"She Tried to Leave Him... So He Killed Her" - The Disturbing Case of Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca | Forensic Files

hi crime junkies I'm Ashley flowers and I'm Brit and today's Story the one I have for you is a powerful tragic
reminder that the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship often comes when
a victim is trying to break free and that sometimes the person closest to you can become your worst enemy this is the
story of Elizabeth Alman pooka [Music] it's Wednesday July 1st 2020 and yth alman's phone rings with a call that
she's not expecting on the other end is her sister's longtime boyfriend Jonathan
now in all the years that she's known him Jonathan has only ever called her for one thing like two arrang child care
for their daughter Yen's 7-year-old niece but this isn't one of those calls I mean right off the bat Jonathan asked
her if she knows where her sister Elizabeth is cuz he says she's fully just like Mia and she's left their
daughter astred at their East Haven Connecticut apartment alone and again she's seven in fact it was astred who
alerted him to Elizabeth's absence in the first place I guess when she woke up she realized that Mom wasn't there and
she called him that was at like like 9:15 in the morning just as he was kind of wrapping up his shift at UPS and he
said he really didn't think much of it at first like he thought maybe Elizabeth just stepped out for a minute so he kind
of was just you know assuaged her concerns you know finished his shift headed home as usual but when he got
there at around 10: there was still no sign of Elizabeth and her car a 2007 white Lexus was gone too when's the last
time anyone saw her so well Yan had talked to her sister the night before via Instagram and Jonathan says that he
was with her in bed like and then he left for work so that was at like 3:15 in the morning he works at like kind of
overnight shift so it hasn't been that long that they've gone without talking to her but jeneth knows her sister's
world revolves around ASD like there isn't a world where she would just leave her alone especially since jeneth is
always available to babysit again that's what she was kind of expecting the call
to be so Jonathan also says that ASD isn't the only thing that she left behind her phone is still there so he's
like I can't even try and call her but even though her phone is there along with her car some other things are gone
like her purse her passport some clothes and apparently $10,000 from their safe oh that kind of sounds like she left on
purpose yeah or at least there's like some clear signs of that right yeah those like important things yeah so
jeneth wonders if her sister maybe just needed some space and so she asked Jonathan like the obvious question did
you guys have a fight and he admits like yeah we did have this like little argument the night before but it wasn't
serious we kissed we made up before bed the thing is that yth is pretty sure that's not the full story because
Elizabeth and Jonathan have been together for over a decade since they were in high school and though she was
Private Elizabeth had confided in her sister about some issues that they had and honestly some issues is an
understatement their relationship was straight up toxic like she caught Jonathan cheating multiple times they
had broken up reconciled more than once like over and over again she stayed for their daughter even though he wasn't
exactly a doting father and things had only gone from bad to worse recently so back in May this is just a couple of
months before jeneth had planned this cookout and her sister was supposed to come with astd but they didn't end up
going and Elizabeth said that she didn't feel well but the next time yth saw her her
arm was in a sling and her shoulder was really swollen and three fingers on her left hand were bruised like almost
purple and Elizabeth said that she and Jonathan had gotten into a fight but yth told our reporter nah that sometime
after that she noticed this shift in Elizabeth like Elizabeth seemed done this time like done for real she was
looking for a job she was reconnecting with her love of art by designing stickers and decals hoping to turn that
creative Outlet into a business and gain some Independence and just a couple of days before all of this on June 29th
Elizabeth even put in a rental application for an apartment in Yan's complex planning to move there as soon
as possible without Jonathan now as far as yth could tell Elizabeth was ready to
end things for good this time and had J realized that yeah she made it clear to him but whether he understood how
serious she was I don't know right like they got done this like back in four thing before right so as Yan's talking
to him she has all of this like history running through her mind but she's still
not panicking not yet the leaving her daughter behind does not make any sense like any way you cut it but other signs
point to her getting away just for a minute so Jonathan and Y make arrangements for her to watch astred so
he can go looking for Elizabeth and of course the second there alone yth starts doing what we would do she's like asking
astred questions I mean asid's seven she's old enough to know kind of what's going on so like did you hear your
parents fighting do you have any idea where your mom went and astred says that her mom took her to bed in her room
lizabeth's room the night before and she was there when astred fell asleep but then astred said when she wakes up her
mom is just gone and her side of the bed was already already made but Astra doesn't remember any arguments she
doesn't remember any strange noises like nothing woke her up in the night and while she doesn't seem frightened she is
acting sort of odd like she's looking around yanet's apartment with almost this intense focus and then she tells
her aunt that she's going to be living here now wait that AST is going to be living there with her aunt yeah and
she's like taking a back like she doesn't know what it means but she doesn't even really dwell on it at first
M so a few hours pass and it's weird because there's just no word even from Jonathan So jth eventually calls him to
check in and he says he's talked to a couple of Elizabeth's friends no one knows anything and then he's like well
