Episode 166: Tyler Cardiel (Part 1 of 2)

0:14 Hello, and welcome to the Catch My Killer podcast. Thank you for listening. My name is Mark. Since twenty fifteen, I've written a weekly newspaper column about true crimes and unsolved commicides for the Claremont Sun newspaper in Ohio. Tyler Cardial was an eighteen year old young man who was considered a good guy who was loved by his family and friends. Tyler was a kind of person any parent would love to have as a son. He lived in Arizona, enjoyed video games with his buddies, and played on attending college. He worked at a local circle K store and worked many hours to save up money for a truck. According to his mother, Monique, he had saved several thousands of dollars towards his truck. On Christmas Day twenty twenty, while walking home from work, he was shot and killed by an every homeless man seeking a victim. This is the first part of a two part story. Be sure to listen to next week's conclusion. Tyler Cardiel was an eighteen year old young man who was considered kind and friendly. He was someone who didn't have a

1:48 criminal background, any known enemies, or any alcohol or drug issues. His mother said that he hated the Arizona heat and spent much of his time indoors playing video games with his friends when he wasn't working. Tyler had plans on attending college. He lived with his mother, Monique, and his younger brother. Tyler was able to find a job at a circle K near his home. He was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and then get off Christmas Day, go home and spend time with his family, and then return to work to Christmas shift. So Christmas morning, Tyler's mother and brother were waiting at their apartment for Tyler to arrive home so they could open Christmas presents. Unfortunately, Tyler never made it home. His mother began frantically calling around trying to find her son. Monique Cardio, Tyler's mother never wanted her son to work at that circle k. She was fearful that something might happen to him.

2:46 She had told the local media source that it was Tyler's first Christmas away from home. She remembered asking him if he really had to go to work on Christmas. He told his mother that he had already agreed to go to work and needed to go, but before leaving on Christmas eve. He gave his mother a hug and reassured her that he'd be back home later to open Christmas gifts. When he didn't return home, Monique went out looking for her son. She followed the path that he would take home, only to discover Phoenix police officers near her son's job. They had cordon off a street and put up crime scene tape. Monique saw a dead body covered with a blue blanket.

3:28 Her gut instinct told her that this was probably her son. Monique would find out that someone had murdered her son. As he had walked home from work, someone had shot him to death. Law enforcement later learned that a young man was assaulted and nearly killed at another circle K two days prior to Tyler's death. The attacker had stolen this young man's gun. The police found out that there was a connection between that attack and Tyler's death. The same man who had assaulted this other young man was the same man who had killed Tyler. It was a homeless man named Timothy Bell. He had shot Tyler to death with a nine millimeter glock. His motivation he was angry about being homeless and decided that he was going to take it out on someone. Unfortunately, that's someone just happened to be Tyler as he walked past Bell on that Christmas morning. Bell would eventually be captured after a failed suicide attempt where he shot himself in the head. Although he survived, he lost an eye.

4:29 Belle's trial was supposed to start last year, but hasn't. His legal strategy is that he suffered immense brain damage in his suicide attempt and isn't mentally competent to stand trial today. Tyler Cardial's family is still waiting for justice. Bell has not gone on trial yet. A Monique Cardial is fearful that her son's killer won't face justice. And now on with the story of Tyler Cardial, as told by his mother, Monique Cardial. So tell me about your son. What kind of a young man was he? Well, he was born April sixth, two thousand and two. He was my firstborn child, my first son. I was a stay at home mom, so I took care of him until he went to kindergarten. So we were close because it was just me and him during the day. His dad worked and supported us.

5:24 He just was a good kid, a good baby. He potty trained himself. He only had two chipocs when he had chicken pox. He never he never cried. I didn't have to yell at him. He wasn't one of those kids at the store where you hear screaming and they're running around like crazy. That wasn't him. He would just sit in the cart and just look around. He was just quiet and so good. And so he didn't like kindergarten at the public school. I think it was just too much for him because there was like six kindergarten classes that all packed full and he would get lost. So as kindergarten, we had moved to Louvine, Arizona, and there was a little it's called Country Gardens. It's little school, but it's from kindergarten through twelfth grade. So it was ripped by our house and I thought it's cute, let's try it. And that's where he went from first grade until he graduated. So he got to go to the same school.

