The Ariana Ptarcinski Case - 702

0:00Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Generation Y add free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. I'm Lauren Maloy, the host of the podcast My Mom's Murder. For 30 years, I thought my mom died of natural causes. That's what everyone told me. That's what I believed. Until one day, I got a phone call that changed everything. A woman claiming to be my mom's best friend told me my mother was murdered and that no one had ever investigated it. So I did what the detectives wouldn't, pulled the threads, knocked on doors, and confronted the contradictions. And what I found, it's worse than I imagined. Something happened to my mom. Someone killed her. And I won't stop until I find out who. The system may have given up on my mom, but I never will. Listen to My Mom's Murder wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all 10 episodes early and add free right now.

1:03Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. Hey, welcome back to the Generation Y.

2:09On this episode, Aaron has a discussion with Sarah Turnie about the Ariana Tarzan's key case. It's a story that's not been given a lot of attention. So it's an interesting conversation. In the meantime, go out to our website, GenYpod.com, or visit our Patreon if you need extra content or to see our Halloween merch. Thank you very much. And here's the interview between Aaron and Sarah from Voices for Justice. Hello everyone. This is Aaron with Generation Y Podcast. And joining me today is Sarah Turnie of Voices for Justice. I've been wanting to record with her for quite some time. And I believe I found the perfect case for her to help me with. This is the case of Ariana Tarzan's key. She was an 18 year old girl living with her parents. And she had her boyfriend over on Christmas to watch shows and hang out with the family. And that night she died. And the family says that her boyfriend killed her and the police they shrug.

3:12That's the case. We're going to get into it. Well, this case takes place in Spring Hill, Florida. And the incident happened at the Tarzan's key home. So it's December 25th, 2021 is when this goes down. But before we get to that, I want to talk about the young woman at the center of the case. It's Ariana Tarzan's key. She was born July 23rd, 2003. Her parents are Edward and Judy. And she was described as quiet, introverted, and a talented artist. She'd love to help others. Now she had a sister, a younger sister named Isabella. Now Ariana graduated high school in June 2021 with high honors. She was also a member of the school's ROTC program. And just days before she died, she had gotten a job at Hobby Lobby and got her driver's license. According to everyone that knew her, she was excited about her future. She was planning to sign up for online college courses. And she already had a career in mind. It was to become a mortician. So this is a pretty exciting time in her life. Yeah, I mean, this is a young person who is clearly looking forward to the future.

4:15Yeah. And when I was her age, I didn't have a plan for what I wanted to do. So whenever I hear of anybody saying as a teenager, this is what I want to do for a living. Or I'm pretty sure this is what I want to do for a living. I'm impressed because that shows real direction. Oh, absolutely. And of course, we have to bring this up Sarah because one of the first questions from people in a case where it's maybe questioned what happened. They'll say, well, maybe she was unhappy. Maybe she was depressed. Look, everybody deals with stuff, everybody. But the thing is, is from all appearances, she had direction, she had plans. This is not someone who I feel comfortable talking about in a way that says, oh, they had so many problems. They weren't wanting to be here tomorrow. This is a one with direction. Oh, absolutely agree. Everything points to her really working on these plans for the future. And just being a young person, trying to figure that out, going to college, you know, aiming for this certain career path. And I don't see any reason why she wouldn't be planning for the future at this point.

5:16Yeah, one of the things I'm really struck by is when anybody entered her room, they would see that she had artwork all over her room. She loved to make art. Now, for about nine months, Ariana had been in a relationship with 20-year-old Ramone called her on Dursd. This was her first boyfriend. How many of us remember our first other, you know, our first boyfriend or girlfriend, and how exciting that is to have someone that's like, I can't wait to see you again and to talk on the phone for hours. Yeah, it's a really exciting time in your life. And I think it also teaches you a lot about how you want to be treated, the type of treatment you'll accept. I mean, that first relationship in anybody's life is so crucial to lay the groundwork for the rest of your life. Yeah, and they always say that the parents sort of set the bar for the children when they start dating. Do they treat me like my dad does or my mom does? And you look at this being her first boyfriend and they'd been dating for about nine months, she might still be putting stuff together, honestly.

6:16But according to her dad, Ed Ramone, he seemed like a nice kid. And this is why he was allowed to come over and stay on the couch. And even that night, like when they were together in her room, the door was open. Now, Ariana met Ramone through friends after he moved to Florida. He's from New Jersey, so he moved from New Jersey to Florida. And he was living with his grandmother and O'Cala. And he worked as an electrician apprentice in Orlando. Let's talk about the night in question, though, because it is December 25, 2021 when this goes down. And it's when 18-year-old Ariana Tarsinsky suffered a fatal wound in her family home. The story is that her boyfriend Ramone came over and he was spending time with her and her family. And he was going to sleep on the family's couch, said, eating, because they were just going to hang out all night. So it's around 11 p.m. when Ariana and Ramone went to her room. They were going to watch some TV. Her younger sister, Isabella, was watching a movie in her own room. Ed was out in the garage. He was going to work before going to bed. And Ariana's mother, Judy, was apparently already asleep.