I'm going to go do some laundry now okay I mean unless he's like out of underwear what's the rush like even if
you are like it's it's strange because to Yan like he doesn't seem all worried so ASD ends up staying the night with
Janette almost like the first sign of this self-fulfilling prophecy and the next day is an even harder one because
the next day actually is Elizabeth's birthday now this is when Jonathan finally shows back up but he's not there
to pick up his daughter he's dropping off groceries like a lot of groceries as if he is planning on astred staying with
yth for a while so Yan sits him down and presses him for information and that's when Jonathan
starts painting a troubling picture of Elizabeth he says that she just hasn't been herself lately that she's been
severely depressed she's been drinking a lot smoking weed even seeing other men specifically a guy named Jose that they
knew from high school and in fact Jonathan says that he's trying to track down where Jose lives to see if maybe
she's there with him because as far as he's concerned you know the reason he's like I'm not worried is he thinks
Elizabeth isn't in danger she must have just run off with some guy and yth knows
Elizabeth has been struggling but everything else he's saying doesn't line up with the sister that she knows
Jonathan's making himself out to be almost like the victim here saying that he doesn't know what he did to deserve
this and he's wondering about how he's going to care for astred well it doesn't seem like he's planning on taking care
of Astra like it seems like he's going to leave her there with Yan yeah and the more he talks the more uneasy jeneth
feels and that's when she realizes it's time to tell their dad albino what's going on now Elizabeth and albino aren't
super close you see Elizabeth and Yan grew up in Guerrero Mexico and when their parents moved to the US in 2001
the girls actually stayed behind with their grandparents but their parents split their mom basically kind of bowed
out of their lives and they didn't join albino in Connecticut until around 2010 so that's when Elizabeth was 16 so there
was like a lot of formative bonding years that were missed and rebuilding that relationship had been tough but at
the end of the day Elizabeth is still his daughter so he comes over while Yan and Jonathan are still there still
talking this out and when he hears what's going on and he hears Jonathan's version of events albino can't shake the
same feeling yth has like none of this makes sense there's a new detail now that Jonathan adds he insists now that
Elizabeth actually did take her phone with her he says not her regular cell phone but one of those like phones that
only works on Wi-Fi so albino's like okay I need to see this for myself that night he makes Jonathan take him back to
their apartment and he checks all over inside but there's like nothing weird no sign of a struggle no damage no strange
smell no clues at all even about where Elizabeth might have gone so the next morning this is now Friday July 3rd
albino drives by their place again just to see if anything has changed there's still no sign of Elizabeth or her car
and that's when he decides it's time to bring in law enforcement so he calls Jonathan who agrees to meet them at yth
so they can all go to the East Haven Police Department together but this is when things get
really strange So within minutes of that call to Jonathan at 10:40 a.m. Jan's phone buzzes with messages that stop her
in her tracks hi crime junkie I'm your host Ashley flowers and I'm Brit and every
week we cover all kinds of True Crime cases from the most infamous to mysterious deaths and disappearances
even cases you've never heard anywhere else if you can't get enough of all things True Crime well you found your
people and if you're like us and want to make a real impact in these cases you're
definitely a crime junkie so join us every Monday for new episodes you can find crime junkie wherever you get your
podcasts okay so the incoming texts are from a number that yth doesn't recognize
with a Florida area code again they're in Connecticut so the area code 727 and the person who's sending these
texts are claiming to be elizeth but they're written in Spanish now roughly translated I'm going to have I wrote out
what the rough translations are that I'm going to have you read hey girl how are you sorry for what
I did with astd I'm not going to be able to help Jonathan by myself please I'm good don't
worry about me please I'll call Jonathan now to tell him how things are I don't want to talk to anyone for
the moment give me my space I just want to put down my thoughts and what I want to do so she gets these and does the
immediate thing that I would do she hits the the call button and tries to get this person on the phone who's claiming
to be Elizabeth she waits she waits the phone rings and it rings and it rings that timing it it feels
so coincidental way too coincidental yeah no one is picking up on the other end and when Jonathan arrives he's like
oh guess what I just got I got these texts from Elizabeth too and he says that she basically told him she wasn't
happy with him that she wanted a fresh start and that someday after she gets her life together she's going to come
back for astred and while the text might have set off all the like sister Spidey
senses Jonathan is just like well now we know what happened like nothing more we
can do here let's just keep like living Our Lives certainly no reason that we need to like get the cops involved like
right folks um no absolutely wrong WR yeah so her dad and her sister are more convinced than ever that they need to go
to the police and they do get Jonathan back on board with that plan just wants to do one thing first like can I real
quick sign over custody of astd to albino and jeneth I guess he's worried that going to the police will trigger a
report to the Department of Children and Families and he doesn't want them to take as away so to him signing over
custody seems like the safer option which like this is I say you have experienced and stuff like this yeah
like can he even do that without the other parent there like he's the he's only one of two people custody of the
short answer is no something like that requires a court order he says he wants to basically just get like a notorized