6:16 Yeah. Yeah, my boys did the same thing. They had an elementary school that went from kindergarten to third grade, and then after leaving third grade they would go to a school with a combination of junior high, middle school, and high school. It went from fourth to twelfth It was pretty good for them because they got to grow up with the same kids and maintain those friendships from kindergarten all the way into the twelfth grade. Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly what happened with my son. He was friends with everybody. There were some loner kids that weren't as whole as the other kids, but my son was their friend. I would go to the school sometimes for my other son, and I would see Tyler at the table with these kids that are just by themselves, and then he would also be friends with the cooler kids.

7:10 He didn't dislike anybody, and nobody had any problems with him. He had never been in a fight, He'd never talked back to me. He's always so respectful, and he wasn't into games, drugs, alcohol. He had no kind of criminal record, never any rent ins with the police. He just was seriously a good kid. It sounds like he was a pretty good kid. Now. Has the family always lived in Arizona? Yes, so Arizona was all your son knew. It was all he knew. He didn't really care for it much because it was so hot when he was younger. All throughout high school, he was always saying, I'm going to move to Alaska. I'm always going to move to Alaska. That's all I heard.

7:51 And in high school he had gotten into games on Xbox and so a lot of his friends all got Xbox so they can all play together. So that what kept him, I think as a good kid because he just stayed home. He did not like to go outside. He hated the heat. He would have laid back. He didn't like crowds, he didn't like attention. He definitely didn't like drama. He was just so amazing and I just can't stop staying in that. But I don't know. We would go on we would call them dates because he was seven and he's like, is it a date. I would pick him up early from school and we would go to lynch In a movie just so we had this one on one time. Because his brother had been born, so Tyler was the oldest. Right, you've got two sons and he's the oldest. Yeah, he was the oldest, my firstborn. He was just so good. And my other son, Matthew, who's now thirteen, is the complete opposite of Tyler. Like he likes to go outside, he likes to be loud, he should do everything Tyler didn't like to do. It's funny about kids, isn't it. I mean, you can have two or three kids. I grew up in the same house, eat the same food, have the same parents, the same rules. Pretty much everything in the house is basically the same, and for some reason, all the kids will turn out to be completely different. One might be outgoing and the other one just likes to be home. It's interesting how that works. Yea, So tell me about what kind of grades to Tyler Makon's school. Was he a good student? Yes, he had AS

9:24 and b's. He was on honor roll from his junior year, authroughout junior year, and AU throughout senior year for two years state he was on a roll. He didn't really like school. He was a typical teenager, but he did good. His grades showed that he was doing what he needed to do. Now, what about sports? Did he do football or wrestling or anything? No? When I say he hated the heat, he hated the heat like he didn't want to go outside at all. He would change his clothes if he got sweaty, like he just did not like the heat. So he was just a gamer then, yes, yeah, my kids did the same thing. I think they still do. I remember them just playing on these different games with all their buddies, and my dad did as well.

10:07 I've never been into video games, or I was when I was a kid, but not so much anymore. I have no interest in it, but I can understand why people do enjoy playing those games though. Yeah, I mean I get it. Playing video games this pretty cool. I mean it's something that you can do with your family and friends and it brings people together, so that is a pretty good thing. Yeah, Now what did he want to do after he got out of high school? He wanted to go to college. He didn't know exactly for what. He was going to spit with the basics, the general courses and then go from there. And because I had told him to hold off until we found out how COVID was gonna play out back, then he's okay, and then he said, well, I'm going to get a job. And then I was like okay.

