True Crime with Kendall Rae - Seizure or Homicide? The Mysterious Death of Shawn O’Brien

Episode Date: July 25, 2023

Please donate to the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/khchh-just... If you have any information, CALL 401-942-2211 or TEXT 401-284-9555 Shawn O’Brien Social Media Information: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/justi... Website: https://sites.google.com/view/justice... Twitter: https://twitter.com/j4sob Natalia’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nnstlo Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign/kendall-rae/c438796 Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

Hello everyone and welcome back. So happy to have you here with me today to discuss yet another case. And if you are new, then welcome, be sure to hit subscribe. So today I am excited because we have another family member joining us to help tell their loved ones story. I love doing this type of content. As you guys know, I've done it, you know, for a few years now and every time I do it, I see such an amazing response from you guys. I think there is something to be said about hearing these stories from those who are affected most who feel that pain on a daily basis. And they can really describe to you what they've been through and why their loved one mattered so much and deserves justice.

Today, we're going to be discussing the very suspicious death of Sean O'Brien. And I actually came across this case when I was scrolling TikTok one day, and I found TikToks from a girl named Natalia. I reached out to her and she agreed to join me in today's video and help tell her father's story. And after just scrolling her page for a little while, I realized that Natalia was a woman on a mission and I wanted to help. So I reached out and asked if she wanted to come on here today and

help tell her father's story. Now of course, as always, when we have family members on this channel, I ask that you be as respectful as possible in the comment section, knowing that they'll read this. I mean, this goes, you know, for all my content across the board, but especially when we have a family who is taking that step to come on camera to, you know, a lot of people, it can be very overwhelming. People on the internet can be really mean. And so I'm really thankful that she is taking this opportunity to come and speak with us all today. But of course, just wanted to remind you guys to keep it cool. Be chill. Okay, it'd be nice. And if you have nothing nice to say, then just, and of course,

I will link an italias TikTok below so you guys can check it out and give her a follow-in Oh, she would really appreciate the support, but let's go ahead and jump in here So Sean Patrick O'Brien was born on December 5th 1971 in Providence, Rhode Island to his parents Ray and Eleanor Brian And he grew up in Providence with his four sisters Aaron Shannon Charl Shannon, Charlene, and Karen and his brother, Danny. Growing up, Sean was very close with his father and the two of them shared a passion for baseball. He would often take him down to the local baseball field where they'd practiced together for hours on end.

And it was a big part of his childhood. Now, Sean attended school through the eighth grade. And then he dropped out so that he could help support his family and he joined the workforce. He very quickly learned the skill of Carpentry, and he excelled at it right away, and this is what he did with his life up until the point it ended. Natalia remembers that he mostly did roofing projects, and she would often go with him and help him out by picking up some of the nails. Natalia loved her father and loved the time that they shared together even though it was pretty minimal. And I got to explain that the two of

them did not have a very traditional relationship. So let me kind of back up here and explain why. Natalia was born in October of 1992 to Sean and his then girlfriend at the time Amy. She became pregnant when she was 18 years old and he was 20. But by the time Natalia was 18 months old, her mom decided it was best that the two of them walk away from Sean, at least for a little while. And that was mainly because Sean really struggled with addiction. And this is something that Natalia has been super open about when we spoke on the phone. One of the first things she told me was, you know, my dad was by no means a perfect person. But he did want better for himself and wanted better for an Italia. And unfortunately, it was something that he never really managed to get free from.

But Sean was really so much more than his addiction. Despite the demons and struggles that he faced, he was a kind, funny, loving person who wanted better for himself. Natalia told me that he was that type of guy that would give you the shirt off his back, the last dollar in his pocket. He was very, very generous. She explained that when he was sober, he was incredibly sharp, he was funny, and he loved a good prank. Sean loved to make people laugh, whether that meant telling jokes or goofing around by dancing around the room to his favorite song, which is, let's get married. And I loved that that was his favorite song.

And that song still means a lot to their family. Natalia even had it playing at her wedding, which I thought was really cool. And I can't talk about Sean without talking about his love for food. And I mean love. Even though Italian was his favorite, and Natalia has a lot of good memories going to Italian restaurants with him, Sean really loved eating no matter what was in front of him. Family get together is where some of his favorite times, and not just because he of course got to see all his family, but because he knew he'd be getting some good food. But like I said, Sean's life wasn't without struggle, and he actually had a possession charge, which made life quite difficult for him.

And like I said before, when Natalia was about two, her mom decided that it was best that she kept Sean away from her. And I can't imagine that that was an easy decision, but obviously she wanted to do what was best for her daughter But around age nine she and Sean were able to reconnect and rekindle their relationship and in no time the two of them were Making trips to home Depot doing little home projects and Sean even started to teach Natalia had to play baseball just like his father taught him. Sean was a huge Red Sox fan, and so it meant a lot to him to teach Natalia about the world of baseball that he loved so much. One story that she told me that I really loved

was about one of their inside jokes. One day, Natalia and her mom were bickering, and so Sean tried to diffuse the situation by getting Natalia out of the house and bringing her to Dave and Buster's. This was sort of a fun way to ease the tension, to cheer Natalia up, to get her out of the house and they started doing this every Sunday night and they started calling it code D and B so that Amy wouldn't know what they were going to do. But in hindsight she obviously knew that this was their special father, daughter time.