7:19And so it's around midnight December 25, when Ed woke up to use the restroom. And he was hearing Ramone. He was yelling. And Ed said in a later interview with Tampa Bay 28, all of a sudden, I hear, Eddie, Eddie screaming. And he's got my daughter by the neck. And she just has blood coming out of her mouth and couldn't speak. I mean, there's blood everywhere. He said he saw his daughter collapse. And he then called 911. So this is traumatic. This is not anything anyone expected. They never heard of anything like this happening between the two of them before. And he later told the Hernando son her jugular vein had been severed. And she was bleeding out. I could see her eyes saying, dad, help me. Now, when you call 911, they record it. Ed said in the call, my daughter's bleeding because her neck is cut. My daughter's neck is cut. And then apparently Ramone can be heard saying in the background, I effed up. She was upset. And she effing got a knife. So obviously it's a very traumatic and high stress situation because here's a guy seeing his daughter fading in front of him.

8:25And then the guy that was with his daughter is obviously on edge as well. And he's screaming. Yeah. I mean, I can't think of a more horrific situation for everybody involved. I mean, the chaos, not knowing what's going on and just trying to get your daughter help. How horrific. Yeah. And so shortly after midnight, deputies responded to a call from Thomas and Melissa Obianko. These are our friends of the family. They live for it. It was down. And they said they were hearing screaming coming from the Tartzinski home. Now Thomas, Lobianko ran over immediately. And when he was recalling what happened, he said, this kid came out of the house covered in blood. And Eddie's yelling at him saying, you effing killed her. You effing killed her. And then he said that Ramone charged at Ed at Tartzinski. And according to Tommy, he said, this kid says, well, what the F does it matter? I'm going to jail anyway. That is insane. Yeah, it is insane. I mean, this seems like a young person who knows that they don't have much to lose in this situation. And perhaps that something had built up to this point where he felt like being this aggressive to put it mildly.

9:30Yeah, I got the sense that after what happened with Ariana and now he's being looked at as essentially her attacker, her killer possibly, if she doesn't make it, he's just like, screw everybody. Because now he's on the outside. All these people know each other. He's an outsider. He may have been dating Ariana for nine months or so, but he's still an outsider. And now they're looking at him like, oh, you're going to pay. And so he's lashing out. It seems like to me. Yeah, I mean, charging two full grown men at this point, he's trying to fight on the lawn right after this happens. I mean, this is just crazy. Yeah. Now responding deputies saw Ed Tartzinski standing at the front walkway of the home. And he was shouting, you killed my daughter. He's yelling at Ramon and Tommy or Thomas Lobionko. He was telling responding officers that he started to walk towards Ed and notice that Ramon, who was covered in blood, charged aggressively added. So Lobionko said he felt like he had to intervene and he punched Ramon on the side of the head with a flat fist.

10:31So made a fist, punched him in the head. He said Ramon bent forward, but didn't fall. So he punched him a second time, which knocked him to the ground. And he hit him so hard. They said that he broke his hand. Ed did talk about this to the Hernandez son. He said the boyfriend kept saying, I really effed up. Shoot me because I'm going to jail for a long time. These deputies and this seems like a good time to bring this up, but you know, it's Christmas. So all your experience detectives and police officers, they're the ones that could go on break. It's the new officers, the ones that are coming up and don't have all that experience. They're the ones responding to this situation. And just keep that in mind because I think it plays a big part in this. Yeah, I agree. Now the police interviewed Ed at the scene and he told deputies that after spending the evening with his family and with Ramon, he and Judy went to bed. And shortly after he got up to use the restroom and he saw the door of their bedroom open and he saw Ramon holding Ariana by the hair saying, I did this.

11:32Ed saw that Ariana was bleeding from her neck, which appeared to have been cut. So of course, here's something that's I think horrifying. While Ed and Judy and Isabella are being questioned, these officers, they do not render any aid or allow any aid to be rendered to Ariana because at this point, she's unconscious, but she's still alive, but they're not allowing anything to happen here. So she's just laying there, you know, and she's got this cut to her neck and no aid is being rendered. A little while before she ever ends up being transported to the hospital, where of course she dies of her injuries. This was on December 26th. Yeah, I mean, that's completely unacceptable, especially because it seems that she was handled without care by Ramon, right? I mean, grabbing her by the hair and handling her by the hair when you have a neck injury, that doesn't help, right? I can only imagine that it would not to get graphic, but almost separate the cut more, if you will. It's something you see play out within the media too, because obviously the police department has their own take on why things happen the way they did.

12:36But the deputies did attempt to speak to Judy. Now, she was reportedly very hysterical and would not directly answer their questions, but she did say, look what he did to my daughter. This is something I think we need to spend just a moment on because they're literally asking the mother of a girl who is probably not what we know she doesn't make it, but she's gravely injured. And they're trying to get her to answer their questions when you would think that it should have been enough that they said her boyfriend and her were in the room and all of a sudden her next cut. That should have been enough for them to know where to focus for now, but that's not the case here. So they're acting like well, she's not being very cooperative and they end up putting her into a squad car. Right, which is insane. I mean, how do you expect the mother to not be hysterical in this situation, especially since her daughter's not being given aid at this point? I mean, I would imagine that should be the top priority for everybody there is getting Ariana and stable condition, but of course any mother in this situation is going to be hysterical. So I think it's completely insane to deem her uncooperative right when this first happens.

