Sebastian's and she went back to live with her sister. What did she get kicked out for? So Sebastian, I never, in the funny thing is I never asked. I actually found out from one of the ID channels, they interviewed Sebastian. And I guess he just said that because she wasn't doing anything. Oh, she was kind of a deadbeat hanging around. He called it, she called it squatting. Okay. So she moves back in with her sister and she's like, so sorry, I couldn't make it to your baby shower. I want to make it up to you. I have gifts. Can you come over? And at this point, did you feel like anything was off with her? No, I didn't feel like anything was off. She was very, I feel like she, I'm trying to figure out the words how to use it. I feel like she was very needy. Okay. And how so, in the way of wanting to know where you're going, what you're doing, wanting to talk to you, having like ownership over your time. It seemed like she always, when she would text me if I didn't text back right away, like, she would be like, hey, like, are you going to answer me? Like, hey, like, I'm just checking on you. And I'd be like, oh, sorry. Like I was in a doctor appointment or, hey, like, sorry, I had work. Like, how many. How many. text messages, would you say she sent you a day? If I didn't answer, it was like just like a follow-up. So it wasn't, it wasn't crazy. It wasn't like a lot. Like, because she'd even go days without talking to me. So it was random. But when she would talk to me, like, sometimes we get into like a texting

conversation and we would, you know, just go on. But if I, if we were in like a conversation and I did not answer her back, like, she'd be like, hey, like, hey. And then she'd call me like, hey, I just, I had that question. Can you answer it? And as a teenager, like, it was annoying. Totally. 100%. I get that. CHIME is changing the way that people bank because they offer the most rewarding fee-free banking. This is fee-free banking built for you. They're not like traditional old banks that charge you overdraft fees and monthly fees. With CHIME, members can benefit from up to $1,150 in annual rewards. Fee-free. Direct deposit unlocks the most rewarding way to bank at CHIME, too. You can get

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slash seriolously. That is chime.com slash seriolously. It only takes a few minutes to sign up. And would you guys talk on the phone as well or just mainly text message? We would talk on the phone also. And then like she would post like baby. Like this is when we first started kind of going into Facebook. So like I would post like my ultrasound pictures. And then like immediately after she would post her ultrasound pictures. And then she'd be like, oh, like my baby. Like, and she was, I do know that like with, I didn't get to hang out with her too much.

But all my other friends like got to meet her at the kick. I got different kickbacks. Yeah. And they said like she just constantly always was like, oh, my baby. Like always talking about her baby. It was like her whole world. Her whole life. It was her whole personality.

Okay. Having this baby was her own, like her whole personality. She wanted everybody to know what she was naming the baby. You know, I'm having this. I'm having that. Did she say if she was having a boy or a girl? She was having a boy. Okay.

Like me. Okay. So we both kind of just, I don't know, people, like Josh even met her once. Actually, now that I think about it, he went to one of the kickbacks. I stayed home. And I remember Josh went to one and he came. I think we met up the next day. And he was like, hey, I met that girl, Cassandra.

He was like, she's an odd one. And I was like, why? He's like, she just, like, talks a lot. And I was like, yeah, he's like, and she's, like, obsessed with this baby. Like, she's so excited, but, like, where is this husband? Like, yeah. So everybody started to have questions. About, like, what's the true story of, like, her husband, why she's living here?

What's going on? Okay. Yes. So everybody kind of, but we're all 17, 18 year olds that we're all just like, you know, like nowadays, it's like, I'd be like, hmm, like. Now we're exposed to more darkness in the world. Exactly. And not that much darkness was, I mean, it was always there. Darkness has always been there.

It just was not, there was no platforms. There was nothing. We didn't talk about this. The visibility wasn't there. We were taught not to talk about our traumas. Right. So, like, people didn't talk about these types of things. So, you know, we didn't ask and question stuff.

And after that, it was, that's when she came. So she ended up asking if I can come to her house. And I remember I was watching Grace Anatomy with my mom and I was laying in bed with her. And I, like, sigh. And she goes, what? And I was like, my friend Cassandra. And she was like, what?