My name is Natalia St. Louis and I'm 30 years old from Rhode Island. I was born in 1992 when my mom was 18 and my dad was 20. After about 18 months of raising me together, my parents made the really tough decision to split up, which I can imagine was difficult for them, but was ultimately the best decision at the time. When I was around nine years old, my parents reconnected and I get to meet my dad for what was to me the first time. He was outgoing and funny. He was always doing something to make everyone else laugh.

He was generous and kind, literally giving someone his last dollar or the shirt off his back if they needed it. He was a real foodie and we enjoyed going out to dinners on Friday nights, usually some more Italian. He loved dancing to whatever he came on in the radio in the car. He just really knew how to have a good time. One of my best memories with my dad was when he took me to the father of Jordan Dance

for the first time. So throughout elementary school my dad was when he took me to the father-daughter dance for the first time. So throughout elementary school my dad wasn't in the picture. So I would ask and uncle or my grandfather to take me to the dance each year which they were happy to do. But finally in fifth grade for my last father-daughter dance my dad was there to take me. He was dressed so nice. One of my favorite pictures of him is him in the striking blue dress shirt from that night. We had a really good time spending so much time on the dance floor that I could barely walk to the car. And like I said, even with his struggles, Sean wanted a better life for himself and knew that bettering his life would also better his daughter's life. And like many, he tried and failed to get sober several times and Natalia even remembers right before he passed, he told

her he was going to try again. The two of them would often go to a nearby lake together and pack a lunch and he would normally pack a few beers. While the last time they went, he skipped the beers and said that he was really trying to get clean this time. But sadly, Sean never had the chance to actually turn his life around because on the evening of July 22, 2006, he was found clinging onto life in his bedroom. Friday, July 21, the day before was a beautiful normal day. Sean went to work that morning between 7 and 8 a.m. and worked till about 3 p.m. And it was payday, so after work, he took his check to the bank and pulled out some cash. Around 3.30, Sean made a call to Amy, Natalia's mom, who he'd also rekindled his relationship with. And she offered to pick him up a sub from his favorite sandwich shop, which is called Carmines, because

he had mentioned that he was hungry. And shortly after this, she and Natalia went to Sean's duplex to drop off his food. Now Sean's living situation is very important in this case, so let me explain that real quick. Sean lived in Cranston, Rhode Island in the basement unit of a ranch-style duplex located on Pleasant Street. He sublies this unit from a man named Armand Rulow. And at this point he had been living there for about a year and a half, but despite living on Pleasant Street, living there was anything but that. So Armand occupied one

side of the duplex, and he was frequently bringing his girlfriend around Lin Halal starting around early 2005. And for some reason, Sean and Lynn seemed to have problems. The exact reason that the two of them didn't get along is unknown, but they definitely did not like being around each other and this was no secret. She was actually known to throw things at Sean, and on more than one occasion, she threatened to kill him. But before I go any deeper into her violent history, let's go back here to July 21st. So after Amy and Natalia dropped off his sandwich,

Sean handed her 160 bucks to go towards child support, the two of them spoke for a little while outside of his place and then decided on making plans for later that evening. There was actually this festival going on in town called St. Mary's Feast, but because Sean had a long day of roofing, he wanted a few hours to shower

and clean up before they went. So while he was doing that, Natalia and Amy went to go pick up Amy's three-year-old niece, Gianna, who they were also gonna bring to the festival. So they pick her up, and then around 5.45, they go back to Sean's place. But when they get there, Natalia tells her mom that she has a really bad headache. So they decide

against going. Sean of course was completely fine postponing their evening. They decided they would go the following night. But the thing is he didn't want to just sit at home that night. More specifically, he didn't want to be home that night because Armand and Lynn were going to be there, and he did not want to be around Lynn. Like I said, the three of them did not get along and tensions had been extra-highly, because on June 8th, less than two months before all of this, a neighbor called the police to report a noise disturbance coming from the duplex. Armand and Sean had been fighting pretty loudly, and even though there was no physical altercation

between the two of them, Armand made it clear to the officer that he wanted to file a police report to help him in evicting Sean. But Armand never actually started the eviction process and why would he? Because Sean was actually paying $675 a month for his unit, and the rent for the entire duplex was 800.

So Sean is paying the majority. To break it down further, Sean was paying 85% of the total cost of living in our mend was practically living for free. And whether or not he was gonna evict Sean doesn't really matter because reality is he did not want to live there anyway and was already starting the process of looking for a new place because he did not want to be around Lynn specifically any longer than he had to be. But sadly, Sean never got the chance to actually get out of there. Like I said, he didn't want to be there that night because Lynn was going to be there. So he asked Amy to drop him off at a locom

hub called Billy's Frosted mug. Now Amy did agree to take him there, but she was hesitant because Sean was just starting to get sober again, but he told her that he wasn't going to drink, although as you'll learn, he did end up giving in to his temptation and ended up drinking at the Frosted Mug. By 6-10, Sean was dropped off at the pub, and unfortunately this was the last time that Natalia would see her father alive. So the next morning, Sean was scheduled to be at work between 7 and 8 a.m. and for a while it was unclear whether or not he actually made it to work, but now we do know that he never showed up.