letter or something which again like not how it works but they do they go they do
that and it feels weird to everyone but they have bigger concerns on their minds
that afternoon and so they they do this then they go to the police and then they
sit down with an East Haven officer who asked Jonathan to walk him through everything and he gives them the same
story and while there are no new details there are a couple of interesting takeaways even though him and Elizabeth
aren't married he keeps referring to her as his wife and he just completely leaves out everything about the text
that he supposedly had gotten from her wait the ones that made him like feel so much better nothing's WR nothing's wrong
right now luckily Yan's there too and she's like oh by the way like show him the messages that she supposedly sent
you I'll show you the messages she supposedly sent me so he shows the officer the messages and the officer
tries calling the number himself just like yth did he doesn't get an answer but he leaves a message asking lisabeth
to contact East Haven Police Department when she gets the message I'm going to be honest I don't think lizabeth's going
to get the message I don't either so while the officer waits for that call back he ticks the basic like missing
person boxes like checks the hospitals enters her information into their system enters her car information into their
system into like their state database but during the next couple of days it doesn't sound like much else happens on
law enforcement's end although I know that a cop does go by Jonathan's to speak with him at least once maybe they
were thinking that Elizabeth would come back on her own I don't know but her family isn't going to just sit around
and wait they along with Jonathan start driving around looking every place they can think of for her or her car they
check beaches train stations motels everywhere and anywhere they can think of and all the while they can't help but
notice that Jonathan still doesn't seem very worried and that only ramps up yth and albino's suspicions he was the last
person to see her if he doesn't know where she is then who does every possible scenario is running through
their heads each one worse than the last at this point and were they close with Jonathan before this like is this kind
of I guess I'm trying to figure out like is this in line with what they know about him like do they have a like any
sort of context I don't know I don't know if you could call them close I mean they they weren't all best friends but I
mean in the beginning everyone liked him he and yth hung out because of Elizabeth
like he seemed respectful responsible he was working two jobs I mean he had the one at UPS he had another one at a local
Italian eery but yth has seen or at least she's had exposure to his manipulative side over the years so I
think they like perception of him changed a little bit like he would barely help with astred but the minute
Elizabeth tried to pull away he would use her astred as like a ploy to reel her back in and even during the like
Good Times yanette noticed Elizabeth never seemed truly happy with Jonathan there was always like a missing spark
but even with everything she knew including their recent physical fight yth said that she never imagined that
her sister might be in real d around him but now that is all changed so by Sunday
July 5th albino and yth decide to conduct their own search so while Jonathan is at work they head to St
Andrew Avenue where he and Elizabeth lit their duplex is at the end of this Dead
End Road right next to an elementary school now Elizabeth and Jonathan are on the bottom floor and their landlord
lives upstairs so that's actually where they start and the landlord tells them that he didn't hear anything unusual
that night that she disappeared or in the early morning hours no commotion no loud noises but he does remember
something strange he says that Elizabeth's white Lexus was parked in the driveway for a while on the morning
of July 1st in fact his wife had to ask Jonathan to move the car just after 11:00 a.m. because it was blocking her
in and this was so odd because Jonathan and Elizabeth always parked on the street they never parked in the driveway
well and I thought thought he said her car was gone when he got home Bingo he did say her car was gone when he got
home which is just more confirmation that they're on the right track but they need proof solid proof like video
footage now the landlord doesn't have any and as they visit neighbors they are told again and again that cameras they
have don't work or they won't let strangers just look through their video so just as they're ready to give up yth
tries one last house down the street from Elizabeth apartment and this resident agrees to let her check her
camera that was working and that is when they see it Elizabeth's so-called missing Lexus going up and down the
street twice on July 1st once at 5:51 p.m. and once again at 8:22 p.m. and none other than Jonathan is behind the
wheel so the moment yith sees that video I mean her blood runs cold and in that moment just then guess who drives by
Jonathan is pulling up onto the street which is like perfect timing and they're not going to play koi like they have
proof now that he is lying to them so they walk right over and confront him and at first it's like more of the same
like oh she must have run off with some guy he has no idea where she is and then
he switches it up and he's like okay listen I know she's okay but I can't tell you what she's doing she has to be
the one to share that it's not mine to share and then he changes it again and he's like okay fine fine fine I'll tell
you the truth the truth now he claims that Lizabeth went to Mexico now since she's undocumented he says that her plan
was to marry someone to quote unquote fix her papers but thanks to the missing person's report that they filed now
she's stuck at the border and the only way he says that they can help her is by retracting that missing person's report
and telling police that she's not actually missing hold up she went to Mexico to marry someone to get her US
immigration papers in order it doesn't make sense and now she's supposedly stuck in wait Mexico or the US I truly
have no like I don't know what he's saying I don't know if she if he's saying she's in America I don't know if
