True Crime with Kimbyr - Part 1: Tragic Triple Homicide on Christmas Eve - A Family Torn Apart in One Night | Belvedere/Flint Murders

Episode Date: December 1, 2025

In this gripping episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha unpacks the heart breaking triple homicide that shattered the Belvedere–Flint family on Christmas Eve. How did a night meant for celebration turn into unimaginable tragedy? With compassionate analysis and meticulous research, she explores the victims’ final hours, the chilling crime scene, and the unanswered questions that still haunt investigators. Why was this family targeted, and what secrets might explain the brutality behind their murders? Dive into this haunting case as True Crime with Kimbyr brings emotion, clarity, and urgency to a night that changed everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the heart of the holiday season, just days before Christmas, as families gathered under twinkling lights and the scent of pine filled the air, a savage crime unfolded in a mall parking lot. Three innocent lives were lost in a moment of unspeakable violence, forever altering the festive spirit and leaving a community to grapple with the darkness that shattered their holiday cheer. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel, and if you've never been here before, I'm Kimberlea. It's nice to finally meet you. This case today is part of my annual holiday homicide

series where sadly I discuss cases that happen close to the holiday season. And this case is in the series for this year. So today we're going to be starting this case by visiting Provo, Utah, where I'm going to be introducing you to one of the important people that I'm going to be talking about today. Her name is Alona Gregorvia Flint. I might be saying that wrong because it is a Russian name. But first, let me set the stage for you and take you to Utah. I actually really like it there. It is very pretty. I've never been to Provo, though. Provo is a blend of beauty, opportunity, and faith. It's nestled against the Wasatcham Mountains with its snow-kept peaks and Utah Lake shimmering. It's a vibrant city that offers a blend of natural beauty with breathtaking landscapes, a thriving economy with a strong

focus on technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. But I think it's most known for its strong, religious community, where over 90% of its residents are members of the Mormon faith. Provo, Utah has a strong religious heritage, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plays a significant role in the city's culture and its community life. The city is home to Brigham Young University. It's a huge college town. There's hundreds of restaurants, and it's a very vibrant downtown area as well. This is where Alona Flint grew up.

But she wasn't born in Utah. Alona was born on March 21st, 1991, in Narayamar, a little town near the Arctic Circle in Russia. Her mother, Igna Valerivna Gorskova, probably saying that wrong, said it was the coldest day in March ever on record, negative 34 degrees Celsius. And though Alona was born in one of the coldest places on earth, she was one of the warmest human beings to those in need. Eventually, Alona and her parents moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, and her mom said that one time, when she was only five years old, a really heavy crowd pushed little Alona out of the train, and she was left alone on the platform. Her panicked parents rushed back on the next train to return to the station, and when they did, they found Alona sitting on a bench, talking to everyone who passed without a care in the world. Igna said that Alona never thought of people as strangers. She was open and loving to everyone she met.

And she was a beautiful little girl inside and out with her honey blonde colored hair and sparkling green eyes and a distinctive tiny beauty mark that twinkled under her left eyes bright corner. I think Alona is such a pretty name that I had never heard before this case. And you may wonder how Alona got all the way from Russia. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel

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Well, that's where Jeffrey Flint comes in. He was born and raised in Arcadia, California. He moved to Provo, Utah to attend BYU, and after two years of study where he sang in the Russian choir, he traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jeffrey was thrilled to get called to serve in Russia. He spent 15 months in a very remote location and started an exchange program for Russian and American nurses. And that is where he met Igna, and they got married, June 28th of 1997. Then Jeffrey Igna and Alona relocated to Provo, Utah, where Jeffrey obtained

his master's degree in international management and began working as an analyst for a company called Proactive Incorporated. I know that was a lot to take in, but he was very intelligent, hardworking, and at the top of his game in his industry. Alona was seven when she and her family relocated and settled in Utah, and she embraced her new surroundings, and Jeffrey treated her like she was his own child. But moving from another country can be quite a culture shock, learning the language fluently and even understanding what life is like in a place so far away from where you call home. But Alona was young enough to adapt pretty quickly. Jeff and Igna took her to Disneyland when they arrived and she was even comfortable and confident enough in herself when she immigrated that she