And it wasn't until late afternoon that anyone had any idea why he didn't show up to work and what happened. A little before 6pm, Sean's sister Karen and her nephew showed up at the duplex to talk to Sean. And when they got there, they were greeted by our mid. And she says that he ran up to them and shouted, come and quick, Sean has been having a seizure for over an hour. And so of course, she quickly goes inside and when she does, she is shocked by what she sees. She found Sean laying in a pool of his own blood

on the floor in just his boxers. Of course, she called 911 right away at 5.51 pm to report what happened. Yeah, 5.1. 5.1. 5.1. 9.1. Let me show my gentle touch. It's a rescue breath. It's over there, yeah? Yeah, five minutes. 911 is here. I'm trying to find it.

It's a rescue. Please. Where are you? I'm at 145 places. Do you understand? I used to handle right now. But I'll get you the rescue. Hold on to him.

Yes. Yes. Oh, my God. Yes. One more. One more. Show me. Show me.

Show me. Show me. Show me. Show me. Show me. French bar. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat.

I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. I'm going to have a seat. It's a one-page email. OK. What's a dope track, actually? 145 Pleasant Street. Yes. On the way. Thank you. Now Karen did end up leaving the scene right after calling 911 because she had an outstanding warrant against her.

But that was her voice that you heard in the 911 call. Now, if you're like me, you're already thinking, why didn't Armand call 911 if Sean has been on the floor in his own blood, having a seizure for over an hour. Well, I can't really give you an exact answer to that. The only person who could is arm-end, who has many stories, yes, stories about what happened that day that don't add up. But anyway, emergency responders arrived at 145 Pleasant Street and attempted to perform life-saving measures.

But it was clear by Sean's labored breathing and snoring sounds that his airway was obstructed. So EMS first attempted turning him on his side to try and get oxygen into his lungs. They also tried using a breathing tube, but his jaw was so tightly clenched that they weren't able to open it to get the tube in. The image on screen should kind of give you a better idea of what the duplex was like

and where Sean was, I think it's helpful. EMS noticed that there was a significant amount of blood and bloody vomit around him, as well as dried, crested blood coming from his mouth or nose area, extending to his right ear. And the fact that some of his blood had already dried up is really important to remember. It's also important to note that there was blood coming from between his toes,

and this is pretty confusing, considering he was allegedly having a seizure. So that part of this is unexplained. There was also blood seen on his mattress, but it's confusing as well, because the amount of blood was explained very differently depending on who you talk to. One responder noted that there was a decent-sized pool of brownish blood on the mattress, and then a lieutenant said that there was only a few drops

of blood. And this is just one of many discrepancies in this case. Another one is that first responders had requested backup from police because Sean was having a combative seizure, but then it was also reported that he was unconscious, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right? Either someone is combative or they are unconscious. You cannot be both. One report said that his room was clean cannot be both. One report said that his room was clean and tidy, and another report said that his room was messy, and that there were

random clothes and beer cans and other items just messily thrown about. The lieutenant also said that Sean only had one injury inside of his mouth, but that doesn't match up with the fact that he also had blood coming from in between his toes. Not to mention, which I will explain here shortly, Sean also had many visible injuries all over his body. The written statements are all pretty contradictory, which makes this case incredibly complicated and frustrating. And because Sean was still alive when they got there, obviously their main focus was to save his life, not to process the scene as a crime scene. Natalia thinks that if her father wasn't alive

when they got there, they would have seen that this was a crime scene from the beginning. But unfortunately, as you'll learn, it took them four days to come to this conclusion and by then, obviously the scene was completely contaminated. Now, as rescue efforts are going on, Armind tells police that he has no idea what happened and that he hasn't seen Sean in over an hour. According to this story, he says that Sean was watching a baseball game in his room around 5pm and that when he came back downstairs he found Sean on the ground and he claimed he thought he was sleeping.

He claims it wasn't until Karen came over and she finds Sean laying in a pool of his own blood that he realized he was seizing and then he claims to have called 911. Now to be clear, Armand never called 911, even though he said he did. Oh, and Sean didn't have a TV in his room, so how could he have been watching baseball? He then explains that Sean had a history of seizures and drug and alcohol dependency

and that he hadn't heard anything out of the ordinary coming from Sean's unit. Now unlike the rest of his statement, the part about Sean having a history of seizures is true. But at this point there was no real concern that our men could have anything to do with it. So just like the scene, the officers didn't try to gain any additional information, at

least not yet. So once Sean was loaded into the ambulance, he was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital. And on the way there emergency responders administered Narcan after learning that his seizures were typically drug-induced. Sadly, this did nothing to help him. Strangely, Amy had a bad feeling that morning that something was wrong. And that's mainly because every morning, around 6'30, Sean would call Amy and the two of them would chat while they got ready for work.