10:56 He's like, I want to get a cart So I was like okay. So he got a job. Like this next day he's like, mom, I have an interview at circle K And I was like what. And I immediately when he said circle k. I was like, I don't like that, and he's like why. I'm like, you're gonna get robbed. There's crazy people you never know. Like, I didn't like it at all, And we had little discussions about probably treat him like a baby and that he's not a baby anymore. So I was like okay, and he's going to work the day shift. So I was like, okay, I feel a little bit better. Everything will be okay. It'll be fine. Now. For anyone that's not familiar with what a circle k is, can you tell me what that is. It's a convenient store with the gas station. It's like the real popular one here. And how old was your son when he got that job? Who was eighteen? So why did he want to work there? A lot of kids work at department stores, or they work at restaurants. Why did he want to work at a convenience store, because, like you said, they are dangerous. I don't really think he thought about it like that. He just wanted a job that wouldn't fast food. And he had a friend that was also a student at the same school and he was going he was working at QT. So I'm not sure, but I'm thinking they talked about that and that probably what helped Sun makes the decision to go to a circle. Kay I told him I could Chad make some calls and have some of my friends help you get a job. He's like, no, I want to work at says Okay. He didn't even want my help. He wanted to do it on his own. And all way him.

12:26 I was proud of him. I was proud that he making his choices and they were good choices, and I wanted to support him, especially because he was telling me I'd treat him like a baby. So it went well. He started in September that year, was this September twenty okay, September twenty twenty. He would just work. He was working the day shift and every day he had two days off, and he liked it. He loved it, and he was making some money, and he was excited for the money he was making because it was like fifteen dollars and it wasn't made him a wage and it wasn't fast food. And to be fine, he liked it. And about a week after he started, he came home and he's like, Mom, you were right about the people being weird, and we live in a bad part of town, and the people that are around here now are all using fence and all just everywhere, And I guess he finally he's like the real life, real world where all these people were just on the street doing drugs and passed out everywhere, and it scared me. I didn't. I don't what parent wants their child in that kind of environment, Like I was trying his whole life to protect him and keep him from the drugs. That's why when he started gaming, I had no problem with it because my kid was going to be home and inside safe and I knew where he was. So for him, the one would get a job on his own, but it was a lot because he didn't like to go out, so he worked. He liked it, and then towards the end of November, he was like, Mom, I think I wanted truck, and so

13:56 I was like a truck. So we were going back and forth. I'm like, you should start with a car because he hadn't even he didn't have his license yet. He'd never wanted to even learn how to drive because he didn't want to leave. And that's what he had always said when he was sixteen, I'll take an uber I'll just take a lift. But once he was eighteen and all his friends started getting jobs and having cars then, and he was just like, I want a truck. Sure, a lot of young guys that's what they like. They like those trucks. Yes. So when I was like, okay, save the money, and he's like, I have money saved, and then he told me that he had saved about six thousand dollars just in two months. And I couldn't even believe it. He hadn't spent hardly any of the money that he had made. He saved it all. And being a gamer too, I was thinking he was going to be buying all this gaming stuff. He didn't. He just saved his money. And then they started allowed him to cover shifts because someone didn't show up. So for about a month he didn't have any days off. He was just working every single day. And then they changed his schedule and it was ten pm to six am, and he didn't tell me. So I went to wait him up, thinking he was going to be working in the day and he had just went to bed and he's like, no, I don't work until tonight. And I was like tonight at what time? And he said ten o'clock. I'm working from ten to six at least for this week. And I was terrified, instantly terrified, and we were going at it again because I'm like, I don't like this. I don't want to be there by yourself all night. I was so scared, and so of course, who starts again. Don't cheat me like a baby, Let me do my thing. So it's like I could have made him not work there.

