WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:03.879 Welcome back to the Frozen Truth podcast. This is an update episode of our 2 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:08.880 season two case, the disappearance of Aila Reynolds from Waterville, Maine. There 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:12.560 is a procedural updates in that case, and we'll get to that coming up 4 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:18.600 next. This is an update about our season two case of Frozen Truth, 5 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:22.280 the disappearance of Aila Reynolds, who was a year and a half old baby 6 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:28.559 girl who disappeared from her father's care in Waterville, Maine. As we record 7 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:33.240 this update. As I released this update December sixteenth, two twenty one. 8 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:38.159 Aila disappeared ten years ago today on December sixteenth, two eleven. There were 9 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:43.079 three adults in Justin's mother's home that night, Justin along with his girlfriend at 10 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:47.920 the time, and Justin's sister. The story of the people who were in 11 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.039 that house that night goes that Aila was asleep, She was checked on later 12 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:57.600 on in the evening, had gone to bed about eight pm, and when 13 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:00.960 they woke up the next morning, Aila was gone, and Justin called the 14 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.880 police. Obviously, for coverage to that case, you can go back to 15 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:07.560 our season two when we commenced coverage to that case. It had reached a 16 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:12.920 certain point the police investigation had reached a certain point where it seems outwardly like 17 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:18.040 all avenues of investigation had kind of gone as far as they could with the 18 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:23.319 leads that they had. The Main State Police investigates all homicide cases ian Maine 19 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:27.359 outside of Augusta and Portland, and they're even involved in those from time to 20 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:30.640 time, So the jurisdiction of Alis case falls under the Main State Police and 21 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:36.120 always has. We interviewed Detective Love of the Main State Police, who was 22 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:42.079 as forthcoming as he would be about an active and ongoing investigation, but stop 23 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:45.599 short of giving too many details about the case. In a couple of years 24 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:49.840 since our coverage of Alis case, we've received meaning I have received a few 25 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:53.239 leads, a couple of tips which have been forwarded onto the Main State Police. 26 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:57.680 You never know what might move the needle in something like this. You 27 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:01.280 never know what police have and what nation might mean to them. The information 28 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:07.599 that has been generated by our coverage of the case so far has been underwhelming 29 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.280 to me. Nothing having deep dived into the case, nothing I thought that 30 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.879 stood out. But again, you never know. So we forwarded that information 31 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:17.919 onto the Main State Police and they acknowledged receiving it. When last I spoke 32 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:23.199 with Trista's side of the family. They had initiated a civil lawsuit against Justin 33 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:28.199 Depietro, and the purpose of that civil suit was not so much to seek 34 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:34.800 damages or any kind of monetary outcome, but to get Justin de Pietro on 35 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:38.800 the record in court under oath as to his account of what exactly happened that 36 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:45.039 night inside the home. That's an extremely important part of the investigative process and 37 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:50.479 could potentially be very significant in the case. Whatever Justin Depietro says when he's 38 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.080 interviewed now for this civil lawsuit, when he's deposed under oath, can be 39 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:58.840 compared to any other past statements he's made in public, or any other statements 40 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:05.039 he's made to police evidentiarily that could lead to something. It could catch him 41 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:07.560 in some sort of an untruth if in fact he had something to do with 42 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:13.919 ALA's disappearance. And that deposition has been delayed I know, very frustratingly from 43 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.240 the family side four months. I think it's been over a year as a 44 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:21.240 matter of fact, that that lawsuit has not gone forward in the court, 45 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:24.199 mostly from what I've heard, because of COVID issues, the backlog of the 46 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:30.439 court system there that prevented this action from coming to the front of the line. 47 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:35.400 But that day is here, and in fact, tomorrow, December seventeenth, 48 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.240 twenty twenty one, tomorrow is the day that Justin Depetro is scheduled to 49 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:42.960 be deposed in that civil lawsuit against him. If you want to read the 50 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.479 latest on that. Over the last week, Amy Calder has always been my 51 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.400 go to reporter. She's a local there in central Maine, and she's covered 52 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:53.120 this story from the beginning. I spoke to Amy off the record just by 53 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:55.919 phone when I was in Waterville and we talked about the case, and I 54 00:03:55.960 --> 00:04:00.520 got a pretty good idea of where she stood and what her report has told 55 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:03.840 her over her years of covering the case. The police with the news of 56 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:09.120 Justin de petro civil lawsuit and his deposition this week moving forward, the police 57 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.800 have come out in the media this week Lieutenant Love, I think I referred 58 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:15.360 to him as Detective Love previously, he's a lieutenant for the main State Police. 