But that day, Sean never called her. And if you remember, they had been planning to go to that festival that night because they didn't go the night before. And it was just weird that he didn't call her. So once Sean arrived to the hospital, they did imaging of his brain, and a large amount of blood appeared to be pulling inside his skull along with a 2-inch skull fracture to the right side of his head. And it was initially believed that the large amount of blood found around Sean's body and inside his skull happened as the result of him falling mid-seasure. And of course, while this could happen,

his injuries don't align with that being the case. A seizure victim will almost always fall forward or backward when going down. And Sean's blunt force trauma was on the sides of his head. He also had a mysterious dent-like injury to the left side of his skull. And it almost looked as if he was hit with a heavy object. The fact that it was on the left side when he had a skull fracture on the right side makes literally no sense if he got the injury when falling down mid-seager. And another important thing to note here is that since Sean was no stranger to seizures, he normally could feel when one was coming on. When this would happen, he normally would lay down on the ground, and if he could,

he would grab a pillow or a blanket to protect his head when it happened. So for him to have been overtaken by such a violent seizure, and then fallen down on his side, makes no sense. But regardless of how the trauma happened, surgeons responded to the injury immediately. Sean had a midline shift, meaning his brain was no longer in the center of his skull, which is very, very dangerous and scary, and unfortunately, their efforts were not enough.

They were able to stabilize his vitals, but the damage was just too severe. So Sean was temporarily placed on life support while additional testing was completed. A rapid blood test was performed, and it was then confirmed that he did have cocaine, opiates, and barbituates in his system. And this would also be later confirmed by the Toxicology report. But despite what looked like a drug-induced seizure, Amy knew that something much more sinister could be at play. So that night, Amy, her sister, and Sean's sister all called Cranston PD and demanded that they talk to Armin.

She told them that she believed that his injuries did not come from a seizure and that he possibly could have been attacked. And the thing is, Amy and Jennifer, we're not alone in their suspicions that foul play could be involved. Several nurses told Amy that Sean's injuries, we're not consistent with a fall. And the neurosurgeon even asked her

if it's possible he was in a fight. And I just think that says a lot, that a brain surgeon is asking if he was in a fight that his injuries didn't make sense to him. I think that's something you just can't ignore. Natalia says the doctors never believed that it was a seizure in the first place. And to be clear, it was never confirmed that Sean had a seizure. And it's also really important to note that that same surgeon said it looked to him like his injuries happened the night before. So then the following morning, July 23, Amy suspicions only grew because at this point, the adrenaline

of the whole situation had kind of worn off and she was able to look at Sean with the new perspective. And that's when she realized that there were a lot more injuries to his body than the damage to his body than the damage to his skull. Sean had scratches and bruises along his upper chest and his knees, and he also had rug burn on his nose, his forehead, and his knuckles. And he was also missing part of the tooth, and these injuries looked like he may have been

dragged. By this point, everyone is starting to wonder what really happened. And so Sean, sister Aaron decided to talk to Armin herself. And his story at this point went like this. He said that on Friday night, Amy dropped Sean off back at the duplex after he finished up at the pub and that he came in by himself. And then the next morning, our men went to work and he said he assumed that Sean did too. And then later, when he got home, he went down to the basement

unit because that's where the washer and dryer was. And so he was planning on doing laundry and that's when he claims he noticed Sean was seizing. And then he says he went back down there and our later, when Karen was arriving arriving and that's when he says he realized things had gotten way worse. Now this next bit is very confusing to me. It's a very strange detail, but I just wanted to mention it. At some point he claims he took money from Sean's table and then puts it in the freezer. I'm very confused. And then he starts frantically looking for it

and then pulls it out of the freezer. I'm not entirely sure what this means or why he did that, but I just wanted to mention it. But the weirdest part about all of this is his claim that he noticed Sean was having a seizure and then just leaves him and then comes back an hour later and see it's gotten worse. Why would he have just left him if he was having a seizure and then just leaves him and then comes back an hour later and see it's gotten worse. Why would he have just left him if he was having a seizure?

Was he just that heartless? Or does this story not add up? I mean, someone's seizing for more than a few minutes is a medical emergency and most right-minded people would call for help right away. So this story, which is one of many, already has holes in it. So that Tuesday, July 25th, 2006 at 1.24 pm, 34 year old Sean O'Brien passed away. At one point, he was removed from life support and was breathing on his own, but the damage was just too much. And eventually he succumbed to his injuries. So his mother called the funeral home

right away to make arrangements. But when she did, she found out that the corner had already accepted his body and that they were gonna be performing in autopsy, which was great news. It meant that the medical staff had believed that maybe there was more than meets the eye when it came to Sean's injuries.

And the hope was that police would feel the same. But Amy wasn't going to take any chances leaving the investigative work up to the police. So on the same afternoon that Sean passed, she and Aaron went to Billy's frosted mug. The two of them started by having a beer in Sean's memory, and then they wanted to ask the bar owner some questions. Considering the medical staff believed his injuries could have taken place on Friday night and not Saturday afternoon. They thought maybe it was possible he got in a fight with someone while he was at the

frosted mug. And maybe that is what led to his death. But the thing is, there was no fight there. Nothing happened that would have put Sean in danger. So after they finished up there, they drove over to Pleasant Street to grab some of Sean's belongings and also talk to Armand, who was actually outside already when they got there with his dog. Right away, they tell him that Sean didn't make it,

