Her death was due to mysterious circumstances and I was assigned to the case. It was the night of October 28, 2005 when Ricardo had called the police office to report his daughter’s disappearance. I was assigned to the case, so I went quickly to see what I could do to help.
“My daughter was a really calm girl, she never liked to go out nowhere, but that day she left, and I don’t know where she is or why she left.” Ricardo had said
On October 27, 2005 Natalia Waltz, was left home alone, while her parents went out shopping outside the city. Her parents took both of their young boys with them, but left Natalia alone in the house.
“She didn’t want to go, she told me that it was going to be boring anyways, and that she might as well stay here watching TV.” Natalia’s mother said. “And so I let her stay, since she was big enough to take care of herself.”
Natalia was 16 years old when she disappeared. When her parents came back from shopping she wasn’t home anymore.
“We looked all over the house, but we couldn’t find her. I don’t know what happen to her.” Her mother, Alicia had told us crying.
We started to investigate this case. Later on we found out that her friends had come over to her house that day after their parents had left. The neighbors had said that there were two teenage girls and two teenage boys, and that they were inside Natalia’s house for at least an hour. Natalia’s 12 year old brother Mark had said that he had heard Natalia talking over the phone with Jose, one of her friends, earlier that morning. They were talking about a group project they had to do. Now we guessed that those teenage kids were her project partners. We rushed upstairs to Natalia’s room and search it. We finally found her phone book, we found Jose’s number and dialed it on the phone. First he didn’t answer, but on the second try he did.
“Yes, we were working on a school project, but when we finish organizing our ideas Johnny, Haley and I left. Jessica stayed behind with Natalia, and I don’t know for what. Later on I don’t know what else happen.” Jose had told us.
We tried contacting Jessica, but we couldn’t. Her mother recognized the name Jessica, she said it was Natalia’s best friend, and that today she was flying to Mexico. We drove to her house really fast, and Ricardo had volunteered to stay behind and take care of the kids. When we got to Jessica’s house she had already left. We went back to Natalia’s house, and there she was, Jessica talking to Ricardo. She looked scared and stunned, what was wrong with her. We talked to Jessica and asked her some questions, she answer them all and some with out answers. She told us that she had left after she finished planning the surprise party to a friend, but then didn’t know what happen. We let her go, I gave her my card with my phone number on it, and told her to call when she knew something. As soon as I told her that, she looked at me and then took a look at Ricardo who was hugging Natalia’s mother whom was crying, and took off running. That was weird.
I wanted to solve this case, but I didn’t know how. I had to think, look for more evidence. I’ve never failed a case this 12 years as a detective, and I wasn’t going to give up. Where could Natalia be? Why did she live? What happen to her? All of these questions that had to be answered, but only the criminal and the victim knows the answers, or even someone else but doesn’t have the bravery to tell us, and help this family move on. I gave Natalia’s family my card with my phone number on it telling them to call me whenever they find something, and left thinking of the answers to all these questions I had.
The next day a man report finding a body in the woods, in a very cold night. The cops went and identified the body as Natalia Waltz. She had blood all over her face. It looked like beat downs and she had been raped. I called Natalia’s family and reported to them what we found out. They came as soon as they can, and the mother started crying while the father looked at his daughter’s death body, stunned. I asked questions to the man who had found the body. He said that he comes to the woods every single day to look for wood but the day before he didn’t see nothing, so it means someone left the body here this morning.
We took Natalia’s body and examined it, we couldn’t find nothing because someone had washed her body and just left it there. We couldn’t find any fingerprints. This was going to be difficult. At least I got my questions answer, she was nowhere to be found because she was death. She got raped and violated and that’s what happen. But now I needed to know who did this and why? That’s when my phone rang, and I picked up
“Hello, detective Paul Can I help you?” I said.
“Yes, I know who killed Natalia. It was……” there was silence for a long minute, and then there was a beep on the other end.
I recognized the voice. It was Jessica, Natalia’s best friend. I started to suspect on her. Maybe she was the killer, no but it didn’t make sense because she was not a guy. So she knows who killed Natalia, but she won’t say. We had to find Jessica. I typed Jessica’s name on the computer, but nothing came out she had no thickening, or has never been arrested before. I started to think, so if she was in Mexico she had called from there, but why won’t she tell us. Maybe they threatened her not to tell. She was our only hope and had to find her.