would try her best to engage in conversation even though she didn't speak any English. Igna said that while at Disneyland at only seven years old, performers pulled Alona onto the stage where she sang her heart out in complete gibberish. She could have just started to sing in Russian, but Alona felt very strongly that you don't speak Russian at Disneyland. Jeffrey and her mother ended up having two more children. Alona's younger siblings were Alina and Richard, and eventually Alona ended up taking Jeffrey's last name as well. She and her stepfather were actually very close. Alona loved playing the piano,

listening to music, and being in nature. But what she loved the most was being with her family and her friends. Alona excelled in school, and Igna said that Alona loved reading so much that she was actually kind of compulsive about it. If something fascinated her, she would read extensively until her knowledge

on the subject approached a level bordering on encyclopedic, according to her mother. But devastation struck the Flint family in 2000. when Alona was only 12 years old, her stepfather, whom she loved so very much, suffered a heart attack while he was at home with his family. Alona jumped into action right away, and she was the one who made the 911 call. But unfortunately, at just the age of 30, Jeffrey passed away. If Jeffrey could have been saved, it would have been due to Alona's decisive action in that moment of shock,

because she held it together. And as a child, she learned to cope with life. despite this heartbreaking loss. The Chicago Tribune even wrote a special tribute to Jeffrey Flint honoring him for his work and his kind-hearted nature. He was a mentor and a father figure to everyone he knew. As you can imagine, it was very hard for Igna

and the children after Jeffrey died, but they did their best to move forward. And eventually, Igna found love again with a man named Nathan Jones. They got married and ended up having two children together, adding a little sister Evie and a little brother, Dmitri, to Alona, Alina, and Richard. When Alona was in the eighth grade,

she was recognized as a state finalist in Utah's do the right thing writing competition. This is an initiative of the national campaign to stop violence that will become an ironic part of Alona's past when you find out about what happens in the story. This writing initiative helps students express themselves about how violence impacts them,

and Alona couldn't have known that sadly she would end up being a victim of violence one day. At the time, Alona was just an ordinary middle schooler. Not to mention that she was a little girl from Russia who didn't speak a word of English when she came to America. To win a writing competition just demonstrates how dedicated and exceptional she really was as a student. Her classmates had a seven-year head start on her English skills,

and yet here she was winning a writing competition. And they remembered her radiant, welcoming smile. But Alona was not merely physically beautiful, even though she really was gorgeous. She had a personality, that captivated, whose presence uplifted and amplified the good energy in the room. Because she commanded it. She was confident. She held her own with anyone she spoke with, and her mother said Alona was a mixture of several types in one. She was a budding psychologist,

a fashion designer, and a revolutionary. In Ignat's words, she was smart, but she didn't wear it on her sleeve. She was beautiful, but she wasn't a narcissist. She was kind, but she didn't use her kindness as a social currency. She was one of the most honest people, constantly striving for her most authentic self. Her taste in music varied like her personality. She loved many types of music from Modest Mouse to Joan Jett to Jeff Buckley to electronic music. But in 2005, at the age of 14, while attending Wilde in high school, Alona met 16-year-old Johnny Belvedere. And it was love at first sight. Johnny and his family had moved to Provo, Utah from California back in 1997. Johnny came from a huge Italian family.

His father, Leonard Belvedere, co-owned various Italian restaurants around Utah and California, going back generations in his family. Johnny was one of five children. He had two older sisters, Antoinette and Laura, and a little brother, Salvatore, who went by Sal. He was only 18 months younger than Johnny was, and the two of them were very close. As a matter of fact, the Belvedere's were very close. a very close-knit traditional Italian family. All the kids were only about three years apart from one another and the family valued being together, traveling together, and spending holidays enjoying

each other's company. Leonard and Grace wanted their children to grow up in a small town and have small town values. They wanted the best for their children and they wanted to raise their family in a wholesome family-oriented community, which is why, even though they had a thriving Italian restaurant called Marios and San Diego, Leonard sold it to another family-made, member in 1997 to move to Provo, Utah. Antoinette was 14, Laura was 11, Johnny only ate and Sal about six or seven at the time. Not long after they moved, Leonard opened a Tavia's Italian restaurant in Provo, which they described as having authentic Italian food with a romantic ambiance. When Johnny began dating Alona, his family was thrilled since she was caring, thoughtful, gentle,

and smart. They called Alona's beauty, fashion model, good luck. but as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. They considered Alona part of their family, and Alona's family considered Johnny the same. Despite Alona and Johnny's youth, their connection was undeniable. Everyone around them could see what they shared, that it was genuine, and it truly was.