13:41So deputies interviewed Ariana's 12 year old sister Isabella and she said she was in her room and was woken up by what she said was arguing. She couldn't make out what was being said. She did leave her bedroom to try and figure out what was going on and she said she saw Ramon carrying Ariana by her hair to her parents bedroom. Well, the family and Ramon were taken to the Fernando County Sheriff's Office for interviews and unbelievably every one of them was eventually released without charge. Now we get the family not being charged, but Ramon was with Ariana in her room when this happened. And he's basically confessing. I mean, he's saying, you know, I'm going to go to jail forever. What does it matter? I just don't understand it outside of your point right about this being Christmas and perhaps not having the most skilled or experienced deputies on the case right now. Right, and that's an excuse, but it's not a good one. He is put into the back of a squad car before he ever is taken to the department for an interview, but he is talking the whole time.

14:45And you can find this footage on YouTube. You can look it up Ramon Durst, Ariana Tarsensky, look it up. He's confessing on this video. I don't know how you can take it any other way. So there's at least enough there for police, even ones who aren't paying attention to say, wait, what did he say? Really? He was even asking about what might happen to him when he goes to jail and he was worried that people would attack him there. He was already putting himself there like he's expecting to go there. Now, according to a police report, deputies entered the front door of the home to make sure no one was still inside there and an investigator noticed drops of what appeared to be blood trailing from the northwest bedroom to the southeast main bedroom. So that's from Ariana's bedroom to her parents bedroom. That should tell them something H.C.S.O. investigators later collected evidence at the scene. Ed, like we said, was taking the sheriff's office, but he was taken there in handcuffs. He was processed for evidence and interviewed. Now, I know from speaking with Eddie. I did speak with Eddie a number of times before recording here.

15:49He laid this out like they're asking me all these questions and I'm wondering what's going on with my daughter is my daughter going to be okay? Are you guys looking after it? And they're just like you need to answer our questions. Now, according to the detective's report, I clarified with Edward that he was only assuming Ramon stabbed Ariana and he agreed affirming he was just assuming it. But Edward then remembered that Ramon had stated I had the knife. So it's like they're trying to talk him out of this idea that Ramon must have done it to his daughter and they're trying to talk him out of that idea. And then he's remembering like, but he said this and he said he had the knife and he was saying I did this. So it's like they're trying to talk him out of it, but he knows better. Yeah, I mean, this is very bizarre. It would be a different situation in my mind if there were just Ramon and Eddie in the house and this happened, right? We have other family members confirming the series of events. So I don't understand this treatment at all. Yeah, and the other person really that can confirm everything is Isabella.

16:49She was questioned without her parents present and she described how she overheard Ramon saying he said he messed up or something. I don't know what he did, but he said he messed up. And let's talk also about Judy. So we already talked about how she was apparently hysterical, understandably so. But she was held in the patrol car for hours and the police reporting that she was very intoxicated, which she's at her home. She can drink. I don't know why they're making this sound like a bad thing. And in a patrol car video, Judy repeatedly asked for updates on her daughter. She said I want to be with Ariana at the hospital, but she was not allowed out of the car even to use the bathroom. I mean, that's just cruelty at this point. And I think an experience, which again is not an excuse, but I mean the treatment of this family is just a foreign. So she ends up having to relieve herself in the back of the patrol car because they will not let her out. I mean, she's being treated like a suspect here. Now police identified Ramon called around, dursed as the primary suspect. And while in the back of the patrol car, he did make statements expressing remorse and he appeared to claim responsibility.

17:56That's why I'm saying watch the video. Tell me if you don't think he's confessing there. And also on the video, you'll see where he says. Am I in trouble? What are you guys going to do with me? Are you going to ask me questions? And the officer that's in the car with him is basically like, I don't care, dude, whatever. I mean, we'll see. And he seems so uninterested in the whole situation. You would think they would be salivating at a chance to question him to ask him a series of questions about how this go down. What was happening? And even Ramon is like, well, what do you guys know? And he's like, I don't know. We just got here, man. And that's weird because in all the cases I've ever covered, most police are very curious. They want to know. And they will ask questions. But here this guy does not care. But of course Ramon gets taken to the police station and they talk to him and then they just release him. No charges. And I'm sure at that point Ramon's like, really? Oh, I'm sure that he was in complete disbelief considering the chain of events that happened. And it seems like these officers were almost just annoyed that they had to work on Christmas. That's kind of how it reads to me.

19:25Audible. Stories that speak to you. Imagine you're reading Pride and Prejudice, except you're not reading it. Harris Dickinson and Marissa O'Bella are reading it to you on Audible. Her Barb sting you. His coldness sends a shiver up your spine. Your heart aches. Your ears burn. You yearn for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to profess their undying love for one another. You can't bear it any longer. Well, maybe a chapter longer performance is so good. You'll give love a second chance. Audible. Stories that speak to you. Right. Now the District 6 medical examiner ruled that Ariana's manner of death was homicide that occurred when she was stabbed by others or other. This is important. So like you might say, well, the family can have their own ideas about how this went down, but they didn't see it. They're seeing something later. So they may not really know. Now this is the medical examiner who has to inspect Ariana's body and figure out what does it say about what happened to her.

20:26This is what they've discovered. Ariana had defensive wounds on her forearm, the back of her head, and thigh injuries consistent with a violent struggle. Yeah, I mean, that's so telling to me. I don't know how much more clear it can get. I think defensive wounds is the big thing here that could get them a conviction in this case if they actually wanted to try. Right. And we have to believe our evidence that we have. And the evidence is that she attempted to defend herself and something happened to her. Yeah. Are we supposed to believe that, you know, she just started stabbing herself all over before she cut her own throat? I mean, that seems incredibly unlikely. And injuries that clearly happened as a result of someone else striking her. She has an injury to the back of her head. So Ed told the Hernandez son in February of 2022 that he was having trouble getting in contact with the detective working this case. And sadly, Sarah, we know that there are cases maybe not too many, but enough to bother us where someone will contact a detective working their family's case and say, I need an update or can I talk to you and they're brushed off.

