DAD SHRIEKS AT GRISLY FIND

New York Post ^ | June 25, 2005 | C. J. Sullivan

[kcvl]

June 25, 2005 -- CAMDEN, N.J. — The father of a missing 6-year-old boy dropped to his knees and let out a blood-curdling scream after opening the trunk of a parked car last night to discover the body of his son and two young friends who had been missing since Wednesday.

The bodies of Jesstin "Manny" Pagan, 5; Daniel "Danny" Agosto, 6; and Anibal Cruz, 11 — who were last seen playing in a yard in this hard-luck suburb of Philadelphia — were found by Danny's father, David Agosto, shortly before 7 p.m. in the maroon Toyota Camry.

"Anibal's father told me that there was a plastic bag over his son's head," Anibal's babysitter, Nancy Santana, told The Post last night.

The death car belongs to Anibal's grandmother and had been parked in the driveway of the family's house throughout the three-day search for the boys in neighboring woodlands and the nearby Delaware River.

Hearing Agosto's anguished screams, family and friends frantically ran from a nearby porch where they had held a vigil hoping for a miracle. The grim discovery echoed across the community.

"This is a moment that the families and the city hoped and prayed we wouldn't have to face," said Camden County Prosecutor Vincent Sarubbi.

Last night, law enforcement officials declined to elaborate on their investigation, but said they were searching for Angel Martinez, 28, of Camden, as a "person of interest" in the case.

snip

Sarubbi and Figueroa said the car had been searched on Thursday with a canine unit.

snip

"We looked in the car on Thursday," an anguished neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told The Post.

"I can't believe we didn't look in the trunk."

[infocats]

Out in the sun it could get pretty darn warm in there, and hot air built up inside the windowed part of the car would migrate behind the back seats into the trunk.

True...I hadn't considered that. However, that really begs the question as to why someone wouldn't hear the kids crying out for help.

[LRS]

Out in the sun it could get pretty darn warm in there, and hot air built up inside the windowed part of the car would migrate behind the back seats into the trunk.

On a really hot day, it wouldn't take long for 3 kids in a trunk to pass out...

[HiTech RedNeck]

I saw one of these latches in a late model car that I rented recently. It's mechanical; you pull and the trunk lid pops. But when they began to be used, is a different question.

[bill1952]

Amazing how many people are missing that point.

The children were probably suffocated one by one with that very bag, and one by one, placed in that trunk.

The bag was not reomved from the last victim because it was no longer needed.

Then the murderer just left.

[SkyPilot]

The dogs used were bloodhounds.

_{Patrolman Gary Cundiff is led by a bloodhound tracking the scent of three missing children in Camden, N.J. on Friday, June 24, 2005. The bloodhound led police and family members on foot from Camden into Pennsauken before losing the scent. Police began another intense hunt Friday morning after scaling back their overnight search for Jesstin Pagan, 5; Daniel Agosto, 6; and Anibal Cruz, 11. The boys disappeared Wednesday afternoon from the yard next to Cruz's home. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)}

Snowy, using your logic, the police could never had done enough. They worked diligently to find these kids. If you are looking to blame someone, it isn't them.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Well the kids didn't bleed so the hounds didn't notice them. Obviously.

[Loud Mime]

===if you mess with a kid your life is over buddy, no exceptions. Mandatory death penalty.===

You are giving the perverts a sound reason to kill their victims. No witnesses means no witnesses.

For years I have believed that the death penalty for kidnapping should be reduced. Perhaps, repeat, perhaps, that might save some children from a pragmatic decision by the perp to kill every victim. If you already have the death sentence hanging over your head for kidnapping, what do you have to lose by killing the victim?

[mabelkitty]

Since he was the biological father, I never thought it was him myself. Very rare.

However, if it was mama's latest boyfriend or new husband, I would have been all over it.

[YankeeGirl]

The area has a large Puerto Rican (American) population. That is a common Spanish and Puerto Rican name. As a matter of fact I think my grandmother's mother's maiden name was Martinez. NY (1920's)by way of Puerto Rico (1840's), by way of Spain. No reason to start in Mexico. Plenty of red-blooded Americans right here with that name.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Unbelieveable. When this first broke, I told DH that I'd be looking in every CAR TRUNK, abandoned FREEZER, pond or creek within 5 square miles of their home, remembering when I was a kid that I was terrified of those places due to Mom's daily "Public Safety Announcements" before we went out to play.

What a shame. The plastic bag thing makes it very suspicious, though.

RIP, Little Angels. :(

[LRS]

I think you are talking about an emergency trunk latch, located inside the trunk, which I doubt this vehicle would have had.

What I was trying to mention, was an interior button that opens the trunk. Older model cars have them inside the glove box. Point being, the kids may have been able to get inside the trunk themselves, if that car had such a switch, even without keys. The problem though, would such a switch require some juice in the battery to operate. I really don't know, as I have never had reason to try such a stunt...

[bill1952]

Respectively disagree.

For all of that they could have used search planes, and DOD satellites and never found them because they skipped using their heads.
Dogs? DOH!

"Hey! There is a locked trunk. Let's look in it."

[OldFriend]

Beginning to wonder if the father didn't receive a phone call with a tip to search the car/trunk.

The story does not add up at all.

The media was there covering a vigil for the boys at the time.

[LRS]

Older model cars ---I should have said that a lot of cars ...

[mystery-ak]

I have one question...suppose the three did climb into the trunk...how did they slam it shut from the inside?

[HiTech RedNeck]

I wouldn't think the kids would be stupid enough to get into a trunk if they didn't think they had a way to get out.

[Snowy]

If you are looking to blame someone, it isn't them.

I have to disagree. They did not do everything they could. They did not use the right tool for the job. They know SAR teams exist and had us and another team on standby for over a day. What you don't know is someone from another team was there helping in ways other than searching, because he wasn't allowed to. He told them that he could have 40-50 searchers there within an hour. He was told that they have enough manpower, but thanks anyway. The offered a reward, but didn't take us off standby and deploy us??? I know what you are saying, but you have to know that this happens a lot. Ego and politics gets in the way of helping the lost person(s). Remember, finding people is all we do. We work very hard and are all volunteers. The police are paid and don't train like we do. Ask yourself why they drastically scaled down the search the night before at 6:30 pm? The official reason was 'darkness'. That's BS. They have to pay those 'searchers' overtime. We do not stop on account of darkness. We only stop when told to by the authorities.

[LRS]

I have one question...suppose the three did climb into the trunk...how did they slam it shut from the inside?

An 11 year old should have the strength to do it, but, an 11 year old out to know better...

[jeffc]

The photo of the car makes it look like a mid/late-90's Camry. My sister had one. The trunk release is mechanical and located on the floor near the driver's left foot. Another question to ask is . . . if the car was inoperable and in a "rough" neighborhood, wouldn't the doors have been locked to prevent vandalism, thus preventing access to the remote trunk release?

[johnny7]

Kids hear all kinds of weird stuff at a young age.

...and some of them continue this behavior into adulthood.

I used to hang around with a kid that would do all kinds of crazy sh_t to get attention. On Christmas day he got a 10-speed English bicycle from his parents... and rode it into a pond. One time, I caught him tightening a belt around his neck behind his garage... he said it was 'cool' cause he almost passed-out doing it.

A few years ago, I heard that he died of a heroin overdose at 48.