And I was like, well, she didn't come to my baby shower. She's like, oh, are you upset? And I was like, no. I was like, but she has these gifts and she wants me to go to her house. And I just am not feeling good. Like, I haven't been feeling good. My pregnancy, we ended up finding out later. I have preeclampsia. So it makes sense, like, why I'm not feeling good. But I don't know this at the time. So I'm just like, explaining to my mom, like, I just don't have the energy. And she's like, just invite her here. And I was like, oh. And how many months pregnant were you at this point? I was nine months pregnant. Nine months. Okay. So you invite you're like, I'm not going to go over there. It's too much. Like, I'm tired. Which. Same. I don't, you couldn't pay me to get out of the house. So I get that. So then you're like, we'll invite her over to our house. And she can bring the gifts. We can catch up. We can see each other again. And it'll be great. Exactly. Okay. So walk us through the day that Cassandra came over, just at the very beginning of it.

So Cassandra had texted me and said, I'm going to be getting dropped off. And I was like, okay, that's fine. You know, I sent her my address. And my brother had, it was like nine in the morning. And my brother answered the door. And it was February 16th. Sunny, cold, rainy? It was sunny. Okay. It's always sunny. Yeah, true.

It's Arizona. Hello. I don't even know why I asked that. We do have monsoon season. So 9 a.m. on a what weekday? So, I don't even remember. Okay. So 9 a.m. sunny and she's coming over for the day.

Yes. Okay. So your brother opens the door. My brother opens the door and she's being dropped off by a man in like this white van. And that's all my brother saw was like a white van. And he's about my brother was, I'm 10 years older than him. So he would have been eight years old at this time. Oh, wow. Okay. And did you have any other plans that day? Was she going to come over for just a little bit of time? Was she just going to come over indefinitely? And you guys were just going to hang or what was the plan? There was like no plan. It was just like, hey, like, if you want to come over and hang out with me, like, I'll be home with my family. And she was like, yeah, like, I would love that. Okay. So she came over with no, like, I had no expectations of like what was going to happen. Yep. And who was at the house in addition to you and your eight-year-old brother? So my eight-year-old brother was there. And my 13-year-year-old.

old brother was there. And then my mom was there. My dad was at work. Okay. So it was just us, us there. So my brother, myself, and my mom. And she had walked in. She had this, like, big diaper bag with her. It was a really big diaper bag. And she said that all the gifts were in there. And I remember my mom asked, like, oh, do you want me to take that bag? She was like, no, no, no, I got it. And we're like, okay. She was like, well, I want to show you the gifts later. Like, I want to talk with you and hang out. And I was like, yeah, that's totally fine. So she puts the bag, like, away, like in the front room. and she just hangs out with us all day. And to be quite honest, like, we didn't do too much.

It was mainly just like, I remember, like, we migrated from, like, the kitchen table to, like, the couch. And we just started talking about, like, you know, just, like certain things. We had spent a lot of the day. This is, like, when team mom was coming. Oh, yeah. Like, the OGs were coming out. Like, I remember watching, like, Kail on and, you know, just like, Janelle, all of them on. And, you know, we were talking about all the drama between them.

And at one point, it went to a commercial break. and we started talking, she started asking, like, questions about, like, certain things, like, about she started asking questions about birth. And we were making a joke because- What kind of questions? So we lived about 40 minutes away from the nearest hospital. So she would be like, what would happen if, like, we went into labor? And I'm like, what do you mean? She was like, well, what would happen?

Like, we live so far away from a hospital. Like, I was like, oh, we would probably just go to the hospital. Yeah, call 911 or something. My mom was like, it doesn't happen. Like, my mom was like, so my mom jumped in. and was like it doesn't happen like the movie state. Like sometimes it could happen like that, but everybody's different. Normally, you don't just have the baby.

Right. Once you start getting your contraction. So my mom's like kind of going into detail. So your mom was very much involved in this hangout session. She was around. She was around the whole day. Okay. And what time of day was this now?