21:31They might not even ever get to talk to that person. And there's a reason for it. They don't want to deal with them. Yeah. I mean, I think that that's a very honest way of putting it without sugar coating it. I completely agree. I mean, especially when a case is this fresh, right? We're talking about February of 2022. This happened in December of 2021. This is a brand new case that's what like six weeks old or something. And they're brushing them off right now. That's a really bad sign. Yeah. And it makes you wonder, are they going to be able to handle this case or are they even trying to handle it? That's the thing. It seems easy enough to handle. I think it's the desire to want to handle this case, like you said. Yeah. So the HCSO deputy public information officer was able to confirm that the case was classified as an active death investigation. And that it had not been the subject of widespread publicity, which I take to mean, well, no one's really following it. So we'll just end it there. We're not going to talk about it much because we're not being asked about it. Yeah. They just don't care. They just don't care. And I do think that that showed the scene, you know, with the evidence they collected and the evidence they left behind apparently.

22:37Ariana's parents, they claimed that they went through long periods of no communication with the police. The police, when they did talk to them, said, do not speak to the media. But after a year goes by and they're not getting any answers, there's no good communication. They decided, you know what we're going to do? We're going to do what they told us not to do. We're going to go public with this and we're going to raise concerns about the investigation or lack thereof. I mean, it's really the best defense for a family at this point. If you feel like the case is going nowhere, law enforcement isn't communicating with you. I think the media can be your best friend. Yeah. When you have a murder in your family, no one's going to care more than you, someone in the family, you know, asking detectives to care as much. I mean, we know there are some that do and there are many that do, but you're always going to find some department that just completely drops the ball. And so you can't just let them drop it. You're asking a family that lost their daughter to go and do all this hard work. And you wonder, what are the police, therefore, in the first place, if they're not actually doing their jobs?

23:38And again, I'll reference that the medical examiner said the manner of death was homicide. So now we get into 2023. And Ariana's family is still saying, where is the movement on this case? The way the ed talks about it's like someone needs to be in jail over this. And he talked to the Hernandez son and said that so much was overlooked in this case. He said that officers did not take a sheet with the boyfriend's bloody handprints on it. There were two knives in the room that were not collected as well as the boyfriends wallet. Now the H.C.S.O. media relations manager Denise Maloney said, we feel certain that the scene was processed very thoroughly. We very thoroughly collected evidence and passed it on to the state attorney's office for a filing decision. I mean, apparently not, right? Why aren't we taking the knives from the scene where somebody's throat was cut? That seems like basic detective work 101. It seems like all they have to do is say, we did a great job. And then we're all supposed to go, oh, yeah, you must have without looking at any of the evidence to the contrary.

24:40So according to the Hernandez son, forensic specialist collect evidence, package it and send it to the state attorney's office. It's the SAO's job to decide if charges should be filed. And according to a Facebook post published by the H.C.S.O. This was on August 14, 2023. Ed Tarsinski was driving and rapidly approaching a deputies patrol car. The deputy said he had a swerve to avoid being struck by Ed. There's another article that said Ed swerve to avoid hitting the patrol car. Now the Hernandez son got the video footage from the dash cam inside the patrol vehicle. And according to their own analysis, they said that footage depicts the pursuit in which Tarsinski passes a vehicle to get through the automatic gate to his development. After Tarsinski parks in the driveway of his house, he exits the sedan and deputies shout hands up what the F hands up. They had guns drawn while approaching him to make the arrest. Officials said Ed got out of his car in an aggressive manner. Sources also said Ed was irate and asked, why won't you arrest my daughter's murderer?

25:42Deputies searched the car and found a brown canvas backpack. Ed says in the video, officer, that's not my bag. I just dropped the guy off on not a bad dude, man. Inside deputies found over 14.9 grams of meth in the back seat and meth pipes in a small bag. Now there's a dash cam. Obviously it recorded audio between Ed and Judy, who was also present in that conversation. Ed denied almost hitting the patrol vehicle and Judy asked Ed what the drugs were doing in the car if he was holding them for someone else. She repeated the question and he said, yeah, by luck, you know, she told him he needed to say who the drugs belong to and he replied doesn't matter who. So they perform a field sobriety test and they determine Ed is sober. So he is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, fleeing or attempting to allude resisting arrest without violence and possession of paraphernalia. I mean, you know, I get it. It's obviously not a great situation for him to be in, but also any good professional wouldn't let that impact Arianna's case.

26:43Like if I go get arrested for, you know, let's say trafficking meth, right? Does that impact my sister's case? I don't think so. Well, I get where he says it doesn't matter who because at this point, you know, they've got him with something that he's not supposed to have. It doesn't matter. I mean, if he says a name, it doesn't help his situation at all. And obviously there's some dispute over how this all went down. Now Judy believes it was not a coincidence. She thinks they're being retaliated against for criticizing the sheriff's office. The arrest sparked controversy on the HCSO Facebook page. Some alleged that the HCSO targeted Ed because he spoke out against the agency. Others alleged that the patrol deputies recognized Ed and planted the drugs in his car. Of course, the HCSO responded, rest assured, we do not plant evidence. We are confident all the evidence in this case is indisputable. So this is unfortunately a side story to this case, something happened with Ed. There's a bag in his car and now he's being charged.