59 00:04:15.399 --> 00:04:19.759 Now he has given local media quote saying we still investigate this case. 60 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:25.160 It is open, it is active. Lieutenant Love also said that in the 61 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:29.120 last year they've received thirty leads in this case. And remember, there is 62 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:34.000 physical evidence. There is at least some of ALA's blood that was found inside 63 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:40.279 of Justin's mother's home where he was staying in Waterville, Maine at the time. 64 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.759 I think through the family it had become apparent that about a cup's worth 65 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:46.439 or over a cup's worth of blood was found in the basement, with a 66 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:48.800 strong odor of bleach also being in the basement. I'm not sure that information 67 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:54.079 was ever supposed to be made public by the family, And after the family 68 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:59.319 released that detailed information to the media out of kind of frustration with lack of 69 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:01.800 progress in the case, I think police stopped communicating some of those details. 70 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:06.839 Right before our coverage of the case, a judge declared Ala Reynolds legally dead, 71 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:11.279 and the reason for that was what is happening today. The reason for 72 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:15.600 that declaration is so that the family can proceed with the civil lawsuit. Police 73 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.879 have also said they're not going to rush this case. They have one shot 74 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:23.480 to get it right. And being that this is a nobody homicide, at 75 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.639 least at the moment, I think it's fair to assume it's a homicide. 76 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.199 Aila did not, at eighteen months old, go missing on her own accord, 77 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:31.480 and she was in the care of three adults that night, and police 78 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:36.040 have also said that they believe that one or all three of the adults inside 79 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:41.000 that home that night, no precisely or exactly, depending person to person, 80 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.800 what happens to Aila, And they have been wanting to get the complete story 81 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:49.000 from Justin to Pietro pretty much since day one, and I don't feel in 82 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:54.519 speaking with Lieutenant Love, I don't feel they think they have that full story. 83 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:58.439 And while this is not a police interview that Justin de Pietro was scheduled 84 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.560 to give tomorrow as we were, it isn't on the record account and lawyers 85 00:06:01.560 --> 00:06:06.040 are not police and don't question witnesses in litigation and lawsuits the same way. 86 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:13.279 But Trista's family's lawyer knows the purpose of this civil lawsuit and so his questions 87 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:18.920 will, I would imagine, be artfully tailored to narrowing down specifics of Justin 88 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:26.279 Depietro from him for the purposes of the criminal investigation that is ongoing in his 89 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:32.120 daughter's disappearance. So this is an extremely important development in the ai La Reynolds 90 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:36.079 disappearance. And this is something that Trista and her side of the family has 91 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.519 been angling toward for years, and that day is finally here. Regardless of 92 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:46.000 Justin de Pietro's involvement or not in his daughter's disappearance, this is something that 93 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.920 should shed some light on a very important aspect of what happened that night, 94 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:53.040 and that was what did he among the other two adults in the house that 95 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:58.680 night, see or hear or remember pertaining to ALA's disappearance. Also, pretty 96 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.879 importantly, my under standing is that as a result of the civil lawsuit the 97 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:09.319 family, Trista's family and her lawyer have now become privy to forensic examination and 98 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:14.279 other evidence that they probably didn't have access to before from the main state police. 99 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.399 Eventually, all of this, I'm sure will come out one way or 100 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.240 another, if the case is judicated, if it goes to trial, then 101 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.839 all of the information will eventually come out. But as we have been over 102 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:29.600 the last several years, we need just to be a little bit more patience. 103 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:32.800 Something happened to Ela inside that house, and I'm still of the belief 104 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.240 that there are people inside that house that night, and also probably almost certainly 105 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:42.759 outside of that house that night that no Manila Reynolds disappearance, And so as 106 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.920 We've been patient thus far. We just need to continue to be a little 107 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:47.800 bit more patient for those answers to come out. But the most important thing, 108 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.120 just as Trista's family is doing right now, is for the public, 109 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:57.160 for all of us to keep pushing be patients, but also be aware that 110 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.160 this case is still unsolved and that nobody has been held account for what happened 111 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:05.439 to this tragic story of what happened to this innocent girl. As we receive 112 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:07.240 any more updates, i'll let you know. But that is the latest on 113 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:11.519 our season two case, the a La Reynolds disappearance. Thank you for listening 114 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:13.399 to Frozen Truth, and we'll talk again soon.