Johnny's family described it as a romance you would only read about in books. Their love never deteriorated as many young relationships do. Johnny and Alona had the same kind and gentle demeanor. Johnny's mother recalls her son as a baby. She said he was a beautiful baby with golden brown curly hair and a huge smile. He was happy and easygoing. His laugh could brighten up anybody's day and he wanted everyone to be happy and would do almost anything to make someone happy, especially his family, which included Alona's family, his adopted family. Alona's family said they loved having Johnny around. Their younger children almost idolized him because he truly listened to him. He's to them and he played with them any time that he was around. They brought Johnny on family vacations, saying it was a must because telling the kids that Johnny wasn't coming was like telling them that Disneyland disappeared. That's how much he meant to them. Johnny was a straight-day student,

and just like Alona, he loved playing piano and he was truly gifted because even though he wouldn't play a piece all the way through, he had an ear for the piano and he would just play by ear. Johnny and Alona were a perfect match, and they stayed together as they grew up and graduated high school. Their relationship continued to flourish as the years went by. Alona spent a lot of time with Johnny's family. She, Johnny and his little brother, Sal, who was the same age as Alona, they were like the three musketeers. They were always together. Best friends, actually. Sal was described by his family as artistic, quiet, gentle, and he loved animals. If he found a lost animal, he would knock on all the neighbors' doors until he found

its home. Like his brother, he had an ear for music. Guitar was one of his passions. He could play any song just by listening to it. Both Johnny and Sal were protective over Alona, making sure she was always safe and happy. If you were to ask the Belvedere family what Johnny was passionate about, the answer you would get was Alona. She was his everything. Johnny wrote poetry about his love for Alona, and Alona gave Johnny the motivation to make something of his life so they could have a life together that was as beautiful as he felt she was. Once the Belvedere kids were finished with high school and reaching young adulthood, their father closed the Utah restaurant and purchased back the Mario's restaurant from the relative he sold it to. And by 2011, the family was preparing to make the move back

to San Diego. But of course, Johnny could not bear to be far away from Alona. He couldn't live in a world without her in it. So they both made a big decision. Johnny decided to make Alona his fianc. say, and she decided to follow him and his family to California. Now, if you've never been to San Diego, I'd like to tell you what the area is like. It's a coastal town in Southern California, and it's definitely different from Provo, Utah, that's for sure. First of all, San Diego is consistently ranked as one of the top most expensive cities in the country. It's definitely not cheap to live there, but it is gorgeous. Living in San Diego would be like stepping into a perpetual postcard. The sun-kissed beaches stretching effortlessly for 70 miles would beckon you with

their warm sand and gentle waves. You can enjoy surfing or sunbathing almost year-round, since it only rains about 22 days out of the entire year. It's a very laid-back lifestyle, but it is crowded. San Diego is a popular tourist destination, so it can get pretty packed during peak travel seasons and the holidays. There's also a limited job market, and the traffic can be a pain in the butt, but it is among one of the U.S. cities with the lower crime rate for its size. The Belvedereers got a four-bedroom, two-story town home in the El Dorado Hills neighborhood. It was a very nice house with a really pretty view from their living room window. There was a cute loft area upstairs with a sofa to enjoy that view, and the rooms were very spacious.

Upon arriving in California, Alona enrolled in courses at Grosmont Community College, while Leonard, Sal, and Johnny worked at the family restaurant. Leonard had purchased this restaurant back for his sons to be able to carry on the family name and the tradition. Johnny was the restaurant manager and Sal was a chef. Both Johnny and Sal fit into their positions at Mario's perfectly. Johnny was outgoing. He was charming and charismatic. He was a people person who was business savvy and Sal was artistic. He created each and every meal with thought and high standards. Eventually Elona began working in retail which appealed to her love for fashion. She worked at a vintage clothing boutique in an upscale area of La Jolla. The store was part of the Westfield Mission Valley Mall,

and it was owned by Andre Breones. Andre wasn't just a boss. He became one of Alona's friends. That is how she was. She connected deeply with everyone that she knew, and she was the kind of person who was really listening to you when you talked. Alona was also a hard worker, and she was very focused. Andre also got to know Sal and Johnny because they took turns picking Alona up from work since she didn't drive. Andre saw the three of them as best friends and considered the brothers as coming from a good family. Because Alona's job was in retail,

she would finish her shifts late at night. So it was reassuring that her fiancee or her future brother-in-law were always there for her to make sure she was safe in the dark. 22-year-old Alona and Sal and 24-year-old Johnny had their whole lives ahead of them. Johnny and Alana were in love. They were dreaming of a future together.