15:30 So against everything that I felt and thought, I said okay, and it worked out. And then we didn't have a vehicle. His father and I had split up and it wasn't a good split up, and he took both of our vehicles and left me with some messing. Well, I didn't have a vehicle at that point in time. So he would get a ride to work from a friend and then he would take a lift home sometimes when his co workers would bring him home, and sometimes he would walk. I had bought him a bus pass because I did not want him walking, and I was like, so are you taking the bus? He's like yeah, but he wasn't taking the bus. I had caught him walking. Yeah, And this wasn't a bad neighborhood, right, Is that what she said, yeah, this whole area isn't good at all. I never have problems and I don't see anything crazy other than people using drugs here and there. But it was worse still what I had thought. So a week went by, two, three weeks, and then I'm like, I thought you were going to only work this shift for a week. He's like, but they don't have anybody at night, and I get paid a little bit more because I'm working at night, and he's like, I love it, it's fine.

16:37 I was like, I'm just scared if something's gonna happen too, if you get robbed, And then he says, nothing's gonna happen to me. I've already been robbed, and I was like what. He's like, yeah, I'm like when he's like, I'm always robbed and it was. He said it was at least ten times that he had been robbed and that the procedure was just go in the back room, let them do whatever, and then come out when they're gone. I guess that's what he did. And I was like, what if sometime someone comes in and they have a gun and he's like, they won't. They're just all these people on drugs. I just want cigarettes an alcohol, And I was like, you don't know. He's like, I'm fine, but there, I'm fine. So I didn't like it. Everything was fine other than the part that it was overnight at the store in our area, and I didn't like it. I mean, everything was also going good. So it was about the twentieth of December when he had picked out the truck that he wanted, and by this time he had about seventy eight hundred dollars saved and he had only been working from September through December. That was all he worked, and he had all that money saved. So I was like, okay, so I'll start calling insurance places to find out because you need to know all these things. So he said okay, and then I told him when I found out the insurance was going to range from three hundred to six hundred dollars. He's like, okay, I'll just work some extra overtime. And then I was like, you don't have to work more overtime year already working. Just keep saving. He's like it's okay, because they need people this week. And I was like, oh my gosh. So I was like okay. So then he's like they're

18:10 going to put me the schedule, but I won't know until Thursday night. That's when the schedules came out, which would have been Christmas Eve. So he left our house at nine thirty and as soon as you get to work, it was ten or five. He texts me and showed me the picture of the schedule. He worked at Christmas Eve from ten am to six am. Then he was going to come home and go back to work at noon on Christmas Day and work until seven am the next day. He was going to cover three shifts so these three people can be at home for Christmas. So he was taking all the ship and I text him, I'm like, oh, you're not going to be here for our Christmas dinner and he's like, no, but I'm about to make some good ass money. And he was just so happy and excited, and it made me sad. And you celebrate at midnight on Christmas, and so he wasn't going to be with this, and this one was the first time in his whole life that I mean night, he wasn't going to be there doing the things that we do.

19:10 Christmas is a time for families. For the Cardial household, they always spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together. Monique did not want her son to go to work. She didn't feel right about him going to work on that day. However, he was an adult, so she kept her reservations to herself. Little did she know that when he would walk out the door on Christmas Eve, she would never see her son again. Who will pause for a moment and be right back with Monique sharing her thoughts about the final moments that she spent with her son Tyler. So I'm a parent. I was sad.

19:59 I was tired of him, but really sat and so he was just getting ready for work Christmas Eve. I was in my room wrapping some presents that I had got him and his brother, and he knocked the door and told me he was going to get ready to go, and I said okay. So he went in the bathroom and did his hair and came out and brought his food from dinner and went in the kitchen and he was standing there by the trash, Karen in the sink, and then he's like, I'll see you later. And I was in the hallway. I was like, what do you mean, And he's like, I gotta go to work. I'm gonna'd say it. You're just gonna say, you know, I'll see you later. I like, it's Christmas. Do you have to go? He's like, I have to. I'm on the schedule. He's like, mother, it'll be fine. I'm just going to work. I'll be home.