This was probably about like 10, 30, 11. So earlier she got dropped off about nine. So it's been a couple hours. You've been hanging out, just talking, catching up watching TV now. And your mom's been there. Your brothers are there. Okay. My brothers are in there.

their room. And so my mom is just outside. My mom, my mom tends to hang out with me and my friends. So we- Hey, I love that. So she would, yeah, she just basically stayed the whole day with us, just talking and everything like that. And then that's when they were talking about, like, you know, the births. But then she was like, well, what happens if we need a C-section? And mom was like, what do you mean? She was like, because the mom kept on saying, like, what do you mean? Like, needing her to kind of explain a little bit more. She was like, well, how, like, what would happen? Like, what if you needed an emergency C-section? My mom was like, Like, oh, like, same thing.

You know, you'd go to the hospital. It's not just like you need a C-section. They're going to cut you open, like in your house. Yeah. All of this is done, like, you know, at a hospital. There's a protocol for it. Yes. And then she looks at my mom and she goes, wait, have you had a C-section?

And my mom goes, yeah, I had a C-section with Angelique's youngest brother, Isaac. And she goes, oh, like, how was it? She was like, oh, you know, like, they, you know, they give you, like medicine. You don't feel everything. It's scary. But, you know, it's, my mom just kind of goes into detail of, like, what, like, what the C-section felt like. Yeah. And I remember this is like where she became very intrigued into the conversation. And she was like, well, how far did they cut? Like do they cut up and down or they cut side to side? And my mom was like, they cut side like from side to side. And she was. Was anything going off in your mind of like, why are you asking so many fucking questions? Or like what's going on here? Were you just kind of like, oh, maybe she doesn't have like her mom of her, her mom had passed? Maybe she just hasn't had anybody teach her this stuff. I honestly didn't think anything of it because I felt like they were really, I mean, to be quite.

honest. Like me and my mom hadn't even had the conversation. So you were curious too to hear the answers. I was curious to hear the answer because like we all don't want to have a C-section. Like you hear of these things, but like I don't want to be cut open. Yeah. So I remember sitting there and I was just like, you know, listening and kind of just like watching my mom. My mom kind of took role in it. Like she took control in the whole conversation of with Cassandra when it came to the C-section. And I just kind of observed everything. But I didn't think anything. There was a part to me that just felt like everything was weird, to be honest. But like I do, I do talk about that with my mom after the situation. So she's telling my mom's telling her, like, no, you go from side to side. And

Cassandra goes, okay, she literally stands up, lifts her shirt up and goes, can you show me? Oh, my God. And my mom goes, um, I mean, like mine? And my mom was like, you can't see, like, where mine is at? Like, she's like, you have to understand, like, your belly gets big and they cut. And then it goes below. And then like when you, you know, obviously your belly goes back down and like I'm not going to show you my scar. She goes, but like from there, like around there. And Cassandra goes like this. Like she literally has her shirt up like this and she's just like looking. And I'm just like, then I started, I started to feel eerie at that time. And then she started asking more questions. Like, well, what happens if the baby's not breathing? And my mom goes, oh, they get the mokosucker.

And she goes, what's that? And she goes, you know, like the little bulb is a bulb and they put it in the baby, like in the mouth, and they start suctioning out, like, whatever there is in there. And she was like, oh, I've never seen one. And I'm like, you never seen one? Like, I feel like everybody has seen like this like, you know, blue bulb that they give you. I feel like we used to have it when we were younger that they would use for like if you even rinsing out your ears or like your nose. Or doing like the cleanse thing. Yeah. So what, yeah, what do you, I forget what that's called. Where you like, shoot the water up and it comes down the other side. It comes down the other way. Is it a kettle thing? Something like that. But basically for anybody who doesn't

understand what it is, it's like very nice. 90s, but it's like baby blue, if I remember. And the bulb is probably the size of not a tennis ball, a little bit smaller than that. And then it has like the big like, like whatever you would call it, like almost like it looks like a turkey baster kind of, but way smaller. That is perfect. That is, yes. That's exactly what it looks like. And they use it as a suction tool. They use it as suction tool. And you get sent home with those from the hospital to use to like at the boogers, you know, like we call them mocos, but you know, boogers. And so yeah, she was very confused about it. And she asked me, did I, did I?

get one for my baby shower. And I was like, oh, yeah, I got one. She was like, oh, reminding my baby shower was like three days prior, I think. So we're 16th, 15, 14th. It was the day before, like, I want to say it was like the day before Valentine's Day or something, whatever that weekend was is when my baby shower was. And I had not gone through my gifts. There were so many. It was so overwhelming. My whole couch, like I had an L couch, the whole back of the couch was filled. Wow. It was so much. And so I hadn't even tried to go through them yet. And she wanted me to dig through them and to go find it for her. And I was like, no. And what was her explanation? She just had never seen one. She wanted to know what it looked like.