and that doctors said it looked like he had been hit in the head. And right away, Armand apparently got very defensive. He told them that he was positive, that he had died as the result of a seizure, and then went apparently got very defensive. He told him that he was positive that he had died as the result of a seizure and then went into his story again, but this time Amy was there to correct him. When he started to say that Sean had come back that night after Amy dropped him off, she stopped him and told him that she had only brought him to the pub. She never brought him back. And that's when he changed his story and said that he actually saw him walking home with a pack of beers under his arm. And while he was

telling them this version of the story, he seemed to be questioning himself. He said things like he was wearing a hat or was he? They also said that he wouldn't make eye contact with them, and he appeared to have some scratches on his face and a bandaid on one of his fingers, but I'll get back to that in a second. There was also something else they noticed that they thought was weird, about Armin's dog Floyd. Obviously, this is just their family speculation, but the dog had a missing patch of fur on his tail, and they started to wonder if maybe it was stained with blood, and he had tried to shave it off. Because even though Floyd was our men's dog, he actually spent a

lot most of his time, actually, down in the basement with Sean. And he was the type of dog to bark at anything and everything, whether that was someone coming into the house, someone at the door, or Sean having a seizure. But what's weird is according to neighbors, no one ever heard him bark. And not only that, but a few hours before Sean was found by Karen on Saturday afternoon, his mom was looking for him and she stopped over at the house. And she knocked on the door and the dog didn't bark.

And she thought that was weird because the dog always barked. And also, no one ever came to the door. And of course, Armand had an explanation for this. He said that on Saturday, he was cleaning his bathroom, which is something he claims he did every Saturday, and that the dog was with him and hence why he didn't bark.

But this is weird considering he also claimed that he was at work that day. His car was also seen by multiple people in their driveway that day suggesting that he didn't go to work. So which was it? So as Amy and Aaron are talking arm-end, they're getting increasingly frustrated with him. So they decide to go ahead and go into the duplex and look around at the basement themselves, see if they can find any evidence. And keep in mind at this point, the scene had not been secured by police yet. And when they were down there, it became obvious that they were not wrong for suspecting foul play. If Sean had had a seizure and had fallen and hit his head, it would be reasonable to assume that all the blood would pull in one place.

That place being where he fell. But that wasn't the case. For starters, there was a 15-inch blood stain on the mattress, which is very contradictory to the lieutenant saying that there was just a few drops of blood. There are also blood stains on the door to his room, the carpet in his room, his bureau, a kitchen chair, the door to his bathroom, the wood-paneled wall at the head of his bed, and on the bed sheet, which had been balled up and placed under his comforter. So you're telling me he fell and hit his head, walked around the entire place, got his

blood everywhere, then balled up his sheets, took the time to do that, as if he was going to do laundry all while having a seizure, make it make sense. It was also clear that the trash had been taken out and looked like the place had started to be cleaned. They also noticed that his ID was still in the pocket of his shorts, suggesting that maybe he had never left the house after that night. And then they noticed that his work belt was sitting on the kitchen counter like it always was that's where he kept it, but his hammer was missing. And they also noticed that a faux brass lamp and a dumbbell set were also missing. Now this lamp is actually

somewhat important. Remember when I said that his mom had gone to the duplex to check on Sean on Saturday? Well, she wasn't alone. She also had her niece with her in the car and she noticed that Lynn had come out of the house holding a gold object. And of course, we don't know what that object was. I can't say with any certainty that it was the brass lamp. But considering the timeline and the fact that it's missing, it's pretty weird. Oh, and something else I wanted to note, I mentioned before that he was found only in his boxers. Well, according to his family, he was a very modest guy

and never really would walk around the duplex in his boxers, especially because he had roommates. According to them, the only time he was typically in just his boxers was when he was in bed for the night. So knowing this, Amy and now Natalia feel that maybe whatever happened to him happened after he was already in bed for the night on Friday. And remember earlier, how I mentioned that there was

dried blood coming out of Sean's mouth and how the surgeon believed that this could have happened Friday night. While looking at this scene, it was starting to make a lot of sense. Everything that they were seeing at the scene was telling them that this was likely true. And so is it possible that this whole seizure theory, remember seizure, has never been confirmed, was just a big hoax to throw everyone off. I think it's really important to know that my dad was super modest and you wouldn't find him in Justice Boxers unless he was just about to climb into bed. So given that he was found lying

face down in his bedroom, wedged between the bed and the dresser in only his boxers, is a right flag for all of us, suggesting that there was an altercation that happened while he was in bed or while he was sleeping. The other thing that's really important to know about my dad was that he could be pretty meticulous. Each day after work, he would set his tools and outfit out for work the following morning. When my mom finally saw his apartment after he passed, she noticed that his tools were still set out

as if he had prepared to go to work the next morning on Saturday, but never made it. It's also kind of important to know that my dad could be a fighter. He never backed down from a fight. So I think he was taken off guard when an attack happened. If he was conscious and alert, he would have fought back. So the day after making these discoveries,

Amy and her sister went to the Cranston Police Department to tell them everything. And keep in mind, this was now Wednesday and Sean had been found Saturday. And this was the first time that police were legitimately considering that there could have been foul play involved in Sean's death. Now, Natalia doesn't necessarily blame them entirely for not considering this earlier, especially because the medical staff, even though they said

that it was possible Sean was attacked, they never reported this to the police. Granted, Amy's sister did call them to tell them that they believed there was foul play that very night, but the police are pretty much not taking responsibility for acting sooner. But now that they were learning about these additional injuries and the blood all over Sean's place, and also considering Armin's very weird stories, the Cranston Police Department finally started their investigation. And within hours of making this report, the house was sealed off as a crime scene. But I'm sure anyone listening is thinking what I'm thinking.