20:42 And I don't know, I don't know what it was. I just don't feel right, and so I started to cry and he came over to me and he's like, Mom, i'll be fine. I'll be home after work, and then he gave me a hug. And when he normally left for work, he never hugged me. It was like in passing he's like, okay, leaving, and sometimes I was at home, so it wasn't like an everyday thing where he'd hugged me goodbye. But that night he hugged me and he like held on for ten seconds, twenty seconds, and then he left and when he got to the door, he's like, i'll text you later with my schedule. And then his brother goes, oh, tye, he's gonna miss Christmas. And he's like, it'll be fine, I'm home tomorrow, and his little brother got up and ran over and gave him a hug and I just remember that. He gave us both hugs and then he left and he texted me at work the schedule, and I was sad, and he's like, I'll be home, and I told him, how about if I get you a lift in the morning, even though it's not even a full mile walk, just so he can get home faster since he was going to only be able to sleep for like less than six five hours.

21:49 So he's like, no, because I can't leave until the other employee comes in and she's always late. They don't call a list because what if I can't even sitting here waiting. So I was like, okay, so call me then, and he's like, I'll get home because the manager, Christine, she also gets off. She comes in for a few hours, then she gets off. When I get off, she'll give me a ride home. And he was like, I'm not even worried about him, but they're I'm fine. So I'm like, okay, just call me in the morning before you leave, and he's like okay, so open present. And then you know, I text him Merry Christmas, Honey, I wish you were here. I love you, replied back to me that they loved me, and then he told me he might have to stay till six thirty.

22:33 He doesn't know for sure, and so I was like, okay, well, he's like, I have a ride home, and I was like, are you sure, and he said yeah. I said, I just want you to get home so you can get some rest, because you'd have a long day ahead of you. So he got off that six and because he was gone for the open presents at midnight, his brother and I had moved the Christmas tree into his bedroom right by the door, so right when he would open the door, he'd be blocked by the Christmas tree and all of his presence. And then we hung up lights in his room and we were just excited and we were hanging up lights and putting the tree in there, and then I started cleaning. I get his laundry and wiped everything down, took out his trash it was all clean, and put his presents out.

23:18 And so I unplugged the tree and went to bed about three o'clock in the morning and set my alarm for six twenty so that I could wake up and then plug the lights in and be here when he got home so I could watch him open his presence and I was sleeping and I jumped up, and it's that feeling you get when you're like, oh, my gosh, I overslept. I slept through my alarm, and your heart's pounding and your in a panic, and that's what happened. I jumped up, and I was like looking everywhere in the dark for my phone because I thought I had slept through my alarm and that I didn't get to see him open his presence. And then I looked at my phone and it was sixteen, and I was like, oh, I'm just a few minutes before it's going to go off, and he's not home. I'm good. So I got out of bed, and as I was walking to his room, my legs were shaking, but at the time I didn't think anything of it because I slept with my window open and it was cold, and so I'm trembling as I'm putting the lights on and getting things ready. And so six thirty comes and he's not here, and so I'm like, okay, he said he might have to stay till six thirty. So then I went in my room and I just stayed in my room. My door opened, and he didn't come home.

24:33 Finally, I get up seven ten, and I'm like, okay, if he was going to stay till six thirty, he would be home. It was like twenty to twenty five minute walk at the most. So I got out, checked his room, nothing, went in the living room, walked around nothing, and I grabbed my phone and I was like, okay, where are you? How can we not here? Because we have been having those discussions about him being treated like a baby and he didn't like it. So I was like, okay, I'm not going to start bomb him yet with calls and text messages. I'm going to give him some space. He's going to be here. Never in my mind did I think anything is going to happen. Never, nothing, So expecting my son to just come home, I wasn't worried at that point. So with seven fifteen twenty and I'm just pacing and I don't normally pace, but I was just pacing the apartment because we're in an apartment. And finally, like seven thirty, I'm like, all right, something is wrong. And when he is late because he has to work because this girl doesn't come in on time, he has texted me and said I'm gonna be a little late. So I hadn't gotten a text or a call and at seven thirty and so I'm like, okay, something's wrong. So I text him, Hey, Son, where are you?

