Killer Grandma Celebrates After Killing Her Son | Forensic Files

Is he alive? He's not. Oh, good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Oh, thank you. This is 63-year-old Cynthia Sietebaca, a
once beloved grandmother and wife who chillingly was hiding a dark secret. When Cynthia suffered a stroke, her
daughter Laura agreed to let her stay in their guest house while she recovered, allowing her to live in comfort near her
family. But comfort is far from what Cynthia experienced as inside the lavish, expensive house in California
lived a troubled and unhappy family. My brother would tell me that she didn't approve of the way he disciplined the
kids. [music] On the other hand, my brother didn't approve the way she would discipline his kids. [music]
While outwardly being known as an agreeable and friendly guy, Laura's husband Jawad was secretly a harsh and
aggressive father. In what he simply called tough love, he would verbally and physically abuse his family as well
[music] as break his children's toys when they misbehaved. My aunt Cindy would be on the back patio
smoking cuz she wasn't allowed to smoke in the house. And he would be out there watering and he would see, "Oh, where
[music] I see smoke, I see fire. Got to put out the fire." And he would hose my aunt down with the hose. He did it to my
cousin, too. To Laura, his wife. At one point in a bout of rage, he even threw out Cynthia's late husband's
[music] ashes. But despite all this, the family put up with Jawad's actions until
one day everything took a horrifying turn for the worse. Cynthia had purchased a revolver from a local
munitions store. All she needed now was the trigger, and it wouldn't take long for one to appear. On her 62nd birthday,
before heading out to her granddaughter's spelling bee, Jawad said something that filled her with rage.
Just you [snorts] can't go like that because you look like you're ghetto in this.
Just a few minutes later, five gunshots would be heard [music] echoing across the neighborhood, then five more, and
five more again. [music] Jawara's body was found later sprawled across the kitchen floor covered from head to toe
in 12 [music] bullet holes. Meanwhile, Cynthia had traveled to a nearby Denny's to order breakfast and then went to
casually celebrate her birthday [music] at a casino completely unfazed by the horrific acts that she just committed.
But due to her jaded past with Jawara, it wouldn't take long for police to land on Cynthia as a leading suspect. [music]
And they picked her up at a coffee shop just hours after the murder. But who would suspect [music] a sweet old
grandma had just killed her own daughter's husband? Cynthia knew that in custody, all she'd have to do was spin a
couple lies, put on an act, and by all accounts, she'd be set free. Well, unfortunately, Laura's husband
has passed away. Huh? We're going to ask you some questions. [laughter] We're going to ask you some questions
because we're trying to figure out what happened today, okay? All right. Likely realizing that she wasn't going
to be winning any awards, it wouldn't be long before she dropped the act and her
tears turned to disdain. What did you think of him? [music] And why do you say that?
That's a big thumbs down. He didn't like him. Eventually, Cynthia remembered how to
speak and told detectives about the abuse that her family had endured because of Jawara, recounting the times
that he would spray his family with water, verbally attack his kids, and even choke his wife. So, while
detectives were now aware that Cynthia wasn't the biggest fan of Jawara, they didn't expect what would happen next.
Did anybody try to stop him? Did stop him? It sounds like somebody had to stop him,
weren't you? I did. I did. Okay. I was guilty. Hey. Somebody had to stop him. I did.
Okay. It's okay. Is he dead? You tell me. He's got to be dead. You think he's dead?
I hope so. Cynthia's near instant admission of guilt was followed almost immediately by
a chilling recount of the gruesome events. You got your gun from your purse, and
then what happened? Went shot him. It wasn't enough. After she fired all five shots out of
that revolver, she chose to go all the way to her car and reload five more rounds into her gun. She walked back
into the backyard and found the victim bleeding and crawling trying to get away. And at that time, she pumped five
more shots into his body. She still wasn't done. She still chose to go to her car, load five more rounds. She
pulled out that revolver and fired five more shots until the victim was finally dead.