So she's like, oh, did you get one? I want to see. I've never seen it. Yes. And then she went back. I told her I didn't want to. I was like, I'll go look. And she like got up and I was like, I got a better idea. My laptop's right here. Let me show you what it looks like on Google. Because, like, good luck trying to find them in there. I have no idea what bag gets in. And I literally like pull it up for her on Google. And she goes, oh, okay, okay. And I was like, yeah, I was like, they use it for, like, the boogers. Like, that's what, I'm pretty sure that's what you get sent home with. Yeah. I'm not an expert on it. So I don't know. And that did make me feel a certain way. I remember after that, I still hadn't talked to my mom at that point, like, alone. Then my mom's,

so it started to hit lunchtime. So I'm almost like, let me make you guys some food. We have leftover at ganiasada and chicken and, you know, let me make you guys some food. And you guys can sit down and eat. So we went and we sat down and we started to eat. like she was making us food and we started to get into other conversations just about like our life and stuff like that. I think at one point we asked her like about her mom and she kind of told her told us that like her mom passed away from breast cancer and she told us like how, you know, like how much like pain her mom was in. And it was really sad honestly. Like I, she cried. I cried. My mom cried. Like it was just a really sad moment because, you know, she was like,

I wish like my mom could be here to like be with me and like go through this with me. She's like, you're so lucky, like, to have a mom. And then things started to, like, take a turn. Not like, a turn, but I started to feel, this is when I started to really feel certain ways with her because she started to, like, mimic my life. So, like, I would say something, like, for an example, I got arrested for hitting my mom, being her gone to a fight. It wasn't, like, a really bad altercation, but I did, I did, like, get in trouble. And so I got arrested for it. And all of a sudden, like, she had the exact same story. And it was, like, too a T. And it was, like, too a T. though. Like it wasn't, it was almost exactly like it. Or, you know, I, when I was like 14,

like I jumped out my Nana's window and ran away for like a week. And like she was like, oh my gosh, I did the exact same thing. Like I went and it was just everything was like mirroring everything. She was mirroring everything that I did. Everything. Like any, anything that we talked about that we were joking about from like when I was younger, it was she had the exact same story. Had she done that in the past when you guys were texting and talking or was this more amplified now that she was at your house? This was way more amplified. The way I was feeling at my house wasn't the same way like I felt like throughout our whole conversations. So you felt that something goes off. Were you feeling scared or were you feeling more like,

this girl feels like a stalker, like a weirdo? Anoyed. I thought she was weird. I thought she was weird. And then she would stop and then she would just go back to like thank you guys so much. Like you guys are such like great people. Like the hospitality like I wish my family was more welcoming like this. So like she kind of she played with my like with my heartstrings for it. Yeah. She kept on like trying to like, it made me feel uneasy, but then she was like reeling me back into like reality. And I go this poor girl, like she just needs someone to care for her. Yes. And so, and there was this one thing that kept happening. She kept having somebody call her. And she would talk to them in Spanish. And my mom understand Spanish. And my mom and she looked at my mom and was like,

you understand Spanish? And she was like, yeah, like, I understand. Like, I don't speak fluently. And she was like, oh. So then, like, all her conversations started happening everywhere. Like, she would take the, every time a phone call would come in, she would leave the room and she would go somewhere else to have this conversation. Oh, wow. I'm just making notes as we're talking because I want to come back to that. Yeah. So that was really odd and weird. But at the same time, I'm going to kind of reel that back in. It's weird hindsight 2020. Yeah. But at that moment, think about us. Like, if I'm in an important conversation. You speak English. I speak English. I maybe don't want you to hear what's going on. So I'm going to take the conversation in a different room. So I just thought, oh, okay, like whatever's

