Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - The Betrayal of Trust The Tragic Story of Leslie Palacio and Her Fight for Justice PART4 #76

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #truecrime #lesliepalacio #justiceforleslie #realhorrorstories #victimsjustice The Betrayal of Trust: The Tragic Story of Leslie Palacio and Her Fight for Justice (PART 4)This final chapter closes the devastating yet powerful story of Leslie Palacio — a young woman whose tragic death revealed the dark side of betrayal and trust. In this part, we uncover the final steps toward justice, the emotional toll on her loved ones, and how her legacy continues to raise awareness and inspire others to seek truth. It’s a haunting reflection on how one act of evil can ripple through countless lives, but also how strength and unity can keep a victim’s memory alive forever. horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales, truecrime, justiceforleslie, lesliepalacio, betrayaloftrust, realhorrorstories, victimsjustice, truecrimecase, realcrime, emotionalstory, darktruth, tragedy, justice, realstories, awareness

It had only been a few days since the whole thing turned into a nightmare, and yet the behavior of Eric's mother and sisters was already raising more questions than answers. At first, the authorities thought maybe the family was just overwhelmed, grief, fear, maybe shame, but that illusion didn't last long. Practically overnight, they packed up whatever they could and vanished from the house without leaving a single trace behind. No goodbye, no explanation, no hint of where they were going. They just disappeared, and that sudden exit made the police's alarms go off instantly.

It wasn't just strange, it was suspicious as hell. From that point on, no one could reach them. Calls from friends, messages from relatives, even attempts from detectives went straight to voicemail. They'd gone totally silent, and that silence spoke louder than anything else. It made investigators think they were hiding something, something big. Maybe they were covering for Eric, maybe they knew more than they were letting on. Whatever the case, the timing of their escape couldn't have been worse. It was like they vanished just when the truth was about to surface.

Despite the evasive behavior of Eric's mom and sisters, other members of the family decided to cooperate with the investigation. They shared with police what they knew, or at least, what they claimed to know. Apparently, right after Leslie's disappearance, both Eric and his father had approached them, asking for help to cross the border into Mexico. They said Eric was desperate, looking for a way out. But with an arrest warrant already issued against him, the family refused to help, or so they told investigators. Whether that was the truth or just a way to clear their own names, no one could be sure. By that point, almost five months had gone by since the

crime, and honestly, it seemed like the case was about to fade away like so many others. Leeds went cold, witnesses went quiet, and it looked like Leslie's story was going to end without justice. But then, out of nowhere, something happened that changed everything. Someone made a move no one expected. On January 18, 2021, the case took a shocking turn. Jose, a 45-year-old man, Eric's father, decided to turn himself in. He was arrested right at the U.S. at Mexico border, in the San Diego area. There were two versions floating around about how it happened. Some journalists claimed police tracked one of his electronic devices, which led them right to him.

Others said Jose simply walked up to the authorities and surrendered voluntarily. Either way, he was finally in custody and taken. into a detention center in Nevada. During his hearing, Jose faced charges for covering up the crime and destroying evidence. At first, he insisted that Leslie hadn't been murdered. According to his version, Eric had taken her home after spending the night together, and she supposedly died of a drug overdose. He claimed it was an accident, nothing criminal.

But that story didn't hold up for long. The prosecution brought out all their cards. They showed phone records, text messages, and most importantly, a video that clearly showed both Jose and Eric moving Leslie's body the morning after the supposed overdose. The footage blew his story to pieces. Cornered and unable to deny what everyone had seen, Jose changed his statement. He finally admitted he'd seen Eric dragging Leslie's lifeless body down the stairs, wrapped in a sheet. Eventually, he confessed to helping his son dispose of it.

That confession sealed his fate. Jose pled guilty and was sentenced to 728 days in prison. But by the time the sentence was read, he had already served 205 days in pretrial detention, which counted toward his total time. Basically, he only had to serve a little more than a year before walking free. For Leslie's mother, that sentence felt like an insult. She couldn't stop thinking about one question, the so-called overdose. If what Jose said was true and Leslie really had overdosed, then why the hell didn't anyone call for help?

Why didn't they call 911, an ambulance, anything? The idea that they just let her die, or worse, watched her die, made her sick. She said it herself in interviews, that a mission was just as revealing as it was cruel. It told her that whatever happened that night wasn't an accident at all. She never believed Jose's story for a second. In her heart, she was sure her daughter had been assaulted before she died. She suspected someone had spiked Leslie's drink, and that things had spiraled from there. Every time she talked about it, her voice cracked between anger and despair.

She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she couldn't shake the image of Eric's obsession. According to her, he'd been after Leslie for a long time. He liked her, maybe even loved her, but she didn't feel the same way. And when someone that unstable gets rejected, you never know what they're capable of. Still, one painful truth remained, the person responsible for her daughter's death was still out there. Eric had vanished without a trace. For Leslie's mom, every day without answers felt like another wound that wouldn't heal. She begged the police to keep searching, to not let her daughter's case fade into another forgotten file.