she's saying that she's in Mexico I don't know but he's lying to everyone about this
because because he says that he didn't know how to break the news to albino that his daughter ran off to Mexico like
he was just so worried about albino's feelings okay none of this BS even explains the car though like if you're
going to tell us a story tell us a whole story Jonathan yeah so according to him
she did take her car at first but then she came back because she'd forgotten something and then she needed to go meet
this guy so he says that he drove her somewhere and where is her car now dude I don't know like Jan wants to like
explode like it doesn't make sense and she wants to demand that he like sit down and actually tell them everything
but by now she's seeing a pattern like if she can stay calm if she can just let Jonathan talk every time he does reveal
something new even if each detail contradicts the last and even if it all feels like lies like there does feel
like we're getting somewhere right so she plays along like okay look you're the only one who can help us find the
car just tell us where it is and he starts naming a dozen different spots it's in a garage it's by a beach it's
under a tree until finally he levels with them it is actually parked on the street near his relative's house in near
by New Haven two branches of the same tree two pieces of a soul where one sister
goes the other will be for she is but half of the whole the missing half pre-order your
copy at Ashley flowers.com as East Haven Captain Joseph MGO told us when investigators pull up to this house
on Monday July 6th they are stunned because right there a mile from Jonathan and lizabeth's apartment is Elizabeth
supposedly missing Lexus now they have a lot of questions for Jonathan's relative
like person whose house this is by but this person says Jonathan never mentioned that he was leaving the car
there he just dropped it off a few days ago and when this guy his name is Carlos
when he asked Jonathan why Jonathan claimed that he couldn't fit the Lexus at home because he was already working
on a few cars and he didn't have room in the yard for it but like hi a li it's a
lie police know that's a lie because when they'd been by to speak with him before there were no other cars in the
yard now Carlos may be cooperating but it's not like he's totally on their team because again like this is his cousin
and guess who Carlos called at some point like while the officers are still on the scene Jonathan rolls up totally
unannounced to just like help fill in some of the gaps you know make sure they have like the right narrative and
Jonathan admits he is the one who drove the Lexus there on Thursday July 2nd and
that he lied about it being missing and he claims that he was embarrassed that Elizabeth had left him to go to Mexico
to start this new life so yeah he knows that he's lied about the car he knows that it looks bad but he's like it
doesn't really change anything not really because the bottom line he says is that she left on her own and she's
totally fine Police tow the Lexus to headquarters and the next day they do an emergency ping on that 727 number the
one that was texting them saying Elizabeth which by the way like so weird no one's called them back and oh super
weird it's not a number that is registered to a specific person like a landline or cell phone would be like
something where you go through a provider no this is registered to a pinger which is one of those apps that
lets you basically get a free phone number but like any level of pseudo stealthiness ends here because the
account is registered to Jonathan with the email address Jonathan jera 2020 his full name is Jonathan jera akupa by the
way so like real brilliant here so they decide it's time to look harder at the last place Elizabeth was known to be
which is the the apartment and Jonathan agrees to let them take a look around he
even hands over his and Elizabeth's phones along with her laptop he also goes to the station for another
interview and this time around he refers to Elizabeth as his ex-wife oh yeah and
he says that he knew she wasn't happy he knew she wanted to leave him she'd been
struggling with depression he says and they've been having problems and he admits that he had been unfaithful but
says that she was also seeing other men and in fact they had discussed the possibility of having an open
relationship at some point and she mentioned he says wanting to visit various guys in Mexico and he says that
their daughter even told him that Elizabeth wanted to marry someone else but he swears he never laid a hand on
Elizabeth despite what her family might think and actually he claims she was the
one who got physical during that fight a few months back that she hit him and that's how she hurt her arm and hand
mhm mhm and what does he have to say about that 727 number I he's like he's shocked he's totally stunned he has no
idea like how it's even possible maybe someone set it up under his name using an old email address that was his which
like I don't know if they were able to subpoena the records before talking to him but like old email my ass it's like
it's the year 2020 in it yeah like you're telling me Jonathan Jara 2020 was not from 20 like okay my guy but it gets
even better or like I mean honestly it gets even worse because over the next few days he keeps denying any connection
to that number even after police discover that it was last used from an IP address that matches his home Wi-Fi
okay so now what she's like texting everyone from the bathroom that she's hiding in he doesn't again he's like I
has no explanation he just insists it is not him the only way to break this guy is basically to catch him dead to rights
in the lie so they walk away from that interview to go gather information they do another search of his house they get
more cell phone records including from Pinger showing that the account with the 727 number was created at 10:38 a.m. on
Friday July 3rd which is right after yes Alina told Jonathan to meet them so they
could go report her missing I was going to say the text came through at 10:40 I know and exactly 2 minutes before yth
got that first text from Elizabeth so Captain MGO and another investigator sit down with Jonathan that Saturday evening
and they are gravely aware that no one has seen or heard from Elizabeth the real Elizabeth by this point for 10 days