going on. She needs privacy for it. Yes. So she went to go take her phone call. And I remember doing dishes with my mom. And I looked at her and I said, what do you think about her mom? She goes, oh, she's nice. And I said, you don't think she's weird. Like, I think she's weird. And she was like, why do you think she's weird? I said, I feel like she's like mimicking me. Like she, like, wants my life. I don't know. I was like, I'm just getting this weird, like, feeling about her that, like, she's, I don't know if, like, things are being made up or, and she was like, Angelique, like, I understand. She goes, you need to understand, though, like, she doesn't have a mom. She's new to a town. You know, she probably feels, like, uneasy. He'd be even being here.

Like, you can tell that she's a good person. And I think she just really wants to be your friend. And I think you're doing a great thing by, like, being her friend and being there for her. So my mom kind of made me as a mom would. would bring me down from like how I'm feeling. Yeah. And I thought like, Angela, like you're like you're being a bitch. Like you're kind of just being a mean girl now. Like so I felt like, okay, I need to take a step back and realize that this girl has gone

through a lot in her life. And maybe I, she doesn't have a mom or dad. And she's kind of like obviously whatever's going on in her life. This husband of hers isn't like amazing. They fight all the time. She's lost a little bit. She's a lost soul. It's kind of like how I saw it.

So I was like, okay. Not every friendship is perfect. maybe she's not going to be like my best friend or like somebody's super close, but I can be friendly with her. So that's how my mindset was like continuing the rest of the day. Okay. So then walk me through the rest of the day. What happened after lunch? So then she wanted to ask, she kept that time, she asked me if I would go for a walk with her. So when she returned back from talking to somebody, she was like, so I saw that there was a park down the street. She was like, do you want to go for a walk? And I was like, oh, no, girl. Like I just ate. Like I don't feel good. Like, I'm nine months pregnant.

Yeah, I'm not going for a walk to the park. Yeah, I was like, I'm not going to do that. I just don't want to. And she was like, oh, like, it'll be really nice. She kept trying to push me to do it. And I was like, I don't want to. And I feel like at that time, we went back to the couch. And at that point, I started to like fake yawn.

To like, hopefully get her the hint to be like, time for you to go. Time for you to leave. Yeah. Like, I just, it was, even though my mom made me feel better, like, I was done hosting. Like, at that point, I really was tired. Yeah, no, I believe it. Taped out. Yeah.

I was tapped out. Like I wanted to stop. So then I just started like fake yawning. And then I was like, oh, like I'm so tired. And she was like, oh, I'm so sorry. Like my sister, I don't have a key to the house. My sister's not going to be home till later tonight. I hope it's okay that I stay here.

And then I was like, darn it. Yeah. I was like, oh, man, okay. You're all sure. Can I just go in my room and close the door and like, go to sleep? Like, can you my mom hang out and just let me know what happened and I'll be back? Yeah. So then I was like, crap.

Okay. Angelique, put your big girl, cap hands on, you still have to host. Like, let's now watch more teen mom. Yeah. So we started watching more TV. But she had asked me again if I would go, like, wanted to go for another walk. And I was like, no, I really don't want to. Then she tried to bribe me into coming to her house. She goes, well, I can make you cookies. And I was like, I don't like cookies. Like I thought you didn't have a key. Exactly. Exactly. Actually, now that you're saying, I've never even thought about that now that you're saying that that is a full circle that I've never even thought about but yeah she kept on trying to get me what if we go back to my house or like I can make you like you know

your favorite meal your favorite dish like and I was like no I'm not full I'm here my mom just made food for us like get out of my face like she's trying to get you alone she's trying to get me alone and I don't think she anticipated my whole family being home the whole day so that's why it felt like now looking back she she cut there were there were points where she kept trying to get me to leave. But I kept shutting it down. And at some point, she finally took the hint, like, we're not going anywhere. So now it's about, I really think we just sat on the couch for like hours, to be honest, because I can't really remember. There was nothing else that stood out to me except for watching TV the whole day. And then it started to hit like 4 o'clock. And at 5, I think it's like my brother's