They had plans to get their own place and start a family of their own with the support of Johnny's big, close-knit Italian family. There was a lot of excitement, so much hope for what was to come. But all of those dreams were stolen in an instant. They were cut short before they ever had a chance to grow. One day before Christmas Eve in December of 2013, Alona worked another late shift, and she didn't end up finishing until right around midnight. When she walked outside into the parking lot, 22-year-old Sal was waiting to collect her.

Usually, Alona would be excited to see her future brother-in-law, but this time, she'd been expecting Johnny. In fact, they'd been messaging back and forth all day, and Johnny confirmed that he would be picking her up. She just needed to text him when she was finished. So when she was done with her shift, she texted Johnny to pick her up. But he didn't reply.

So she called him, and he never answered. It got to the point where where she had no choice, but to call Sal and ask him to come instead. Luckily, they didn't live too far away and Sal was home, so he jumped in his dad's car and went to go pick her up just a few minutes later. Now, when Sal got this call from Malona, he thought it was very strange that Johnny never showed up and didn't answer any of her calls. So he tried to contact his brother as well, but there was no reply to any of his text messages or calls either. By the time Malona got into cell's car the night, they were both extremely worried that something happened to Johnny.

There was simply no other explanation for why they couldn't get a hold of him. Remember, Alona was his world. He would never intentionally ignore her and not pick her up from work. They were both so worried that instead of heading straight home, they decided to make some calls. Alona called several local hospitals and medical centers and even jails, hoping that if he had had been in some type of accident or had gotten in trouble, someone would have a record of him. But all she got was dead ends. It was nearly one o'clock in the morning, and Alona didn't want to wake up Johnny's parents until she tried every other number she could think of. Alona made a number of phone calls that night, but it was her last one that would change their lives forever. At 1.11 a.m.,

Alona dialed 911. She told the operator her location was in the parking lot of the Westfield Mission Valley Mall, and then she said that she had been shot. After that, Alona didn't say another word, but the call stayed connected for another 15 minutes. And sadly, in the background, you can hear someone struggling to breathe. Now I do have that call. I'm going to warn you. It can be hard to listen to. But let's listen in. After the call, officers were I'm going to stop. It's a big thing that we left to get it was wrong.

You should have a mall? Hello? After the call, officers rushed to the location. When they arrived at 1.24 a.m., they found a woman slumped over in the passenger seat. She showed no signs of life, and sadly was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been shot multiple times.

At least one of those bullets had hit her in the back of the head, and another had hit her in the back of the shoulder. shoulder. In the driver's seat next to Alona, they found a young man. He had also been shot between the eyes, but he was still breathing. So he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was immediately put on life support. Once the scene was clear, the vehicle and the parking lot were cordoned off as a crime scene. Now, I was able to purchase some of this footage from a news station, and you can see the black Toyota. The door is open because the victims were removed from the car at that point, and anything on the ground was from any life-saving measures taken by first responders.

But this is where the crime took place, and this is the exact crime scene footage. Right away, the lead detective on the case noticed that the vehicle was parked at a very strange angle. It was almost touching another parked car. The black car is kind of crossing the path of the parking spot. The tires were over the double lines, and it was in an awkward position like it wasn't actually inside the parking spot. And the driver's side window was all the way down when officials arrived. And that struck them as kind of odd.