27:43It's August 16, 2023 when the state attorney's office for Florida's fifth judicial district officially decided not to file criminal charges. Now there is a letter to Ariana's family that sent by assistant state attorney Peter F. McGrenow. He informed the family that after review formal criminal charges would not be filed. He said this filing decision is not based on the lack of quality of the investigation of any lack of investigative effort by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The decision is a legal one dealing with criminal intent and the lack of evidence thereof with regard to your daughter's death. Right. So they weren't able to prove it. Yeah. According to the letter, there was no probable cause to believe a crime was committed by Ramon Durst. So although the medical examiner listed Ariana's death as a homicide Florida courts have historically held that acts of negligence cannot be made criminal regardless of the loss of human life without men's ray at now. I'm sure most of the audience knows what men's ray is essentially, but it's the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime.

28:44In this case, they're simply saying, sure Ramon might have done something to Ariana, but we don't know if it was intentional or an accident. We don't know the full circumstances. So we can't say that this is an intentional homicide. How do you accidentally get so many defensive wounds? Did he commit this accident several times? That makes no sense to me. Yeah, I struggle with that too. I tried putting it together and it does not work for me. I understand what they're trying to say. It just doesn't fit this case. And I also find it interesting that when Eddie gets in trouble with these drugs that they immediately go to his daughter's case. It's like this family and their daughter's case, Ariana's murder is at the forefront of this sheriff's office mind. And there's no getting around it. There's something about this case that they just don't want to deal with. And it looks like they want to put everything behind them, even Eddie being caught with drugs. Yeah, I mean, going to the media makes a police department look bad. There's no way of getting around that, especially if you go and say, here's the clear evidence.

29:49We are not getting any type of response from the detectives. What's going on? That's a really hard thing for the public to argue, right? So it just ends up making the police department look bad. And some bad cops really take that as an opportunity to perhaps retaliate or make somebody's life a little bit harder just because they feel that that family or that person did the same thing to them. I mean, you know, I'm just guessing this is just my theory at this point, but it does seem like retaliation to me. Yeah, whenever we hear stories from several different sources, we try to put it together. What is our gut tell us? And I think as we continue on with this letter, it'll show a little more, but in the letter, it also says to date Mr. Durst through his lawyer has exercised his constitutional right not to provide a statement concerning the incident. Thus, there is insufficient evidence to sustain any criminal charges as it relates to the death in this manner. It's basically like, well, he didn't come out and admit he did it. So it's a he said she didn't say situation where they feel like they don't have enough to move here.

30:53Which is quite surprising. Yeah, I mean, certainly we could just use science and the evidence to prove this case without a confession. So the frustration just is getting worse for Ed and Judy and the whole family. He sent a text to the Hernando son. They covered this case extensively. And in the text, he said, it's all corrupt. Every day is a battle for my family and myself just to get through the day. And I can definitely say that I've heard him say that to me as well. There's a lot of frustration. You know, we talked about this and he tells me even if everything goes right from here on out and they get the guy and he goes, it's not going to bring closure, but what it is going to bring is a sense of justice that my daughter's life mattered. That's what they want. You know, they want to feel like her life mattered. And when you have no investigation continuing sounds like they just want to put it behind them. It hurts. Now there is a response to the letter from Sheriff L. Neenhouse who called Ariana's death a heart-wrenching incident. Everyone of course wants justice if the event was a criminal act. If the event was a criminal act and he added that in any case, law enforcement must try their best to get to the bottom of what actually happened, putting emotions and outside pressures aside, handling it any other way, however, is not an option.

32:08Who he said if prosecutors were to take a case to trial with insufficient evidence because of outside pressure, for example, meaning the family, it will be even more frustrating for everyone because when a case is brought to trial with insufficient evidence or the defense can present a plausible alternative, the jury will have no choice but to find the defendant not guilty. This is why prosecutors never want to take a case to trial with what they deemed to be insufficient evidence or when there is a plausible alternative that can be presented by the defense. Right there, Sarah, he's saying that they have a plausible alternative that is that somehow this was an accident or maybe, let's just go out a bit here, maybe Ariana did it to herself. So they're basically saying you can't prove what this actually was. Yeah, that caught my attention too. I don't see what reality they're living in to be quite frank with you. This doesn't make any sense to be an accident and you know me like I'm not one to insert my opinion into most cases, but I think this is pretty clear cut here, but I can't figure out is the motive behind the police to be this. I mean, honestly, cruel.

33:13Yeah, I think it's clear that they decided early on that they weren't very interested, you know, some would say that when they went into Ariana's room and they saw the kind of artwork she did, which would probably fit in well with people who love the show Wednesday, we'll put it that way. And that's kind of artwork I like to myself, but to some sheriff's deputies, they might just walk in and go, oh, she's morbid. Maybe she wanted this. And that's the sad thing is people judging others based on just their own experiences and not being open-minded to other perspectives. Yeah, I can totally see that unfortunately and I hate it because I feel like I knew girls just like Ariana who were, you know, maybe a little bit emo if you will. They wanted to be a mortician, but they were usually like the sweetest humans. So I mean, I can totally see that and I just hate that for this case. McGreeno's letter also said, should the sheriff's office or any other person provide this office with additional and or new information, I will review the matter again, but at this time there is insufficient evidence to proceed further in criminal court. It's case closed.