Months kept passing, but there was still no sign of Eric. The silence from authorities, the lack of progress, it was unbearable. The family wasn't just dealing with loss, they were also fighting a slow, frustrating system that seemed to move in circles. Then, on May 19, 2021, nearly nine months after Leslie's murder, the coroner's office finally released its official report, and it only brought more confusion. The forensic results stated that both the cause and manner of Leslie's death were undetermined. Basically, they couldn't figure out exactly how she died. Her body had been exposed outdoors for almost two weeks, which caused advanced decomposition. That made it nearly impossible to pinpoint

what killed her. Still, one detail stood out, the body had been. been dragged through the dirt near a washing area before being abandoned. That detail alone proved someone had tried to hide what they'd done. The delay in releasing the report was partly due to the global health crisis at the time, lab backlogs, toxicology delays, all that bureaucracy. When the final document finally came out, investigators said there were no more pending tests. But the toxicology results were never made public. So, to this day, no one outside the investigation knows whether Leslie had any substances in her system. That lack of transparency only fueled the mother's suspicions that the overdose claim was just a cover-up.

Time went on, but the search didn't stop. Both the local police and the FBI started working closely with international agencies to track down Eric. Leeds came and went, but they kept pushing forward quietly. Then, in August 23, there was a lot of was a press conference announcing new developments in the case. Leslie's family, however, refused to attend. They said they were tired, tired of waiting, tired of promises, tired of seeing nothing change. The wound was still open and they didn't trust the authorities to close it. During that press conference, officials explained how catching a fugitive like Eric wasn't easy. It required time, coordination, and a ton of resources.

They said everything depended on whether the suspect had help or not. If he was on his own, hiding would be nearly impossible for long. But if he had family or friends helping him, that changed the game entirely. And in Eric's case, everyone knew he had a network behind him. His mother, sisters, and father had all vanished too. The lawyer representing Leslie's family later told reporters she believed Eric was hiding somewhere in Mexico. She couldn't confirm it, but everything pointed that way. At that point, even the authorities didn't know exactly where his family was.

They'd vanished off the radar completely since Jose's brief time in prison. He'd served only eight months before being released, and after that, nothing. No trace of any of them. Even so, the lawyer kept her faith in the system. She said that eventually, justice would catch up with Eric. But Leslie's family wasn't so sure. Every day that passed without answers felt like proof that maybe there wouldn't be any justice at all. Hope started to fade little by little.

For months, it felt like the whole case had gone cold again. Posters with Eric's face were plastered everywhere, social media, TV, billboards, but no one had any concrete information. People would claim to have seen him in different cities, but nothing ever checked out. It was like chasing a ghost. Still, behind the scenes, investigators never stopped working. They followed every tiny lead, every anonymous call, every suspicious movement in small Mexican towns.

The FBI and local police quietly shared information with foreign agencies. There were whispers of sightings, of new contacts being monitored. Some sources said Eric had changed his appearance, that he was working under a fake name, blending in somewhere far from the border. But none of it could be confirmed. Then, out of nowhere, things started to move again. Around mid-20204, rumors began spreading that authorities were close to finding him.

This time, the whispers came from credible sources, police units working directly with Mexican investigators. They'd found new traces, maybe an address, maybe someone who'd been in touch with him. Whatever it was, it led them to believe Eric was still alive and hiding somewhere inside Mexico. And then, finally, after nearly four long years of waiting, the breakthrough came. On July 30, 20, 24, Mexican authorities confirmed they had captured Eric. The news spread like wildfire. After all the dead ends, all the frustration, all the false leads, they had finally found him. He was only 25 years old now, but his face looked different in the photos, older, worn out,

like the years of running had taken their toll. Police issued an official statement confirming his identity and assuring the public that he was indeed the same man wanted since 2020. For Leslie's family, the news brought a strange mix of emotions, relief, anger, even disbelief. They thanked the authorities for not giving up, but deep down, they knew this was only half the battle. The family's lawyer spoke on their behalf, saying they were grateful for the capture but that true justice would only come when Eric stood in a U.S. courtroom and answered for what he'd done. The process of extradition, though, was far from simple. Legal experts warned

it could take months, or even years, due to international procedures. By the end of 2024, the extradition process was still ongoing. Bureaucracy, politics, paperwork, it all slowed everything down again. For Leslie's mother, it was just another painful weight in a story that had already stolen too many years from her. Still, she held on to a small glimmer of hope. After everything she'd endured, at least now there was a chance. A light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. She often said she didn't want revenge, she just wanted closure, to finally know the truth about what happened that night and to make sure no one else would ever suffer like her daughter did. For her, Leslie wasn't just another victim

or another headline. She was her girl, young, full of dreams, and gone too soon because of someone's twisted obsession. As the case continued moving through the slow machinery of justice, people couldn't help but reflect on how fragile everything had been from the start. A series of lies, cowardice, and silence had buried the truth for years. But no matter how much time passed, the story of Leslie and the hunt for Eric became a reminder that sometimes justice takes its time, but it never really forgets. And so, while everyone waited for the final chapter, the world kept an eye on what would happen next, whether Eric would finally face trial, whether the truth would finally be revealed, and whether Leslie's family would ever find peace.

because after everything, the disappearances, the lies, the confessions, and the years of silence, one thing was clear, the truth, no matter how long it hides, always finds a way to come back to the surface. The end.