and East Haven PD actually gave us a clip of that interview we are giving you an
opportunity to come clean here and I see how uncomfortable you are because quite
frankly sir you should be these texts were not from your wife from somewhere else these texts originated from within
your house the answer that I need to know is how does your missing wife text you and her sister from the confines of
your home when she allegedly went missing several days before that and if you you can answer that question then I
will let it that go now Jonathan doesn't have an answer to that and as he goes through
everything he remembers about July 1st his story changes again he still claims that her white Lexus was gone when he
got home at around 10:00 a.m. he says that he went inside looked for Elizabeth couldn't find her noticed her passport
and purse were missing and then his daughter pointed out that mommy's phone was still there so he thought that she
might have just gone to the store but now he's saying he went back outside at this point and lo and behold Elizabeth's
cars just like there what what do you think happened I I don't understand I mean you come cars
missing 10 minutes you're out car's there what do you think happened I I thought like I said we already had this
talk with me and her she was like oh you know what I want to find I want to try something new I want to do this new
thing no no and which is fine because couples go through that all the time we just are wondering about the car where
do you think she went she walked down the street she decided to just leave the car and walk down the street I thought
she was out around the house and I didn't thought nothing at that moment so then I went check and she was not there
then I was like what I going to do with the baby that was my first why at this point she' only walked
away from the car yeah know but like I said we already already had this talk before where she like I said you know
she's saying oh I'm leaving you one of these days I just going to leave police actually have another Ace
in the Hole they had pulled surveillance footage from the elementary school right
next to Jonathan in Elizabeth's apartment which gives them a clearer view of their Road and the footage from
July 1st shows that when Jonathan got home that morning he parked on the street right behind Elizabeth's white
Lexus and it was there the entire time the only person moving it around was him and he was doing some more sketchy stuff
he moved it into the driveway for about an hour and then took it over to the school parking lot later that afternoon
and there in full view of the camera he pulled out a can of air freshener and is
like spraying it all around the trunk but even with this video evidence he still won't come clean we believe you're
still lying sir I told you we need you to come clean because this is the only way we're going
to fix this and move forward is if you come clean right now then I can say then I can say to the judge I can say to
court listen to be honest after a nice conversation you were extremely honest with us okay but there's no way out of
this at the moment I'm sorry you need to be honest with us right now s like I said nothing happened
to this then where is she I don't know where she that's why I'm here for that's why you here trying to help me
out after that Jonathan decides that he wants a lawyer interview's over but investigators know that they're on the
right track now everyone they talk to says Elizabeth would never leave her daughter and they confirm that she of
course didn't go to Mexico there has been no activity on her passport so over the next few days they start piecing
together Jonathan's movements through witness interviews phone records cell tower data and surveillance footage from
a dozen locations and they find out that on the night of Tuesday June 30th Elizabeth and Jonathan were in an hour's
long argument via text Elizabeth was home while Jonathan was kind of coming and going from the apartment and what
they learned is that at 9:09 he left to run an erand he's back by 9917 but instead of going inside he like sat
in the car while this like text fight continued and in this Elizabeth told him it was over that if he ever saw her and
their daughter on the street like he should walk the other way she was that done and she told him that the last 10
years had been like a nightmare for her and she just wanted to forget that he existed and on his end he in these text
messages is mostly begging her not to leave saying that he wouldn't walk away if he saw them like astred was their
baby all that time he was still just outside in the car and then at 12:50 in the morning so this is now Wednesday
July 1st he finally gets out and walks to the house now police can't see him go inside the school cameras are set in
like the rear parking lot facing the street with like trees blocking the house itself but cell tower data places
him in that area for over 2 hours until he is seen on video leaving their house for his UPS shift at
3:18 a.m. based on the video can they tell if he put anything in the car no no so because of the camera angle they
can't but they what they're assuming is that he must have gotten Elizabeth in there somehow MH mostly because of that
like air freshener yeah in the trunk now when investigators search the Lexus kaber doogs do alert on that exact spot
in the trunk so they are sure that Jonathan killed her placed her in the trunk disposed of her but the problem is
he's not talking anymore and they're still missing the most crucial piece of evidence of all Elizabeth's body but as
detectives lay out Jonathan's cell tower location points on this map this clear route starts to emerge they see that on
July 1st he spent most of the day at home before dropping astrod off at yth at around 400 p.m. he takes his own car
for that a blue Chevrolet Cruise but when he gets back home he took Elizabeth's Lexus out for some errands
including a stop at a local Home Depot where he bought a shovel and a hoe so part of a murder kit got it or a
disposal kit at least yeah so later that night after 10: he drove the Lexus a few
miles to the restaurant where he works and surveillance footage from surrounding businesses shows him pulling