Now, San Diego, it's not freezing at Christmas time, but it is pretty cold and it was in the middle of the night. So the window being all the way down immediately seemed strange to the detectives. I personally couldn't help but notice the rosary hanging from the blinker on the driver's side. It just gives you that feeling of relatability. Like, this is a person, this is their car,

and now this is what happened to them. The investigators considered the possibility that the shooting was a robbery gone wrong. It wouldn't be the first time a shooting went down in a parking lot of a deserted mall in the middle of the night. But officers found several valuable personal items inside the car, which seemed to go against the robbery theory. They had to also consider whether the case

was a failed hijacking or a domestic dispute between the vehicle's two occupants. Could one of them shot the other one and then turn the weapon on that? themselves. But the thing is, there was no gun found in or around this vehicle. The lead detective's gut told him there was more to this crime than what met the eye. But he had no idea what that more was going to be. Homicide Lieutenant Mike Hastings made a statement about the case that we're going to listen to now.

I'm a lieutenant with the San Diego Police Department's homicide unit. This morning at about 1.15 hours or about 1.15 a.m. The San Diego Police Department received a.m., received a 911 call from a female that said she had been shot. She didn't exactly know where she was, but she did say that she was at the Mission Valley Shopping Center. Officers were able to locate a vehicle in the 1600 block of Camino del Rio North. Inside of the vehicle, they found two people that had been shot.

The female in her 20s, unfortunately, was pronounced deceased here at the scene. There was also a male inside of the vehicle, also on his 20s. He was in his 20s. He was transported to Mercy Hospital where he was being treated at this time. Both people, as I said, were sustained gunshot wounds to their upper tors, including their heads.

We don't know if the male will be surviving his injuries at the hospital. The investigator started by listening to the 911 call. The first thing they noticed is what was missing from the audio. The woman gives her location and asks for help, and then she says, oh, I think I've been shot, but there was no sound of any gunshots on that call. So either the shooting had occurred before Alona made the call, or the gun had been silenced.

But why would she say, I think, I've been shot if she had already been shot before she dialed 911? Officers knew from the shell casings found in the car that the weapon had been a 22-calibre gun. Even though these aren't the loudest weapons, it should have been audible in the background of that call, which meant the gun had to be fitted with a silencer. Now, this might not seem like a big deal. Except, think about any of the movies you've seen where the shooter uses a silencer. What do most of those killers have in common?

They're more than likely either an assassin, a contract killer, or someone with experience in making a clean getaway. This factor made the investigators believe that the attack on this man and woman in the car wasn't the work of an amateur, and it was unlikely to have been random. The use of a silencer suggested their shooter had planned this assault and intended to leave as little evidence behind as possible. It was looking more like an execution than a random act of violence.

The next critical piece of evidence they needed together was CCTV footage from this mall. Detectives knew that this would likely show them exactly what happened in the minutes before and after the shooting, except when they spoke to the mall management, you could have guessed. They found out that many of the cameras were not even working. and they hadn't been for some time. There was only one camera, which was operational on the side of the mall where the shooting had taken place.

It captured the female victim, leaving the mall and walking towards the edge of the parking lot, and then disappearing into the darkness. None of the cameras covering the parking lot or working that night. Identifying the victims of the shooting was also challenging. The vehicle's license plate was from Utah, and it was registered to a man named Leonard Belvedere.

But when they looked at his age, he was much older, He was much older than the vehicle's occupants, and there was no San Diego address associated with him. The woman found in the car was holding a purse, but there was no identification inside. It was only when they went through the belongings in the car that they found a passport with the name Salvatore Belvedere. The photo and the birth date actually matched the male

who had been shot in the driver's seat and was transferred to the hospital. But passports don't have an address on them, so there was no way of knowing where Sal and the driver's Leonard lived. All of the officers had to go on was Sal's passport and Leonard's vehicle registration. At this point, they had no name for the young woman who had been shot and no way of contacting or identifying the victim's next of kin. Thankfully, one of the officers was quite tech-savvy, and he was able to track down an address for someone he thought might be the Leonard Belvedere

that they were looking for. And at around 7 a.m., on Christmas Eve morning, the lead investigators knocked on the front door of that home. When Leonard and answered the door, they confirmed that he was indeed the owner of the vehicle that the officers were asking about. When they gave them the name from the passport, which they found inside the car, he identified himself as Salvatore's father. And moments later, he discovered that his son had been shot and was in critical condition at the hospital. When investigators described the woman who had been found in the passenger seat, Leonard immediately knew they were talking about Alona. When officers asked about the relationship between Alona and Sal, he shared that

