Fact 8: Casing Location Has Forensic Significance

Each time I write these blogs to call for action, I have to push past my anger at the disregard shown by the Guam Police Department. I stay grounded in who my son was and in the facts. His truth is what keeps me seeking justice. Rereading and examining the details of my son’s death through an objective, investigative lens is painful and it takes a toll. I know it is necessary, so I pause and breathe through it to remain focused.

The weight of the pain is made heavier by GPD’s inaction. They should be following every lead and fully investigating what happened. But even after laying out the facts, there has been no response. They have not taken the simple steps to reopen, investigate, and follow the basic procedures meant to ensure accountability and transparency.

Because of that, speaking out publicly has become my only option. My calls are not returned, and my requests for meetings are ignored. Chief Ignacio’s continued avoidance, even after agreeing to meet with me when I confronted him at Coffee with a Cop, speaks volumes.

I will not be silent. Their inaction sends a devastating message to me, to my family, and to the community that seeking answers and accountability means nothing, that my son’s life does not matter to them, and that a homicide not easily solved can simply be set aside. 

The pain of losing my son is made worse by the failures of those sworn to protect and serve this community. How is that oath upheld when my son’s death was processed in just one hour and 47 minutes? How does Lieutenant Arriola determine suicide in about four minutes of being in my son’s apartment?

The facts raise more questions than the police are willing to answer. To those who were involved in my son’s case: The initial responding officers recognized that something was not right at the scene. The medical examiner disagreed with GPD’s theory. I have not even touched on how veteran investigators can work a case on a single theory, something the detectives, to this day, cannot explain how my son would have managed to do so or why, without any evidence. If this were your child, you would demand more than what my son received on April 1, 2023. I urge you to reopen this case and conduct a proper, thorough investigation.

It has been 1,093 days since my son was shot – 1,093 days without answers from GPD. Fact after fact challenges the suicide narrative put forward by GPD and the sole known witness, Mariana. 

Another critical fact that does not fit the narrative is the location of the expended bullet casing. In a semi-automatic firearm, the spent casing is ejected from the right side as the slide cycles backward after a shot is fired. It usually travels up and to the right unless something interferes with its path.

Based on Jaren’s reported position, which was facing the bed, with his back to the dresser and his arms extended, a self-inflicted shot under those conditions would normally eject the casing to Jaren’s left, either slightly forward or behind him, depending on exact orientation and movement.

However, the casing was found in the center of the bed. For it to end up in that spot, it likely would have had to strike a surface and bounce in a very specific way, traveling farther than usual. While casings can bounce or deflect off nearby surfaces such as walls, furniture, or other objects, they most often come to rest close to where they first land, unless there is clear evidence of multiple impacts or deflection points.

In the absence of documented evidence, as in my son’s case, explaining how the casing reached that position on the bed requires considering another possibility: that it did not arrive there solely through natural ejection.

When viewed alongside other critical factors, the atypical nasal entry point, horizontal trajectory, intermediate firing range, unusual body position, evidence of post-mortem movement, two distinct blood patterns, the absence of common suicide indicators, inconsistencies in witness accounts, irregularities in the immediate scene response, and lack of corroborating physical evidence for a self‑inflicted act, the casing’s location becomes even more significant.

The casing’s position demands a clear and thorough explanation. As it stands, it does not align with the narrative presented and should not be dismissed. When considered alongside the growing list of inconsistencies, it reinforces a central concern that the truth about my son’s death has not been fully investigated, and it has not been fully told.

If none of these facts are enough to demand action, then the failure lies not in the evidence. It lies in those who refuse to act on it.