football practices. Okay. So I do remember my mom saying like, hey, girls, like we have football practice. Like, we're going to go to Picana. You know, I know, Cassandra, you've talked about like going for a walk. Like, Angela, what do you think? Like, what if I just take you guys to the park and you can go for, like, a small walk? If you feel tired, I'll bring you back home. And I was like, you know what? Yeah, you know what? I could do that. Like, I'm feeling better now. Like, I'm not fool. Like, let's go for a walk. Like, Cassandra, do you want to go do that? Like, since you, you know, pushing for it? Yeah, you've been pushing to get out. Yeah. And she was like, you know what? I don't feel good. Is it okay if we just stay here? And I was like, that is fine.

Mom, she's not, I mean, we're just trading places now. Like, I understand where you're coming from because I felt like that earlier. So I was like, Mom, you know what? You guys go ahead. We're going to stay home. Cassandra, you want me to your nails? Like, I have some, you know, new nail polishes. And she was like, that'd be great.

So my mom left. And I started... And she took both your brothers. She took both my brothers. They both had football practice. So now it is just you and Cassandra in the house. It is now just me and Cassandra at the house. It's about 530-ish.

Okay. And I pull out, like, all my nail stuff. I have, like, my filing stuff. And I sit there and I'm starting to, like, file my nails. And then she goes, your gifts. And at this point, my parents had, like, my mom left. Everybody was gone. And she was like, your gifts.

I want to give you your gifts. And I was like, oh, forgot about those things. Like, I didn't even, like, that's the whole point that, like, the reason why she came. Yeah. I completely, honestly forgot. I'm doing my nails. And she tells me about the gifts. So I'm like, okay, let's go ahead and do these gifts.

She pulls out my chair from my kitchen and puts it in the middle of my kitchen and goes, okay, sit in the chair, turn around and close your eyes. And I'm like, like, she was going to surprise you with them or something. And I was like, oh, okay. And so like I literally, I'm in the middle of my kitchen. I'm sitting in a chair just like this. And I'm sitting there like this with my back turned to her. And one by one, she would come up and then she would like come over my head and like a gift would get dropped in my lap.

And so like I would get the gift and I would open it and it would be like a baby onesie. And then again, she would come back, drop something else in my lap, a new board, like a blanket. This is so weird. So weird. Okay. Like who does it is? If I was just sitting in the middle of my kitchen and my friend was like, I'm just going to drop a gift one by one of your lap from behind. I'm like, what game is this? That is what I mean, though? Like when people ask me, like, they're like, well, what do you mean she was weird? I'm like, you don't under like, it's weird. It's weird. Like, it's nice, but it's weird. It's weird. Like, and I don't know. Like, you know, like, when you were in high school and you were just like, you're a weirdo. Yeah. Like, it didn't necessarily mean that you're going to come kill me. It just meant like, you're a weirdo. Yeah. Like, you only know what that terminology is if you used it before. Exactly.

And this was just a weird moment, but I will say the gifts were coming. Like the gifts were coming. Like they were, they were. You're all right. I was going to say no. And I remember opening it. But when I opened it, I remember taking like a big whiff of it. And like it just reeked like cologne.

Like a man. The onesie did. All of it did. Like the onesie, the newborn blanket, like the like the receiving blanket. There was like a like a like a pajama set. Were they, did they have tags on them? Were they wrapped? They were just wrapped.

Like wrapped. Not like in... Like in tissue paper. Okay. So even the blackets... Blackets. The blankets... They weren't in like...

You know how sometimes they come in like a plastic zipper case type thing? They weren't in anything. They didn't have the cardboard on the corners. Nothing. Nothing. So I had instantly come to the conclusion that they were all hammy downs, which... Okay. My mom had taught me that you don't throw a fit.

You just take what you get. And you're just... You'd be happy about it. You don't say anything. Even if you don't like it. You just be grateful. You'd be grateful for what you get. So that's how I was raised and that's how I took it.