It's been four days at this point. How are they going to get any reliable evidence after days of contamination? I mean, we know that Amy and Aaron had been down there and for all we know, chances are our men and Lynn had been down there as well. The reality is anything they collected at this point would be shroud with doubt. That same morning, Wednesday, July 26th, the medical examiner completed their autopsy

and determined that Sean's cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. But as for manner of death, of course, they listed it as undetermined, because it was unclear how this had happened. And that's really what has been the most difficult and frustrating roadblock that Natalia has had to deal with when trying to get justice for her father. Because the manner of death is listed as undetermined, the police essentially had no reason to pursue

the case any further when it got challenging, but they didn't give up just yet at this point. Kranston Police did conduct an early investigation and had reason to believe that our men and Lynn were their two main persons of interest. Detectives even got a search warrant for their home, and in that warrant they quoted findings from the autopsy which stated, the magnitude and extent of the trauma to his head was inconsistent with a fall caused by a seizure. Hearing that at the very least makes me believe that at some point, the police had reason to believe

that Sean did not get injured the way our men said he did. And of course, to try and learn more, police went directly to our men. And I want to clarify that this part of the case starts to get very And I want to clarify that this part of the case starts to get very wishy-washy. And Natalia has tried her best to get police records and statements to make sense of when and how certain events happen. But the lack of cooperation from Cranston PD has made it really difficult for her. She compiled the information on her father's case in a way that was super helpful. But she let me and my team know that some of the specific details are just slightly unclear to her. So I'm going to do my best to try and piece this together. Natalia believes that Armand was spoken to on the 26th, the same day that Amy and Erin went to the

police with what they had found. Some reporting makes it sound like Armand was brought directly into the police station while other reports make it sound like he was questioned at home. But regardless of where he was spoken to, the information about what he said remains the same. Armand did end up consenting to a search of his home, but he also invoked his right to a lawyer. And while one or two officers conducted the search of the home to try and confirm the blood that Amy and Aaron were reporting, another one or two officers sat outside to interview Lynn.

Specifically, she was asked if Armin'd ever told her how Sean was lying on the ground the first time that he entered the basement. But when they asked her this, Armand immediately cut it and tried to answer the question for her. But keep in mind at this point, he's already invoked his right to a lawyer, so police can't speak to him. And of course, they explain that to him, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to speak. So detectives tried asking Lynn again. How was Sean lying on the ground when Armin'd entered the basement the second time? And again, Armin'd jumps in and tries to answer himself. And so detectives remind him again that they can't speak to him.

And at this point, he says he changed his mind and no longer wants an attorney. And get this. Instead of having Lynn and Armined write down their statements separately, which is absolutely what should have happened, they allowed Lynn to write Armin's statement for him because apparently he was nervous. This is so strange to me. I don't think I have ever heard of that happening in a case where someone is allowed to write someone else's statement for them because they're nervous, very, very strange. During a closed-door meeting with one

of Cranston Police detectives, he showed my husband and I, the written statement of both Armond and Lynn. These are important for me to have, but I wasn't allowed to have copies of them because Cranstonas maintained that this case could be considered a criminal investigation at some point and they don't want to compromise

the integrity of the case. Imagine our surprise when we look over the statement and notice that both arm and and lens statements are written in lens handwriting. When we asked how Lynn could have been allowed to write Arman's statement, the detective was surprised too at the time, telling us that the detective who took the statements was, quote, better than that,

and he should have known better. I think we were always a little skeptical of the police work done and the integrity of the investigation, but this was a real turning point for me. It made me question a lot of what happened in 2006 and seven and any of the work that was gonna be done moving forward. I wondered how much I could trust what I was being told by the police, especially now as we were beginning

to turn over stone after stone. And remember earlier, when I mentioned that Aaron and Amy noticed that Armin had scratches on his face. Well, detective saw that too. And this is what Lynn had to say about it. She admitted that on Friday night, she and Armin had got in an argument and that she was the one who scratched up his face. She explained that she came by late in the afternoon, they got this argument and then she left and she didn't spend the night. And then she says that she didn't return to the duplex until five on Saturday, right around the time

that Karen got there and found that Sean was lying on the floor in his own blood. Now, something that I did wanna mention, but wanna be clear that this cannot be confirmed with a 100% certainty, but Sean's sister, Charlene, says that she actually drove by her brother's place on Saturday around 11 a.m. and noticed that Lynn's car was in the driveway. Again, speculation can't be confirmed, but if that is true, is it possible that Lynn was

actually there hours before she said she was? But regardless of whether or not she was telling the truth, she admitted to an officer that she broke the law because Rhode Island has a mandatory arrest law for domestic assault, and because she admitted to attacking our men, the officer she told this information to was told he needed to arrest her and bring her in. But by the time he was going to make this arrest, she was nowhere to be found. Now we'll likely never know where she went and where she was for the rest of that day, but the following day she was brought in and arrested. And although she isn't charged

with anything related to Sean's death, at this point she is charged with misdemeanor assault and battery for attacking her boyfriend. After her arrest, detectives even told Amy that they believe that she and our men had coordinated their statements and with held information. That day, they also executed an official search of the home where they collected several pieces of evidence and even took Lin's car in for processing. So I mentioned earlier that Lin has a violent past. In January of 2005, she was arrested for domestic assault against a 69-year-old man who she was dating and she was only 45. It was a pretty vicious attack and she was actually charged with a felony for this.