25:42 Nothing? Seven forty I text him again, I'm like, are you still working? Are you going to still work from new until the next day? Like you need to get home to get sleep? And then nothing. It's about seven fifty I called and nothing. So I was like, okay, maybe he's busy. But my heart was just pounding and I don't know what it was, but something just made me go and take a shower, and I had my phone in this shower and it was just weird. It was off. Everything was off that morning. So I'm getting ready and I'm doing it fast. It's almost like my body or my soul knew something's about to go down. Get ready. It was weird. So I got out.

26:22 I didn't get all maked up in hair like I normally would. I just got myself together and by then it was about eight thirty almost, and so I text him again. I'm like, where are you? You need to get home and then I put hello and the question marks and I'm like, TI, where are you? And nothing, And then I call and it went to voice him out and I called and called it. It was a voicemail, and I'm like, what is happening? So I call his job. The girl answers and I'm like, hello, it's Tyler there. Like no, I'm like, do you know when he left? She's like, I have no idea? And I was like, are you sure? She's like yeah. And it didn't make sense to me because this was the girl that was late and he couldn't leave until a shot there, so I was confused as to why he wasn't there when she got there. It didn't make sense. She just kept saying he wasn't here when I got here, and she got mad and she hung up because I was questioning it. I didn't make sense to him. I don't know, so she hung up on me. So I was irritated. Then I started calling my friend and nothing.

27:23 I started calling hospitals. I called three hospitals. Nobody had heard of them. Nobody was brought in with his description or his name or anything. And then this lady like, are you sure he's just not late? And I told her this is hours late. We're just down the street. Something's wrong. She's like, have you called the jail. I was like, jail, you don't know my son. She's like, yeah, but you never know. I was like, no, absolutely not. So we hung up, and my mind's just spitting everywhere and that there was nothing to do. I called them, text them nothing. So I'm like, I'm going to call them and see if the jails and see if they had heard anything. And of course they didn't, and so I was like, okay, no hospitals, no jail. He's not at work, he's not answering our calls. Something's wrong. So I woke up my youngest son and told him, your brother's not home, he's not at work, he's not answering calls or text I'm gonna go walk his route to work, which is just a straight line, and when I get there, I'm gonna ask questions because they said that he wasn't even there when she got there. And he's like okay, And I told him, if he comes in or he calls or replies to your text messages, you call me immediately. You tell him to wait, and he said, okay, mom. So then my boyfriend and I started to go out to the street. We're an apartment, so we had to walk a couple of buildings to the main road, and there's a fire station right in front of our apartment. And as soon as you get to the fire station, you'd just make a left and then you just walk straight down for less than half a mile. That's where his job is, and normally and I would go out there. I could see him walking. So we got to the street and I made the left, and all I could

28:56 see in the distance is a police bearer kade all these cop cars and the tape up and they do not pass, and the street closed everything, and my heart dropped and I started winning. And my boyfriend's like, calm down, and I was like, that's my son, and he's like, you don't know that. I'm like, it's my son, and we just ran. When we got to the barricade, and I just went to the cop car and I was like, excuse me, my son hasn't come home and he walks this street. He should have been home by six thirty. I need to know who that is. Because when we got really close to the barricade, in the far off distance at a light, you could see a blue blanket on the ground and I just knew. And the cop was like we don't know who it is. What's your son's name, Tyler Cartio?