34:17Yeah, that's insane. I disagree. Perhaps the two knives they left at the scene could be the new evidence they could review, right? Have they not left them there? It just is incredibly frustrating for you and I, I know, but also I mean my goodness, I can't even imagine what her family is going through. Yeah, I'd said that Ed and Judy were devastated. I mean, obviously they're frustrated with the sheriff's department. Their next step was they rented a billboard on US 19 to raise awareness of their daughter's case. This is something a lot of people opt for. I've seen it many times. Actually, you know, the podcast, the fall line, they've helped families get billboards put up because that's, you know, you're driving along. You see this billboard. It gives you a name. It gives you a little bit of a story. And then maybe you go and look it up. Maybe you make a donation. Maybe you tell other people. Maybe you know someone who could help and so you contact them. And so it's a brilliant idea. And so if you're listening and you have a case that's not getting the attention it deserves. Look into getting a billboard because there are people that care out there and they will respond once they find out about it. Now the family, they eventually receive a 373 page report from the state attorney's office. And this was reviewed by local Tampa Bay 28.

35:28According to the report also reviewed by former police officer and professor Dr. David Thomas Ramone was not read his Miranda rights and was not actually questioned about what happened. The report also said that texts between Ariana Ramone showed an up and down relationship with arguing and fighting, including on Christmas Eve. Now Tampa Bay 28 team obtained an hour long video of Ramone in the back of a patrol car awaiting transport to the sheriff's office. That's the one I referenced a couple of times earlier in that video. Ramone said my life's over right now. And of course the deputy asked what do you mean and he responded. You know what I mean. You see the situation. You see what I'm covered in. And of course he's covered in blood. He said look at me. I deserve everything. The hatred of the world brought down upon me. I am so sorry for what I did. And that's exactly what I'm referencing when I say he confessed. Is that not a confession or at least doesn't it sound like one? Like that is 100% a confession. Are you kidding me? Like break it down. Look at me. I deserve everything. The hatred of the world brought down upon me. I'm so sorry for what I did. That's a confession.

36:37Even if you want to play the this was an accident game. Where's the manslaughter charge. I'm so sorry for what I did. So what did you do? Yeah so much for fighting crime. Exactly. According to our news Ramone also stated to a deputy inside the patrol car. What's the crime rate in the area and how many federal prisons in Florida. At one point he told the deputy he was worried he was going to get assaulted in prison. And hours later at the station a detective told Ramone he wasn't going to be charged not at that time anyway. So I think you have a guy that was ready to talk. I've seen so many cases where police the detectives will really pressure a suspect and get them talking sometimes with a really deaf hand. You know, in other times it's kind of rough but they get him talking and it seemed like this guy was ready to talk. But you know at some point he's being let go and he's being told there are no charges at this time. That's where you lose someone because they he was talking regularly in this video and in the patrol car and no one took advantage of that. No one asked him any real questions.

37:38Do you think maybe they realize that he wasn't read his Miranda rights and that's why they kind of and just let him go. Maybe later yeah I think that might be possible but the right detective would have said I'm going to read your Miranda rights and ask you some questions that didn't happen and I think eventually either they realize that mistake or even more likely they just were like nothing to see here. I'm just trying to figure out why right because it seems so clear cut and to your point he was so ready to talk. I mean my goodness he was basically offering so much up without even being asked questions had you had somebody in there with experience in the will to solve this case. I feel like they could have gotten a very detailed confession that night. Yeah, I mean talking to Eddie. He made it sound like this should have been the easiest case for them ever. I mean this kid was already talking he was covered in his daughter's blood. I mean on and on and on and they just were like and Ed Tarsinski told Tampa Bay 28 the police officers were saying that it was self inflicted. So now it goes from well we don't really know how this went down to your daughter did this to herself. Yeah in the back of the head it just drives me insane it doesn't make any sense.

38:47Well inside Ariana's room deputies found a notebook and it contained a drawing from the prior year maybe 15 months before and it showed a female with her throat cut and blood coming out of her mouth and neck area. Now of course Ariana is an artist her family would tell you this she enjoyed horror movies and often drew graphic images but she was not suicidal and this is something that's maybe hard for people to grasp who don't get into horror films or horror book. If you went into my library you would see most of my books are horror novels but it's all about art it's not actually like oh I'm telling you what I want to do to myself and I think people have a hard time grasping that. Yeah, I mean I think we have to weigh her life circumstances above a drawing she made 15 months prior to her death right again this was a young woman who was making plans for the future and executing on those plans. So this drawing doesn't really mean much to me. Yeah and I think a lot of it comes down to when people are looking for evidence sometimes they're looking for an excuse to get out and that's what this feels like oh you see this now we're not going to look into it anymore.

39:55Now according to the police report detectives received a letter calls and multiple emails from Ramamon's attorney saying he would not agree to make a statement so they're shut down they're not going to say anything and as noted Ed and Judy were going public they were trying to get answers they were trying to get people involved and they face the same thing. So they were trying to get people involved and they face pushback from investigators and prosecutors now out of the 373 page report 173 pages consist of social media posts emails sent by Ed and copies of news accounts of the investigation. So according to Ed if anybody said anything bad about the department they just circled it and that was it that's pretty much what their investigation is. Now our news also reviewed the report and noted that prefacing every investigator and responding deputies report is the following statement synopsis for an unknown reason Ramon called around dursd slit Ariana Tarsinski's throat while in Ariana's bedroom and then took her into Edward and Judy Tarsinski's master bedroom by her hair and stated to Edward and Judy I did this at this time the investigation is ongoing.