And then in another instance in early 2006, she and Sean got in an argument where she flipped over a table and threatened to kill him. And this was just months before Sean died. So Sean was laid to rest on Saturday, July 29th, and was wearing his favorite red socks jersey. And people wrote little notes to Sean in chalk outside of his home, but hours later, Armand was seeing washing it all off with the hose. And that really rubbed me the wrong way. And then they got some bad news. The medical examiner told them that they weren't going to change his manner of death from undetermined to homicide.

And essentially his hands were tied. He couldn't rule Sean's death a homicide because the police couldn't provide him with a clear picture of what happened. And the police's hands were tied because without it being declared a homicide, they couldn't prosecute anyone. So this is the circular battle that Natalia has been facing.

Without one party changing their mind, the other can't do anything. And so they're just stuck. Natalia even sent her father's autopsy results to like 50 different forensic pathologists around the country, hoping that someone would come to a different conclusion. And they actually did. The overwhelming response was that Sean was murdered.

And this is just one of so many things that she has done to try and get justice for her father and was really the first thing that gave her the confidence to pursue justice. In 2019, she decided she no longer wanted to sit around and just be a victim of the system that failed her father. She'd spent many years before trying to get police to care about her father, but this time she wasn't backing down.

She knew she needed to reach the masses, so she started a Facebook page and a Twitter account, both of which got some traction, and I'll have those linked below of course. But then she started to see how TikTok was being used by so many family members to raise awareness around unsolved crimes. And NBC also covered Sean's story, and they sent in investigative reporter Parker Gavigan to try and interview Lynn and Armin to get their side of the story. However, not surprisingly, they didn't have anything to say. He also met with the chief of cranson PD who said that they had already re-interviewed some of the people involved but nothing new was learned. They did track down a few leads and even went to a

state landfill to try and find evidence but this was was a dead end, unfortunately. But here's what's super messed up. As soon as NBC did their coverage on Sean, Kranston PD basically gave Natalia the cold shoulder. They told her that they were gonna interview Lynn and Armand, but now that they knew they were coming, it basically was worthless to try. If it sounds confusing and fucked up, that's because it is. And Natalia has spent a lot of time trying to get

cranson PD to hand over all documents related to her father's case. For a long time, she was denied access to this information and even had to appeal with the Attorney General's Office who actually ruled in her favor. She was eventually given a heavily redacted two-page report. However, that's really nothing compared to what she needed and what the police have available on this case.

She even took it upon herself to meet with the chief medical examiner, but unfortunately, they're not gonna get anywhere with a two-page report that's heavily redacted. Because at the end of the day, the medical examiner needs a clear and obvious story that Sean was attacked in order to change the ruling to homicide. And what's really frustrating, the police chief says that he's given the medical examiner everything,

which is obviously not true, and it's something that Natalia wants desperately to happen. The more she's asked for information from the police, the more she's been denied, but that is not stopping her. She's definitely not giving up. I started requesting documentation related to my dad's case in 2019. After I had unsuccessfully reached out to them in previous years. That's how all of this kind of started again. I was denied in 2019 and sent a letter from the chief

that really irked me, telling me there was no indication of foul play and while they're sorry for my loss, Kranson police did all they could. I didn't want fake apologies and condolences. I simmered on this for a couple of years and spent a lot of time rehashing the case with my mom. In 2021, I emailed and called over 50 independent pathologists asking them for their opinion. Most didn't give back to me, they're busy, but the ones that did confirm to what I always believed. My dad's

death was the result of a homicide due to blunt force trauma, the kind caused by another person. This sent me on a spiral and I've been doing anything I can to my attention to my dad's case while moving the needle forward. My mom and cousin Vinnie worked with me endlessly to get so much of the work done. We have done a bunch of media including local news investigations and podcasts. We set up a website that we update regularly with any updates and information for people looking into the case. We have t-shirt stickers and flyers that we go out and hang on utility poles around crampsden. My husband has been super helpful coming to meetings with crampsden police, the attorney general's office and the medical examiner.

the Attorney General's Office and the Medical Examiner. We've found that at this point, the relationship between myself and the city and state officials has hit a roadblock and become somewhat contentious. They have stopped responding to emails and record requests. Meetings have been unproductive, resulting in more questions than answers. In the beginning, we worked with Detective Santa Gata,

who was helpful and responsive. But since then, I was directed to correspond with Captain McAteer, who has not answered any of my emails. The chief of the AG's criminal division, Stephen Dambrook, was helpful in meeting with us initially, but has since seemingly taken up with Kranson, please, continuing to maintain the narrative that everything was done the right way in entirety and nothing more can be done. The medical examiner gave us some really good explanations,

but from his perspective, his hands are tied in this case. I mean, there is DNA that still hasn't been tested and I can't even get a response as to getting that done. When we all know DNA can move a case forward in so many ways. So unfortunately, I've stalled out. It's a frustrating and sad place to be in.

