The grieving mother of a 5-year-old South Pasadena boy who was killed by his father lashed out Wednesday at county social workers involved in her bitter custody dispute with the defendant, saying she partially blames the Department of Children and Family Services and the family court system for her child's death.
"The system failed my son and it was this injustice that ultimately led to Piqui's death," Ana Estevez told reporters outside the Alhambra Courthouse after her estranged husband, Aramazd Andressian Sr., was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing Aramazd "Piqui" Andressian Jr.
"The evil man that committed this heinous act will receive justice in this life and the next, I have no doubt about that," she said. "However, true justice has yet to be served. The system that failed my son will be addressed and held accountable for their incompetent actions, their horrific and uninformed decision-making when presented with undeniable evidence and their belief that they can make decisions that destroy lives and not be held accountable for such injustices."
She singled out three DCFS social workers and a supervisor involved in the case, saying she believes they "are partially responsible for my son's death." "How dare you say that once a case is closed you do not reopen it, even after being asked repeatedly to further investigate allegations," she said.
"How dare you say that Aramazd Sr. kicking my son on his bottom and pinching his cheeks and yelling in his face that he was a bad boy was not enough to change custody, and that it was simply bad parenting.
"And to the DCFS social worker who wrote that the mother is more difficult than the father to deal with, I say to you all, shame on you. You had the audacity to criticize and scrutinize me when I was advocating for my son. I believe you are partially responsible for my son's death. My son is another victim and statistic of the incompetence of this organization."
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from DCFS.
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According to court papers reviewed by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Estevez and Andressian were both seeking sole custody of the boy during their contentious divorce. Estevez claimed in court papers that Andressian was a "compulsive liar and is spiteful and vindictive."
In November 2016, Estevez requested a domestic violence restraining order, claiming in part that during a dinner that month, her son told his grandmother that Andressian Sr. "tries to hurt mommy so she can go to the hospital, so he can have me," the Tribune reported. The boy also said he heard his father tell someone on the phone that the grandmother "needed to go be with the angels." Estevez also claimed that while she believed her husband worked as a dean for ITT Technical Institute in San Bernardino, she found out during the divorce that he had actually been fired in 2012, according to the papers cited by the Tribune.
A judge rejected the request for a restraining order, saying there was no proof of acts of abuse, the Tribune reported.
According to the Tribune, DCFS got involved in September 2016 when Andressian called police and claimed his son was being molested by a 13-year- old boy named Omar, allegedly the son of Estevez's boyfriend "TJ." That led to a temporary protective order against Estevez. But during the investigation, Piqui, who initially told a social worker he had been molested by Omar, later told the social worker he had lied on orders from his father, and Omar and TJ did not even exist, the Tribune reported.
Estevez and Andressian agreed to a joint custody arrangement on April 13, with Andressian having physical custody of the child during the first week of the arrangement, according to the Tribune. It was during that week that the boy was killed.
Estevez said Wednesday she made multiple requests for "sole custody with supervised visits and was denied multiple times."
"So once again, I return to the question: Was justice served?" Estevez said. "In my eyes and in my heart, when there is accountability for all, then justice will have been served. There will be justice for Piqui and justice for hundreds of other helpless children that have become victims of the broken system that currently exists."