41:01This is insane the fact that you end that with this investigation is ongoing blows my mind I don't know how to put my frustration into words for this family because how much more clear can it be and why is this department just completely failing Ariana. Yeah we were going to get into it very soon about how this typically goes but yeah you wonder is this just amateur hour or do these people not care I did ask Eddie was there any prior contact with law enforcement before. Ariana was attacked to maybe tell the officers like don't deal with this family maybe like did they have it out for you and he said no he said prior to what happened to Ariana he was a big supporter of law enforcement he trusted them he that's what they're there for there to help bring justice and to go for the bad guys and this and that and he's like this has shown them law enforcement a whole new light you know and I'm sure there's law enforcement listening right now and saying I would have handled that way different and thank you for thinking that because we need law enforcement to do their jobs unfortunately it just takes one bad day and the whole thing can be upended you know trust is earned we don't just give it to you and unfortunately the public holds fast food restaurants law enforcement everybody is held to a standard and when you drop the ball you get some time to make it up and if you don't you know you've changed our perception of you.

42:22I mean it's terrifying to when you're in your town and you think that you're safe and you trust the police and then all the sudden they're making you out to be the bad guy it's absolutely terrifying and we know there are numerous cases where murder suspects are arrested and even prosecuted without a confession or a body you you you circumstantial evidence you know this is why the family is so confused by the prosecutors refusal to charge remote dursd and they suspect that investigators believe Ariana killed herself but this is not the case. This is not mentioned in the report in fact there's no evidence to support that and even in the report it mentions that Ariana was attacked by Ramon so it really makes you wonder with all of that said and with the medical examiner's evidence why isn't there any movement on this case because you and I talked about this before we recorded and we talked about sometimes you don't do the right thing you know maybe they had all the amateur deputies there and they didn't quite know what to do they didn't know what to say or what to ask or how to handle the fact that you know what the

43:22family or the suspect we can understand all that you know we have bad days to but you have the following day or the following week to do something you know how much with the Tarsinski family feels seen if the following week the H.C.S.O. just came out and said apologies we're working on this don't give up on us we've got all our attention on this we're going to work on it that did not happen and so again it's you can't get away with something by denying it because the public will see everything the family will see everything and now you have people that help pay your salaries who are upset with you and they're going public with it and now they're going on podcasts with it and they've got billboards about it and now you can keep denying it but everyone's going to see you for what you are and I would urge the department like it's never too late take time now and do the right thing sure you might feel like well I we kind of lost the case we let it get away from us because we let the guy go that's on you but you have to at least try and if you don't try you're sending the message that Arianna didn't matter that's what the family here is that's a weird on January 24th 2023 in Ducksbury, Massachusetts Patrick Clancy called 911 he had found his wife Lindsay badly injured and his three children dead and dying what followed would become one of the most searing and complicated cases in recent memory raising hard questions about motherhood mental illness and how far are justice

44:51and the system will go to understand what really happened I'm Candace Duelong host of the podcast killer psyche in our latest episode we take you inside the case of Lindsay Clancy the postpartum psychosis defense the courtroom battle and the trial that just ended in a stunning mistrial follow killer psyche wherever you get your podcasts audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of killer psyche one week early and ad free right now join audible in the audible app or by subscribing on Apple podcasts and that people can get away with murder in your area right and I think there's an easy way for law enforcement to kind of get out of this as much as I want them to be held accountable for everything that they've done in this case right if I were a member of that department right now with authority I would get a fresh set of eyes to take a look at this case right and then go all my goodness we've decided that we can press charges I think that's a pretty easy way to escape I think the accountability that they're afraid of right now I agree 100% with everything you just said I mean they could bring in another department there's so many ways to do this where they can literally say there might

46:04have been a mistake here but now we're correcting it and without that again we're just going to be looking and saying wow you're doubling down on this really with all of this evidence so the sheriff's office reopen the case in 2024 and the reason they say it happened was because this way no further statements or evidence could be released to the public because it was really closed now we can release information but if it's an ongoing investigation now we don't have to tell you anything and many are believing this is a political decision by the sheriff mean house as he was preparing for the 2024 election which he won Ed and Judy told our news in January 2025 that since their daughter's death mean house never contacted them to share condolences or offer any assistance he used to show up at homicide investigations to talk to the media but he avoided area on his case so you know with them reopening the case the family asked officials like what's going on with this does this mean something's going to happen is there any new evidence that they're looking for they were told that if Ramon talked to someone about the case he could be charged they're waiting for a confession which is insane we can't just sit

47:12around and wait for people to confess and crimes we have to actually investigate and bring forth charges I mean if you listen to them they make it sound like Ramon has to go to the sheriff's office and just put his hands up and say I'm presenting myself as the murder in the area on a torsinski case I mean at this point right with the confession that they already have I mean I just don't know I do not understand why this department is doing what they're doing other than just covering up you know their behavior at this point now May 30th 2025 detective Chris craft won the 2025 first responder of the year award and this is a detective who had been under fire for allegedly botching investigations he was the one who ultimately made the decision not the charge remote dursed so we might go well you're saying he's under fire for this but give us an example okay our news reported that in 2023 a woman contacted the H. C. S. O. to report that her son was sexually abused by his