up to the dumpsters in the back corner of the parking lot now the restaurant this is interesting was actually closed
because the owner was on vacation so it was like nice and quiet not a whole lot of traffic and of course Jonathan would
know thats he works there exactly now once he's in the parking lot you can't see what he's doing but he was there for
nearly an hour and a half and he's on camera visiting that exact same spot again a week later so the problem is by
the time police get a search warrant for that area it's July 15 we are 2 weeks to
the day out from Elizabeth's disappearance now the parking lot is partially fenced in but in the back of
it where Jonathan was like skullking around it butts up against this densely wooded area so investigators like brace
themselves for a full scale search but they don't actually have to go very far far so right behind the dumpsters
something that catches their eye is this door laying flat on the ground and when
they lift it they see Disturbed dirt beneath and almost immediately the kadab dogs start picking up the scent of
decomp and as they carefully dig the smell just intensifies and soon they uncover this bundle wrapped tightly in a
blue fleece blanket held together with clear tape and it has long black hair sticking out from one end and they know
that they have finally found elizeth when you think of New England you don't think of this I'm Kylie low
I'm an investigative journalist and Storyteller each week I share homicides in missing persons cases from across the
state of Maine and greater New England this is my home these stories are my passion and this podcast is my platform
to help friends and families keep the memories of their loved ones alive long after the attention Fades this is dark
down east before police even reach Elizabeth's family to notify them of the discovery yth starts hearing rumors
through the media that a body has been found but she doesn't necessarily know the details and she is still just like
clinging to this hope that it isn't her sister and even after her father and stepmom show up later that day with Det
detectives and a priest like warning her to brace herself for what will likely be
bad news she's still holding on but the next day investigators show her photos of the victim's tattoos to help with
identification and that awful realization just like hits her she is never going to see her sister again and
the only thing her family can hope for now is some sort of Justice now when she is taken for autopsy the medical
examiner determines that Elizabeth died from homicidal asphyxia and he also finds nonfatal blunt force injuries from
what was likely a struggle she's got a bruise on her upper arm and another on her lower back and Jonathan is the only
suspect right now right well uh so investigators did consider others like like Jose um who really was her old high
school friend that she was supposedly dating at some point but with everything pointing to Jonathan like come on yeah
now yth expects him to be arrested at any moment like again come on but days pass and then weeks and it doesn't
happen he is still a free man and despite that notorized letter which you know you pointed out like doesn't do
much so he still has rights as asid's father so he's able to have supervised visits with her visits that take place
at albino's house so her family has to regularly interact with the person that they're pretty sure killed their sister
and their daughter well not even interact but like in their own home I me it's got to be like absolute hell for
them it I I feel like it would almost be like you're living in an alternate reality like this can't be real yes and
the only real Solace for yth is the overwhelming local support that she receives like she starts working with
Advocates to raise awareness about her sister's story and about domestic violence as a whole now Jonathan doesn't
have any record for abuse against Elizabeth the fight that they had in May wasn't reported he does have a felony
conviction for assaulting a police officer which like details are sparse on but according to a Hartford current
article that thing happened when he was 18 after crashing into a cop on a motorcycle we don't know of any other
incidents but this is the thing just because there aren't things on record doesn't mean that they didn't happen
like domestic violence is one ofly law enforcement's biggest blind spots because many of these incidents never
even reach police and when they do they rarely get the attention that they deserve there was actually this study
done by the National Library of Medicine that found that black women and Latino women like Elizabeth are more likely to
encounter neglectful or even hostile responses when they seek help and for Hispanic victims there are often extra
hurdles like language barriers or fear of deportation if they're undocumented yeah like Elizabeth and the longer her
homicide investigation drags on without an arrest the more speculation there is that her case isn't a priority because
of her nationality but Captain MGO told us that there was a lot happening behind
the scenes that investigators can't share publicly like at the time they were working with multiple agencies
Gathering warrants for more Digital Data things like phone records surveillance footage and Google sear sech es evidence
even from the Lexus goes to the FBI lab for testing including a single blue fiber found in the trunk that ultimately
matches the blanket that Elizabeth was wrapped in and they did an analysis of the air freshener can and they found
that Jonathan could not be eliminated from being a source of the DNA on it and they also learned that on the afternoon
of July 1st less than 12 hours after he says he last Saw Elizabeth in bed Jonathan was on Facebook Marketplace
trying to trade her car for a pickup truck yeah and in August they get a new chilling detail from astred herself she
tells her family and later an FBI agent that when she woke up that morning and her mom wasn't in bed she was searching
like in the apartment but for some reason she couldn't get into her own room because the door was locked and
according to her like it that that wasn't a thing that it had never been locked before and then when her dad got
home he didn't even go look for her mom instead he just started cleaning like that was the first thing he did the