Alona was actually his other son's girlfriend. And then he said something that made the hairs on the back of the officer's neck stand up. Leonard hadn't been able to get a hold of Johnny since the previous evening. In other words, Alona was dead. Sal was shot and Johnny was missing. The detective's minds immediately went to the worst-case scenario. Was Johnny somehow involved in the murder of his fiance and brother? Alona had been in the car with her boyfriend's brother. So was the shooting a result of some kind of love triangle? Had Johnny found them together and just lost it? Figuring out the reason for the shooting would come later. What they needed to do first was find Johnny. Leonard gave them a description of his son and the

details of Johnny's vehicle, which was also missing from their home. It was around this time that investigators were notified about another 911 call that he was It had come in just three minutes after Alonas. This was from the same parking lot. Two women had just finished their shifts at a store in the mall when they noticed something strange. The women had been walking towards their vehicle when they noticed that another vehicle had parked right in front of it

so that the bumpers were almost touching. But that wasn't what made them call 911. They saw a man standing at the driver's side window of their car looking inside. When the man was aware of their presence, he jumped in the other car and then drove away. The woman described him as a male, average height and weight with long, dark hair. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and tan pants.

The women had last seen the vehicle drive out of the parking lot towards Camino del Rio north. I love that they're giving a description that's like average weight, average height, I'm not even sure what that means. But it did match Johnny's description in a way. And the vehicle matched Johnny's car as well. So it was looking more and more like they're missing. man could be involved in Sal and Alona's shooting. It does make you think of the most likely scenario that Alona and Sal, who were the same age, had gotten close, and were caught

hooking up. And then Johnny went into a rage. It's the most classic of motives. With this information, officials put out a missing person's bulletin for Johnny and an APB for his car. He was described as an Italian-American man with brown hair and brown eyes, six feet tall, 165 pounds, and likely driving a four-door dark green 2004 Toyota Camry with the Utah license plate B-154VZ. While the search was underway, the Belvedere family faced an unbearable reality. They spent Christmas Day at Sal's bedside, hoping that he would survive the gunshot wound to his head, and the thought that his own brother put him in this condition was even worse. Their hopes were shattered when the doctors informed them that Sal was actually brain dead. And sadly,

He was pronounced dead only two days after Christmas. It was a real family tragedy. To honor Sal's memory, nearly 100 people gathered on Crystal Pier and Pacific Beach as the sun began to set. This was a special place because Sal loved to surf there and just look at the ocean. The following day, Paul Donato, Salvador's cousin,

issued a statement saying that Salvatore had a rare blood type and was an organ donor. The family agreed that Sal would have wanted his death to mean something, and they were able to donate his heart to save someone else's life. He said, quote, even through this tragedy, his precious heart now beats in someone else. What better way during the Christmas season to give the gift of life? End quote. The family also made a desperate plea for Johnny to come home or for anyone who knew where he was to come forward. The Belvedere family found themselves in despair. Sal and Alona had been tragically murdered, and Gianni

had mysteriously disappeared. In an effort to shed light on these devastating events, the family decided to hold a press conference, pleading for anyone with information to come forward. Antoinette, the sister of Sal and Johnny, bravely stepped up to the podium. Her voice was shaking with emotion.

She said, Johnny, if you're watching this, or if anyone knows where our brother Johnny might be, please, we need him to come home. Her eyes were filled with tears, as she said. We love you. We miss you very much. The Vavidu family was desperate for answers, and they joined forces with crime stoppers

to offer a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the resolution of this case. And while the family mourned Sal and Alona's deaths, they also had to face the reality of Johnny's disappearance. With each passing day, suspicion grew that Johnny was somehow involved in these murders and had fled the scene to escape his responsibility. Even though this was the main line of questioning,

everyone the investigator spoke to said, there was no way Johnny was capable of killing his own brother and his fiance. No way. They all said the same thing. Alona and Johnny had been in love since the day they met.

They were looking forward to getting married and starting a family of their own. And there was no way that Sal would betray his brother like that. There was no hooking up going on between Sal and Alona. They were family. His loved ones clung to the belief that Johnny was also a victim somehow. and they were praying for a safe return.

Now, during the search for Johnny, investigators took a really close look at his phone records. They showed that his last call was to his cousin Mario Donato in the late evening of the 23rd of December. According to Mario, they were chatting on the phone while Johnny was driving to the mall to pick up Alona. The conversation seemed normal at first, but Mario thought that Johnny sounded a bit out of it.