48:13grandfather now craft was assigned to the case but ignored her for almost two years this is according to the mom during that time to suspect harassed and stalk the victims until a new detective was assigned the suspect was arrested a few months later after that and sentenced the 25 years in prison. I mean it seems like you can just get away with anything in Florida at this point yeah well and craft had an option there to do something about that case and he didn't he chose not to and it's funny like he gets switched out for another detective and all of a sudden they arrest the grandfather if you're stalking and harassing people that can be documented this should not be a difficult investigation you know everyone's always saying where's the evidence will if you have it let's run with it and this guy's basically saying and I don't know that we can even analyze why he chose not to move on that case but I have found that law enforcement has difficulty with sexual abuse cases we've seen it with even the universities and so I think about that I think they just uncomfortable with that so they don't want to deal with it because you think hey we're tough on crime we have all this evidence we should move on it I mean heck in a lot of these cases these people aren't even intimidating I mean you have a

49:25grandfather or a very small gymnastics doctor you know whatever it is these people are not intimidating your law enforcement you have a gun you have training you know and you're not willing to move on a case like that so of course Ed said the award was a slap in the face and this case is gaining some publicity because even Nancy Grace called for a federal investigation into Ariana's murder in an episode of crime stories so we know it's gaining a little momentum but there just needs to be more eyes and ears on this and just put yourself in the Tarsinski's family's shoes it's like their daughter was murdered the medical examiner said so they've now gotten a blood expert who detailed exactly why they know that she didn't do it to herself because her injuries and stuff happen while she was lying down so if she had been doing this to herself there would be blood on the walls that she was attacked while lying down by her boyfriend it's very clear and so all we're asking is for justice for the family and yeah it's always a risk if you take someone to court they might be found not guilty we all know the

50:32story of O.J. Simpson but sometimes extenuating circumstances can bear on those and here I don't see anything this is literally an unknown kid will then kid from New Jersey who was living in Florida with his grandmother who attacked his girlfriend it's really simple this isn't like he's connected so what's the hold up and if this was your family what would you do I mean I think this family is doing everything right going to the media it seems like their best play at this point and I do think that getting federal agents on this is going to be what solves it because there's something going on in Florida where they just don't have the will or want to solve this case and bring this family some closure and answers. Yeah it's too bad I definitely feel like there are detectives in Florida that could work this case and solve it yesterday they're just not on this case and like you I don't know what's stopping them from doing anything but it's definitely going to take some pressure and maybe federal pressure or from the public that can cause people to change their minds and say you know what I know we've kind of held off on this we tried pushing it away but we're going to have to deal with it and so if you could

51:38please support this family they could use it Sarah what do you typically tell people in situations like this that have gone to the public you know they're working to try and get something done about it something done to bring justice to their family what do you typically tell people listening who are feeling sympathy and want to do something yeah I mean like you said support the family right and I think the easiest thing to do is share this case share this episode share news article share whatever you feel like sharing because we know that media pressure does move mountains especially in my opinion and departments like this where it seems like they're very concerned about what they look like they're very concerned about the outward appearance of their department so let's put some pressure out there and ask why aren't they doing anything I think and I hate that we have to play this game in in these crimes right because they should just make this arrest and make it happen so that the family doesn't have to go through that so if you're listening right now and you want to help the easiest thing to do is share the case

52:38the next thing is you know maybe get a little more involved see what else you can do and whatever other public pressure you can apply to this police department yeah I don't think they have anything happening right now but I know some families that are in their Tarsinski situation sometimes they are raising money to get attorneys maybe they bring a civil case or something there's always another step that they can follow it's just I know from speaking with Eddie I haven't spoken with Judy myself but I've spoken with Eddie a few times it's very difficult they are never going to stop fighting for their daughter but every day is different and some days it's hard to get out of bed so I think what you said about having sympathy for them you know maybe there's a page you can go visit and drop a comment maybe you can share the post you can share an episode get more people aware of it because you never know someone might hear of it and have a connection and they can make something happen now maybe someone even has a connection to the share of soft as sometimes it just takes the right person I've seen in other cases where the right person gets involved in all of a sudden someone who kept saying no year after

53:39years suddenly says all right and they help you know they finally do something but I know that egos can get in the way and unfortunately a lot of people will hold on to their ego despite what the public sees so again bring that public pressure to bear spread this story we need everyone to know about Ariana Tarsinski who she was we need to get justice for her and her family so reach out spread the story absolutely and you know get this who I consider to be a murderer off the streets I believe the medical examiner it seems like we can have all kinds of cases that go right or wrong the medical examiner's are usually pretty good and this is supported with evidence I don't see how they have an investigated him for a murder absolutely well I'd like to thank you for joining me on this episode Sarah you of course have your own show voices for justice you have a whole story we've covered your sister's story on our show that's where you first got to know you of it and I'm just impressed with how much you're driven by justice because that's important to me and seeing what you're doing and the changes you're helping to make I think it's very important thank you I mean there are so many families out there just

54:45like this one waiting for justice and that's why I do it so thank you for you know educating me on this case and inviting me on lastly if you would like to help out the family directly you can go to justice for Ariana on Facebook so please give it a follow like the stories and remind them there are people out there that care

56:06follow generation why on the audible app or wherever you get your podcasts you can listen to all episodes of generation why add free by joining audible