29:44 And he was looking in the computer and looking like anything, and he's just going through screens and I'm watching his face and his face changes and he's like, I don't see anything, but let me get a detective to come over and talk to you. And I was like, okay. So I'm standing there waiting seeing and I'm like, if someone will come. He was like, someone will come. Hold on, and I'm Auntie, I want to know what's happening. Anxieties high, and I'm starting to get angry, and I'm like, I need to know who that is. And he was like, someone's coming. So I'm standing there. It's forty five minutes. I'm standing there and all of a sudden, a red rand pulls up and it says being excite apartment and two women get out of the stand and they're like, hello, are you more Nique? I said yes, and she's like, we're here for you. I was like what. She's like, we're some crisis response and we're here for you. I was like, why are you here for me? And she's like, oh, because aren't used the family of the victim And I was like, so that's my son, and she's like, oh, I don't know who that is. And I'm like, then, why are you here for me? So she's like, I don't know, like she was so confused. I jumped over the barricade and ran, and the cop that was talking to get information he was like dup.

30:55 And I just kept running and pretty soon all the detectives and cops that were down the road looked over because he stopped and I'm running. So they all start saying stop and they start running towards me, and I make it all the way to the light called Glenn Rosa and maybe Third Avenue on the south side of the light, and the blue blanket on the ground is on the north side, and so I'm standing there and they're like, you need to go back behind the line, and I was like, I need someone to tell me who that is and they're like, we don't know. I'm like, I need to know who that is. I need for someone to tell me. I said, is that is he Tyler Cardio? Someone at least tell me that. If you can't tell me who it is, tell me if that's Tyler Cardio. And it's like, we don't know, we'll talk to you. You need to just go back to the light. And I was like, I'm not going to leave here until somebody tells me who that is. And a cop put his hands up and he was like motioning me to go back, and he dropped something and I swear it fell in flow motion and it was the loudest drop, and there was an id face up with my son. So of course I was like, who is that?

32:00 Why do you have its idea? And I'm like somebody telling me something. And they kept telling me to go back, and I'm like, I'm not leaving. I started screaming, I'm crying, and then a detective says, okay, yes, that is Tyler. He has been shot and he has not survived. And I don't really remember a whole lot from that point because I dropped to the ground. I remember that because the crisis response came running to me and they're trying to help me up and try to give me water, and I'm crying. I'm hysterical, I'm in shot. I don't believe it. I don't understand, and they're like, you need to go back, we'll come talk to you. And I was like, where was he shot and the guy sit in the chest and it didn't make sense. So I go back and then they say at detectives on his way. And I'm standing there and I'm hysterical, standing behind a stupid barricade while my child's on the floor. And I made a couple of calls take family. When I called my grandma, she's like, marry Chris and his baby, and I'm like, grandma and hysterical. She's like, that's wrong, and I was like, it's tie. He was shot and she's like where is he?

33:05 Is he at the hospital and I'm like, new whole Grandma, he didn't live. He's dead, and she just dropped the phone. And I had to make some of these balls. And I, of course I didn't want to it's Christmas. I didn't want to be ruining everybody's Christmas. But I need to tell these people. I needed to tell my family. And it was horrible. It was so horrible. So it's eleven o'clock. I'm sitting on the side of the road and the christis responsible. He's trying to help me and talk to me, and I'm just like, get away from me. I don't want anybody talking to me. And I'm waiting for my younger son to call me or text me. Now, I had just gotten him his phone that night at Christmas, and I didn't program his number in my phone because he was using my phone a lot to talk with his friends.

33:47 So I didn't want him to happen to see in my phone Matthew and give away that I had just got him a phone for Christmas, so I didn't program it. I was like, I'll do it later. So I didn't have his new number in my phone as I'm anything on the side of the road. And when I left, I had told him text your brother to ask him where he's at, see if he applies to you. So I'm sitting there waiting. It's one o'clock. The detective fund that comes and takes me back to a little command center in the span and I'm across the street from where my son's at and I go on the span and parts of the questions is your son in the game? No? Is he in the drugs? No? And this other cop was like, I think it's going to be drug related. No, my son isn't into that. He's like, that's what all the parents say, and then they're shocked when they find out that it's drug related. I was like, that is not what happened.