All I'm asking for is people to look at my dad's case again and help me understand why it doesn't all that up. Natalia has been clear about what she wants to happen as a result of her efforts. She wants the Cranston Police Department to hand over all the case files to the Chief Medical Examiner so that he can change the ruling to homicide. Now, this sounds pretty simple, you know, just hand over the documents, and it's huge that she's gotten other forensic pathologists to make written statements that this was a homicide, but until the original medical examiner makes that statement,

she stuck. I mean, one pathologist even said he determined the cause of death. He wrote a skull fracture with intracranial hemorrhage due to being struck by another person. So what everyone is hoping here is that the police will just work with the medical examiner so that he can also come to this ruling. Natalia also wants Cranston PD to collaborate on this investigation with outside resources who have offered their help. If you remember earlier, I stated that investigators did collect some evidence from the scene, but only half of it was actually tested. And so the nonprofit season of justice has offered to pay for the DNA at the scene to be tested and retested.

I mean, this is something that I would be happy to pay for, but no one can get this done until the police start cooperating. I mean, it is just baffling to me that they won't let this nonprofit just do their job. I mean, it's making it easier for them to save money. They're going to fund the whole thing. Why not? Natalia so desperately just wants Cranston PD to be more forthcoming with their files.

And is even asking that state police just take over the case at this point. But unfortunately, even after making a request with the Attorney General, it doesn't seem like they're willing to take this case on. So now is time to be an active true crime consumer. Natalia needs your help. Her biggest goal is to get her father's name out there

because at this point, there are people living in the very town that Sean died who don't even know about what happened to him. She's still going around putting up flyers and doing everything she can to get her dad's name out there, but it's important that people locally, nationally and internationally know his story. Of course, I will be linking the website,

Facebook page, Twitter account, and Natalia's TikToks. You guys can stay up to date on the case and learn about any additional ways you can help. Please, if you can give those a look, maybe a follow, you know, that support from the public means everything to these families. And you guys have been amazing coming through with that in the past. Now, if you are financially able to support Natalia's efforts, it would be so appreciated. I will be linking her GoFundMe in the description. Natalia is hoping to use these funds to raise the reward for information, which is currently only $1,000.

Natalia has to fund every single one of her efforts by herself, and I'm hoping that we can support her in that way. She has attempted to get billboards put up in her town to raise awareness. However, there has been some pushback about actually getting those billboards up because her father's death hasn't been rolled a homicide. I want to give her enough to pay for a month of billboard. I don't know if she'll be able to do that, but I know that she'll use those funds wisely, however she can. And I'm hoping that maybe they'll find a way around this.

When I started all of this, I had a few goals, some bigger than others. I really want my dad's case solved. And I want answers as to what happened to him in July 2006. I want to know what happened, so maybe I can sleep at night without staying up and always picturing the worst possible scenarios. I just want to know which one is true. Maybe I can sleep at night without staying up and always picturing the worst possible scenarios. I just want to know which one is true. But what I really want now is for my dad's name to be known.

I posted on Reddit a while ago and so many people from Rhode Island commented that they had never heard of the case and it made me realize I need people to talk, to talk about my dad, to talk about Sean O'Brien and what happened that night. I want people to know that my dad, to talk about Sean O'Brien and what happened that night. I want people to know that my dad was a good guy despite his struggles, and he didn't deserve to die the way he did. Getting his name out has been a challenge, but thanks to so many in the true crime world we're doing it, being in the true crime community

isn't a place I would ever want to be in under my circumstances. I don't think anyone would want to be in my position, but I am so think anyone would want to be in my position, but I am so appreciative of the love and the acknowledgement I receive from so many people. I would love for people to continue to support us and our efforts by going to our website, justusforshonobrine.com. We have a Facebook page, justusforshonobrine, and we have a Twitter, you can follow us at at J the number four, S-O-B. We also have a GoFundMe.

That's linked on our website. We're planning to use all of that money for billboards, flyers and posters, additional media, and hiring any outside investigators and specialists. People who are listening, who might have some information, can text our anonymous tip line, people who are listening who might have some information in text are not on the stipline for zero one two eight four nine five five five or call the cranson police for zero one nine four two two one one I hope people watching know that we read every comment and the love I received has been unbelievable

so thank you. Now one thing that she wanted me to mention is her father's side of the family hasn't been supportive of her trying to get justice for Sean, which is strange, of course. They could very well make a comment on this video. They have on other shows and podcasts, and so you may see them commenting that Natalia is spreading false information, which could not be further from the truth. I just wanted to mention that in case you see anything like that, and if you do, I ask that you just ignore it. Lastly, if you have any information regarding this case, please call 401-942-2211 or text 401-284-9555. I wanted to thank Natalia for helping me tell her

father's story. I really hope that one day there will be justice for Sean O'Brien. And I wanted to thank all of you who took the time to listen to Sean's story. I know this was confusing, this is frustrating, it's sad, it's very depressing to listen to these cases. And I'm grateful for all of you who take the time to do so. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon,

but until then, stay safe out there.