theory according to Captain MGO is that after Jonathan killed Elizabeth he likely stashed her body in their
daughter's bedroom locked the door so astd wouldn't go in when she woke up and then later he backed the Lexus into the
driveway to load Elizabeth's body into the trunk and in fact they find out that while it was parked there Jonathan did
nearly three dozen web searches on how to fold down the back seats I mean what more do we need here people I mean
arrest this guy already and listen it isn't the police like they agree with you but I guess the State's Attorney's
Office didn't because as detectives share their findings with them they keep hearing like you're close but like go
back get more chase down more leads verify additional details in the time that they kept getting sent back they
worried that Jonathan was going to skip town so they actually put him under surveillance cuz you see even though he
lived in the US since childhood and can legally work here he was still an Ecuadorian Citizen and at the time
Ecuador had a strict ban on extrating its citizens to the US so if he made it back there he would almost be
Untouchable but when they end up putting eyes on him they were surprised to find
that he wasn't running like far far from it he was just going about his life as if nothing had happened so he thinks
he's in the clear that's what he believed yeah the good news is he is wrong on Sunday December 27th police
have albino set up a meeting with Jonathan at a diner in New Haven and Jonathan thinks that he is going to see
his daughter at this meeting but instead this is when he is finally arrested for
the murder of Elizabeth and for investigators putting the cuffs on Jonathan feels like a win and for
Elizabeth's family it is a huge relief like no more sharing astd with the man who took her mother from astd and all of
them but that relief is shortlived because now they face an entirely new battle which is the legal system so
Jonathan pleads not guilty and he is sent to jail on a $2 million bond to await trial but according to to
community organizer Vanessa Suarez who has been supporting Elizabeth's family prosecutors aren't exactly confident
taking this to a jury still like they even consider at some point reducing the charge to voluntary manslaughter because
they're worried that they might not be able to make that murder charge stick why like what more do they need I don't
know an eyewitness I think I think they want a confession something that isn't circumcised substantial I guess they
have camera footage to me f yeah like to me the camera footage is almost better than an eyewitness like you don't have
to worry about memories like getting misinterpreted from actual footage then you have kadav dogs hitting in the trunk
trunk and your DNA on like the air freshener yeah yeah like you have him lying about her car you have him
pretending to be her over text messages like there's so much that's girl there like what's actually happening I'm with
you like believe me but from the prosecutor's perspective like taking it to try it's always a risk right but this
seems like not as much of a risk so they end up going back and forth with a defense they're like debating possible
deals but through this whole time like Elizabeth's family is firm they're like anything less than a murder charge would
diminish what happened to elizeth and they're not willing to accept that so the long and the short of it is that
with delays from covid and all the negotiations it is not until February of 2024 that both sides reach an agreement
facing 60 years in prison Jonathan pleads guilty to murder and in exchange he is sentenced to 25 years with
immediate deportation once his time is served now for Elizabeth's Family 25 years is grossly inadequate as a
punishment they along with Advocates like Vanessa have been very vocal about the larger issue that her murder brings
to light Vanessa told us like too often when women go missing or are found dead they don't get the urgency or attention
that they deserve and while there's a huge pressure on victims to report abuse Society needs to step up and create
better systems of support for cases of gendered violence we know how widespread this issue is according to the United
Nations office on drugs and crime an estimated 47,000 women and girls worldwide were
killed by an intimate partner or family member in 20120 alone oh my God and that
is an average when you think about it of one every 11 minutes so like to put it in perspective by the time our crime
junkies finish this episode approximately four women and girls will have lost their lives that's almost
impossible to wrap your head around I know I know but there are lessons to be learned from every tragedy and that's
actually why Captain MGO reached out to us hoping that we would share Elizabeth's story he believes that it
shows how real the dangers of intimate partner violence can be and the lengths that abusers will go to manipulate and
to control even after death which is why cases like this have to be taken so seriously from the very beginning from
the beginning exactly I mean it took an all hands approach I mean Elizabeth's family pushing for answers diligent
police police work and Technology like digital forensic evidence and surveillance footage all of it to
finally reveal the truth like piece by piece but not every victim has loved ones that are determined to fight for
justice or have the ability to like not every department is willing or able to go deeper too often these stories end
before they ever begin and no one should have to face abuse alone help is available and we've included resources
in our show notes if you or someone you know needs support and please make sure to take any signs of abuse seriously no
matter how small they might seem I mean it can be so hard to see the full picture especially when you love someone
and you want to believe that things will get better but if you are in an abusive
relationship the focus should be on your safety and your well-being rather than waiting for or like betting on the
abuser to change because sometimes the risk is greater than anyone could have ever imagined you can visit our website
for all of the source material for this episode crime junky podcast.com and you can follow us on Instagram at@
crimejunkiepodcast we'll be back soon with a brand new video episode [Music]