So I am. sitting here thinking in my head like, what is going on? But like they're gifts. They are real things that are happening. Yeah. And it just kept, it was very, it felt like it felt like it was in slow motion, though, because it just felt like she was walking and then dropping it in my lap. And then, like, I would open it and be like, oh my gosh, this is so cute. Thank you. She goes, okay, I'm going with the next one. Would you turn around and say thank you to her and like doing her? You would just stay with your back to her and make, oh my God, this is so cute. Thank you. And then just kind of like wait from the next one. Yes. And then just sit there and I was just, she was, it felt like slow mo. But I mean,

She was coming to the point periodically, like where I was able, like, the gifts were just coming and common. How many gifts were there? One, two. So there was a baby blanket. There was a receiving blanket. There was a newborn onesie. There was a pajama set. There was booties, a beanie that might have been it. And they were all individually wrapped. All individually wrapped. Okay. So six different gifts that are getting dropped on your lap. Mm-hmm. One after another. One after another. Okay. So then what was the last gift? So there was actually like two last gifts. So there was this, there was. There was. There was. I remember turning around. So after I got the last one, I turned around and I kind of like turned this way, like where my body was on the side. And I was like like where I could see her. And I was like, thank you so much. Like these are all so cute. Like I really appreciate it. And she goes, wait, wait, wait. I also have something else for you. And I was like, okay. So she reaches into the bag.

And she pulls out like a baby, like a baby wearing. Oh, like a baby Bjorn type like a carrier. Yeah, a baby carrier. So when I say baby carrier, everybody thinks I'm talking about like a baby, like a car seat, yeah. The one you wear on your body, like the front backpack. Exactly. And if you were back in 2011, we didn't have what everybody else has. There's so many cute brands. It was just like generic. It was one from Babies R Us. It was a generic black one that probably cost about like $80. That made me feel uncomfortable because I had felt, I knew how much that was because we went to Babies R Us together. And you had made the registries together. Yeah. So I knew how much that was.

And was that wrapped or no? That was not wrapped. Okay. That was just in the bag. So she holds it up and says, I have something else for you while you're halfway turned. Yes. Okay. And I felt uncomfortable because I knew how much that was.

I knew that she didn't work. I knew like her light, like, like how did you get this? And I told her, I can't accept this. And she was like, why? And I was like, because I know this cost a lot of money. And I didn't tell her this. But like, we're not on that type of friendship where I feel like you should be giving me like all. Like, the what you gave me was enough.

Thank you. Yeah. And I felt bad about it, but she told me, no, she's like, I already had my baby shower. This is actually a duplicate. I got two of them. And then I was like, oh. Okay. Okay.

Well, since she said that, I'll take it. Yeah. So I ended up being like, I was grateful. Like at that point, at that point, I was like, oh, cool. Thank you. And I did forget something. At one point, she did ask me if there was something I didn't get when we were sitting on the couch.

She asked me if there was something I didn't get for my baby shower that I wanted. And I said, you know what? This is going to sound so stupid. But you know those like infomercials like where they show like the little pet, hello pet, and it shines on the ceiling. And it shows like the lights and plays like a lullaby. And she was like, yeah, I said, I really wanted one of those. And I didn't get one. Like I was like, that's probably the only thing that like I didn't get that like I really honestly wanted.

So she used that because the very last gift, she goes, I have one last present for you. And I was like, okay. She goes, but I have to show you in the dark. And I was like, oh, why? She goes, it's a special surprise. And she goes, it's something you really wanted. I go, no, you didn't. She goes, yes, I did.

She goes, I saw it. Like, she was basically stating, like, it was on my baby registry. Like, she was like, I, but I had it specially made for Rylund. And I was like, oh, she was like, yeah. So I want to show you, though, because you can only see it in the dark. And at this point, it was probably hitting about, like, six o'clock. So the sun was coming down. It was getting dark in the house.

And so I was like, okay. So we end up going back to my room. So you get up off the chair. you guys are walking through the kitchen back to your bedroom. Yes. Who's in front? She's in front of me. Okay.

So you're following behind? Yes. I'm following behind her. We go into the room and she tells me that kind of the same thing, not to sit down and turn around and close my eyes, but to turn around and close my eyes. So she, the way I can visually tell you guys is like when you walk into my room, picture walking in, the left hand side is a closet. Here's just like a walk-in closet or like double door closet.