The next day I called Natalia’s parents, and told her about the call I’ve received. I asked her some questions about how Jessica used to behave when she came with Natalia, and they told me that she was a really nice person to them.
“How much have you known Jessica for?” I asked them.
“2 years.” Ricardo said.
“Since she was born.” Alicia said.
“So which one is it?” I asked
“Since she was born.” the mother repeated. “Ricardo doesn’t know because I just married him 4 years ago.” Natalia’s mother told me. I stared at them while Ricardo gave a look to Alicia. Now I understand that Ricardo wasn’t Natalia’s real father, but step-father.
The next day, I went out to the city, and stopped by a store. I recognized that person there. It was Jessica, I thought she had gone to Mexico. She saw me and as soon as she saw me she started to run I catched up to her and grabed her. “I need to talk to you.” At first she rejected it, but later she came with me. I told her that she needed to tell me what she knew, or else she will be considered one of the suspects of Natalia’s death and will be put on jail.
“No it wasn’t me! They will kill me if I tell you.” She screamed. Now I knew that she was threatened by some one.
I told her that nothing will happen to her if she tells us who it was because those person’s will be put on jail and will never hurt no one again. “In other words it will help you, and all the people surrounding the neighborhood where she was killed, people will go out in peace because the killer will be in jail.”
“Remember that day when I stayed behind with Natalia, she was telling me, how her parents treated her. She told me that they really didn’t care about her. Her step-father sexually harrased her, but she had never told her mother. and she told me that if she told her mother she would never beleive her, because her mother was really in love with her stepfather." She finally told.
We figured out the whole plot here. that night on October 28 Natalia was left home alone but not for long. Their parents had left town to visit Alicia's mother. They left the rest of the children at the Granny's house and came back for Natalia. Jessica who'm was there hiding under Natalia's bed saw everything. Her parents came home drunk, Jessica guessed they had gone somewhere else and forgot to go pick up their kids. That day Natalia got tired seeing her stepfather like that, so she told her mom to live him and go somewhere elese, her mother refused to do that. Since Natalia didn't find other way to convince her she told her mother the truth about everything her stepfather does to her, to see if that helped. Offortunately it didn't help a bit, her mother refused to beleive her daughter and finally went toward her husband and asked if it was thruth. Ricardo rejected a thousands times that it was not thruth, while Natalia scremed it was truth.
"Don't beleive that stupid daughter of yours, she only does not want me to be with you, so you could be with her father!' Ricardo screamed at Alicia that night." Jessica told us. "She even confessed seeing her stepfather with another girl, her mother just wouldn't beleive her, and that was when the situation just got to far and they stated beating her. They beated her really bad, I was so scared and started to cry."
One thing Jessica had for sure was that after her stepfather raped her that night when they finished beating her up and mother felled asleep, Natalia committed suicide, she cuted her veins and when Jessica finally knew it was safe to leave and went downstairs it was to late. Her parents were sleeping and Natalia was already death. Jessica decided to stay out of trouble and left, but she was sure Natalia's stepfather saw her. The next morning when she passed by Natalia's house too see what was going on, she thought that trhey had confessed their crime but later figurd out that they were being hypocrites. The stepfather told Jessica that she was going to leave to Mexico or dissapeared from here and if she said something she knew she will get killed. Jessica decided to stay out of town until the situation settled down for a while.
We organized the police officers. It was quite that day in the neighborhood, throwing down the door and hearing the screams and cries of a mother who was the partner of the killer of her own daughter, "What is happening here?" she cried
"You should know what is happening, You knew what was happening when your husband abused your daughter." I said
"What? You must be wrong!" Ricardo said. "Jessica you are going to pay."
We figured out that the next morning after Natalia's death, Ricardo had tooked Natalia's body to a lake and washed it and later left in the woods. Not knowing that we will eventually find out the truth they were planning to move out of the country. He had called the police so nthey wouldn't suspect on them.
For the first time in their lives Ricardo and Alicia were siting in the back seat of a police car. So sad a nd terrible everybody looked at them as bad example as parents. Their reputation was messed up.
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