Young mother Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca vanishes, only to be found murdered weeks later—uncovering a web of lies and manipulation by someone closest to her.

If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic abuse of any kind, you are not alone. You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233); for TTY: 1-800-787-3224; or text “START” to 88788..

Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full list of sources, please visit: crimejunkiepodcast.com/murdered-lizzbeth-aleman-popoca/

Lizzbeth Aleman-Popoca, a 27-year-old mother from East Haven, Connecticut, disappeared on July 1, 2020, under suspicious circumstances. A devoted wife and mother, Lizzbeth was last seen at her apartment complex, where she lived with her husband and young daughter. Days after her disappearance, her body was tragically found in the trunk of a car parked behind a Mexican restaurant where she had previously worked. The investigation revealed troubling inconsistencies in accounts from people close to her, raising questions about what happened in her final hours. Despite suspicions of foul play, no arrests have been made, and her case remains unsolved. Lizzbeth's family continues to seek justice, pleading for answers and accountability in this heartbreaking case that highlights the devastating impact of unresolved crimes.

For even more stories like this one, join the Crime Junkie Fan Club today: https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/fanclub?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=episode_description&utm_campaign=signupfanclub

Listen to hundreds of Crime Junkie episodes, wherever you get your podcasts! Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-junkie/id1322200189 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3DgfoleqaW61T2amZQKINx?si=10eebab7f86c48b2

Don't miss out on all things Crime Junkie! Follow Crime Junkie: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimejunkiepodcast - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrimeJunkiePodcast/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie - Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrimeJunkiePod

About Ashley Flowers Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.

Follow Ashley: - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ASHLEYFLOWERS/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/ash_flowers - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyflowerscrimejunkie - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleyflowers.af/

Follow audiochuck - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audiochuck - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audiochuckllc/ - Twitter: https://x.com/audiochuck

Check out these other great channels: @CrimeJunkieJury Crime Junkie Jury Reaches a SHOCKING Verdict! | The Trial of Karen Read https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvdHXF7ApHk

Brief Summary

Elizabeth Alman disappears amid domestic abuse; her partner Jonathan's suspicious behavior leads to a murder investigation and eventual guilty plea.

Key points

Elizabeth Alman: A Tragic Story. A powerful reminder of the dangers in abusive relationships, especially when a victim tries to escape.
The Call That Changed Everything. Elizabeth's sister receives an unexpected call from Jonathan, revealing Elizabeth's alarming absence.
Strange Texts from Elizabeth. Jeneth receives mysterious texts claiming to be from Elizabeth, raising more questions than answers.
The Missing Lexus. Investigators discover Elizabeth's missing Lexus parked near Jonathan's relative's house, raising questions.
Jonathan's Confession. Jonathan admits to lying about the car and reveals Elizabeth left him for Mexico.
Surveillance Footage Reveals Truth. Footage shows Jonathan moving Elizabeth's car, contradicting his claims of her disappearance.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This time, Elizabeth seemed done for real.

Jeneth reflects on Elizabeth's determination to leave Jonathan.

4:26WatchDec 18, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Crime Junkie

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.