Double door closet. Okay. Well, like the sliding. Yeah. Yeah. And then so, like, you're walking this way. Like, there's just, like, a wall right here. And then my bed's right here. Okay. So, and then, like, behind my bed is just like another area. You can walk, like, like, walking space like this. Yeah. And then right here would be my, um, my dresser. So it's a really small room. Okay. So I'm standing like this where I'm in between the bed and the closet. Yes. And facing the wall. Face it. The wall or the closet? The wall. The wall. And then the closet would be on my left hand side and the bed on my right hand side. Okay. So you're facing the wall straight ahead. And that pathway is just. You're facing the wall. just a small little walking path kind of area. That's correct. Okay. So then she's behind me on the ground digging into this bag and I'm standing there and all of a sudden I start to have like a conversation

with myself in my head. You're feeling like something's wrong. It was, it was wild. It was, what would you do if she were to try to stab you? How would you protect yourself? Would you fight her? Would you be able to fight her? Why am I having these feelings? Why am I talking? Like, why am I talking to myself right now. And then I was just like, whoa, like, what's going on? Like, so my brain was trying. Your intuition was trying to tell you. It was trying to tell me. And I was just sitting there and I was like, but why would she try to hurt me? I've been nothing. But no, people don't do this. Like, and I'm literally having just a conversation with myself. And all of a sudden, I start to get the chills. And I'm like, Cassandra, are you, are you almost like done? And she was like, yeah.

And I sit there and all of a sudden the voice comes back in my head. You're about to get stabbed. You're about to get stabbed. And I'm just like, so I literally. take my phone out of my pocket and I put my, I kind of have my phone like this. And I go, Cassandra, my back's hurting. I said, I'm going to sit on my bed. So remember, the bed's on the right hand side, the closet's on the left hand side. I maneuver my body to sit onto the bed. To where now you're facing the closet. And I can see her. Okay. To a sense. She's on your left. It's in the dark, but I can still see like her shadows. Okay. And so I'm like, my back hurts really bad. I'm going to sit on this bed. So I sit on the bed where I can see her. And I'm feeling a little bit

better because I can see her. Yep. But then all of a sudden she goes, okay, I'm going to get behind you. And I'm like, why? She goes, I'm going to put the light over your head and it's going to shine onto your closet and you'll see the name. And I was like, okay, so she does it. She gets behind me on the bed and now all of a sudden it's like...

Is she on the bed or just right behind in that standing area? She's on the bed. Okay, behind you. So behind me. So I'm sitting on the edge of my bed and now she's physically gotten on behind my bed and on the mattress. And she's physically behind me. I could feel her like, like I could feel her like behind me. And all of a sudden I get like these feelings of like you're in danger, you're in danger,

you're about to be stabbed, you're about to be stabbed. And I'm just kind of like like just looking around my room. And then I grab my phone. I put my mom's phone number in it and I hold it to my chest. And the thought in my head was so eerie. And I kept telling myself if something bad happens to me. My mom could hear a voicemail of me screaming or can figure out like I had went so into depth of dying that like, but I couldn't and I couldn't really understand like what

was happening at that time. Like, the way I'm telling it to you guys, it feels like we were probably sitting there for like minutes. This was like happening in like 45 seconds. Like this all happened in very, very fast pace. So finally, I go, Cassandra, are you going to show me? And she goes, yes. And she puts one hand on my shoulder, on my left hand shoulder.

And she leans me forward so much that my stomach is huge that I can't breathe. And she goes, one, two. All right. So we are going to pause the story, right? here, which I know that is a major cliffhanger. I get it. But trust me, you are going to want to hear what happens next. And don't worry, part two for the audio version is already available right now, wherever you're listening to this podcast. So you can just jump straight into it. You can listen to Part 2. We just wanted to break it up because it is such a long episode. But if you prefer to

watch the full video interview, the entire conversation is available right now on YouTube. It isn't split into two parts either. It's just one really long episode. So go check that out on the video version if you want that. And we are going to pick right back up where we left off in part two.