That was the only description he gave that he was out of it. And that could mean a lot of things. But here's what's weird. At around 1145, he heard what sounded like someone yelling, and it was a man's voice, and Johnny said what sounded like a cuss word. And then the phone call cut off. And Mario couldn't get back through to Johnny.

This was just a few minutes before Alona finished her shift. So it looked like Johnny had gone to get alone at the mall. The phone's GPS data showed that the location his phone was at was in the parking lot of Westfield Mall. Alona's phone records showed she had been in contact with Johnny all afternoon. Around the time of her shift finishing, there were several outgoing calls and text messages to her fiance, but no replies. She then called Sal to pick her up, and they spoke on the phone while he drove towards the mall. After that, there were a number of phone calls to local hospitals and jails to see if anyone had a record of Johnny coming in.

According to the phone records, Alona and Sal had spent nearly an hour on the phone trying to track Johnny down. between midnight when she finished her shift and when she called 911 at 11.m. The phone records gave some indication of the timeline of the events that night, but they didn't get the investigators any closer to finding Johnny. By then, his family were beside themselves

with both devastation over Sal's death and concern for Johnny's involvement in whatever had gone down that night. The search for Johnny intensified as days passed with no sign of him. His disappearance was covered extensively on local news stations, and authorities issued bulletins to police departments across the state so that they were on high alert for his vehicle. And there were candlelight vigils held in

memory of Alona and Sal. Alona's friends organized a candlelight vigil in her memory at La Jolla Shores towards the end of December. And then her family made the decision to bring her body back to Provo, Utah. In Provo, a private ceremony was held to bid farewell to Alona and provide her loved ones with an opportunity to say their final goodbyes. Despite the public's awareness and the extensive search, there were very few leads in this case. Johnny's phone remained silent, and there was no activity on his bank accounts. It was like he disappeared. That was until three weeks after Christmas.

In the new year now, January 17, 2014, when Johnny's car was found in Riverside, California, 90 miles from where it was last seen in the Westfield parking lot, the car had been called in by a member of the public, in a jack-in-the-box fast food restaurant parking lot. It had been sitting there for a few days, according to the employees. And that's when they noticed a very bad smell coming from the car and what they thought could be blood on the front seat. When the caller provided the license plate details,

it was connected to the missing person's report for Johnny Belvedere. The vehicle was secured and investigators from San Diego traveled to go examine it after confirming that this was the car they were searching for. They began the forensic exam. Right away they noticed the smell. Anyone experiencing crime scene investigation knew right away what the smell was. But before they got to that, they needed to preserve as much evidence as possible. They actually started with the interior of the car.

The first thing they noticed was the blood that the witness had talked about that was concentrated on the passenger side. It was between the seat and the door, and there was a lot of it. So much that the investigator said it was clear that someone had died, in that seat. On the exterior of the vehicle, they found a few fingerprints, as well as a single piece of duct tape, stuck to the license plate. But it seemed out of place because there was nothing stuck to it. It wasn't holding anything in place there. So it was just bagged and tagged as evidence. They considered that it may have been placed over the license plate to maybe obscure the numbers.

Then came the moment that they were all dreading. They had to open up the trunk. And as they got closer, the distinct smell of decomposition mixed with air fresheners in the air. It was like two very different smells at once, and what awaited inside was a horrifying sight. A badly decomposed, partially dressed male body. And strangely, the male shirt had been pulled up over his head, his pants and his underwear were pulled down to his ankles, and surrounding the lifeless body, wear a number of Febrez aeros aerosol cans. Their triggers, of the cans were actually wrapped in duct tape so that they would continuously flow and spray air freshener into the air. This was obviously an attempt to mask this overwhelming odor of decomposition.

So that's what the duct tape was for. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, this body was unrecognizable. But they could tell it was male and that had been in this trunk for approximately two to three weeks. In other words, he had most likely been killed around Christmas time. The victim had been shot through the head behind his left ear. To achieve this angle, the shooter would have had to stand behind him and to the side. It was another execution-style hit. And after the vehicle was examined at the spot that it was found,

the body was then removed and taken for an autopsy. It was eventually identified through the use of dental records, and the body in the trunk belonged to Johnny Belvedere.