It was also later revealed that just a few weeks before the event, Cynthia had traveled to a local gun range to take
shooting lessons with the same gun she purchased to kill Joward. Another obvious sign that the murder was planned
and premeditated. But premeditated murders are usually done in a state of pure rage where the killer is adamant
that their victim must be dead by the end. Very rarely are they done with this level of nonchalance.
Did you check to see if he's dead? I didn't care. And it seemed as though she truly didn't
care. [music] As of course, after the murder, she went out to enjoy her birthday with breakfast, gambling, and
coffee. Cynthia also showed no remorse whatsoever when she asked if she even felt bad for what she did.
You don't feel bad about it? No. Would you do it again? Yes. Is he dead? He's dead, man.
Oh, thank [laughter] you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. OH, BOY. OH, BOY.
After less than 10 minutes of interrogation from Cynthia's denial through to her complete admission and
celebration of Joward's murder, detectives decided it was time to conclude the investigation. Cynthia's
family was led in to say their final goodbyes and it was here that they truly realized they were living in a nightmare
that nobody could ever hope to experience. I wanted to [screaming] Through Laura's shrill and
uncontrollable agony, Cynthia sits there, nothing but pleased with what she's done. A cold-blooded, unremorseful
killer granny. And while her granddaughter was asked to come say goodbye for the final time, Cynthia was
shown the true scale of the havoc she'd wreaked on this family as she refused to
even enter the room. Oh, honey. God forgive me. No, you killed my dad. This notion of Cynthia being this
cold-blooded killer granny was enforced further by the reply she gave when the detective advised her to pray to a
higher power that she would be treated well through the justice system. Whoever you pray to, you make sure that
you pray to anybody. Call on a higher power. today today. Okay. First time I ever prayed.
What'd you pray for? For God's Oh, what's Three years after the shooting of Jeward
Eustáquio, the trial of Cynthia Ceballos began. While it was admittedly obvious that Cynthia had indeed killed Jeward,
the main questions the trial aimed to explore were was the murder premeditated and was it justifiable? The case against
premeditation was fairly easy to debunk. Remember, Cynthia had bought the gun used in the murder just a few weeks
before and she'd even visited a shooting range to hone her skills to make sure the kill was carried out swiftly.
[music] It also didn't help that in this interrogation, Cynthia had said this. 13 years I want to go
I'm devastated. But the idea of the homicide being justifiable was slightly harder to argue
with. Cynthia had claimed that Jawara was an abuser, both verbally and physically. In fact, the defense even
had Jawara's wife Laura on their side. She attempted to argue that he indeed was abusive and that it could be excused
that in an act of passion or rage, Cynthia had discharged the weapon to protect her family from this man that
was supposedly destroying it from the inside out. But of course, the extraordinary interrogation tape was
once again cited to dismantle the case. And a few weeks later, a decision was made. Sentenced to 50 years in prison.
At 65 years old, that meant she'd be living the rest of her life behind bars and forced to live with the weight of
her actions resting on her shoulders until the day she dies.

This case goes down as one of the most shocking in history... this is the case of cynthia cdebaca.

Brief Summary

Cynthia Sietebaca murders her abusive son-in-law Jawad, showing no remorse during interrogation and facing trial for premeditated murder.

Key points

Cynthia's Dark Secret. Cynthia Sietebaca, a seemingly sweet grandmother, hides a chilling past of abuse and murder.
The Murder of Jawad. On her birthday, Cynthia's rage leads to a shocking murder of her daughter's husband.
Cynthia's Admission of Guilt. In a shocking twist, Cynthia admits to killing Jawad with chilling nonchalance.
Trial and Sentencing. Cynthia is sentenced to 50 years in prison for the premeditated murder of Jawad.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Just you can't go like that because you look like you're ghetto.

Cynthia's husband Jawad's cruel remark before the murder.

1:49WatchApr 4, 2023

Tension

80/ 100High tension

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