34:36 My son is not on drugs. And he's like, Okay, calm down, We'll just have to see. He was a real jerk about it, and it got me mad. So I'm answering the detective questions and he's like, who could have done this? I have no idea. Did you have enemies? Absolutely not, And he was just asking me these questions and I was giving him these answers. He just kept looking at me and he's like, so you don't have any idea who would have done this? I'm like, no, Are you close with your son? I'm like, I'm very close. Do you know what he was wearing? And I described every single thing that he was wearing, and he's like, did you have anything on him? I'm like, he would have had his headphones, his phone, and his wallet, and he kept his wallet on his left side pocket of his pants and he kept his phone in his earbuds. I would tell him, and that's where they were. And he's like, do you know what was in his wallet? I had everything down. I was only off by three dollars on the amount of money that was in his wallet. So he's like, you do know your son? I do, and he's like, okay, go back behind the line. Let me see what's going on.

35:34 I'm like, you know what could have happened. I'm like, do you know anything? And he's like, you don't know anything. We just got a call that there was some man with a gun. I was like what, And I'm like, ohoo, you know what time I didn't know anything about this. I'm asking these questions. She's like, I can't give any information right now because I can't jeopardize the case. And I'm like, that is my child. I need some information, So I go back behind the line. Don't irritate. He did in dad and in shock and at three o'clock and finally my son called me. He's like, hi, Mom, guess what read my message? Isn't that great? And I just stayed quiet because you know, on androids, when you send a message, it'll say red. So that's what he got on his phone home was read.

36:19 And he was like, isn't that great? And obviously not. And I was like, oh my gosh. I'm like Mark is going to come and get you, and I need you to get in the car with him. Because Tati's friends also showed up. Two of his best friends is they started school together, showed up with their parents. So the parents drove Mark back to our apartment, brought my son and went back over there. And he got out of the van and we're the only people on the street because it's all blocked off, and he's like, mom, wears Tie and he's looking around and I'm just like, come here, and he's like, no, where's Tie? And I start crying. He's like, Mom, where is he? I was like, oh, honey, he was shot. He's like, what hospital is he at? Go now? And I'm hysterical.

37:01 I'm like, babe, he died. And he just dropped on the ground two instead of crying. So we were there crying on the side of the road at three o'clock in the after he went on Christmas and there's crowd forming and people were back and forth trying to see. People are looking over the wall to see what's going on, and we just sat there and luckily they had removed Tie's body five minutes before he called me at three o'clock. And I feel like that was probably meant to be, so that he didn't show up and see that his brother was laying underneath that blanket on the side of the road, so they had taken him. And then my son came and we sat there and we cried, and I called their father and he came with their parents, and they were crying. Everybody was crying. And then his parents where like, maybe it's not him. Had you have proof?

37:44 Did you see him? I'm like no, but they have his idea it's him. And they kept trying to argue with me, and I wasn't and trying to have any of that at that moment, and so I just started yelling, I just want everybody to leave me alone. So they did. More of his friends came. Three more friends came, so there was five total, and about forty five minutes later, two more came and they all sat there with us on the side of the road. And they hadn't blocked off though, because they were trying to clean up where my son was. So the guy I finally cleans up and pulls his truck down and starts driving towards the barricade and then he gets out and I'm like, can I go over there? And he's like, go ahead, and I just went running. I went running to where he was, and of course it was horrible because there was a big pool of blood that my son was laying in, and it was just all the blood was there, and I sat in it.

38:30 I felt like I dropped. I was sitting in it. I was crying, and I just stayed there until a cop was like, we're going to have to open the street. And I just sat there crying, and his brother was crying on the side of the road, and we just sat there. Then they opened the street and the first car that ran over the blood spot, my son, Matthew was like God. He started yelling, you're running over my brother. It was horrible. I hadn't try to keep it together to help him when I was losing my mind. So we lived there. It was about eleven a flock and all of a sudden a lady was like hey, and I turned around and she was leaning over the wall from her backyard because it faced the streets that my son was on, and she's like here, and she gave me a candle and a little bear.

39:15 I was like, thank you. So I put the candle by this tree and the bear by the tree, which is maybe seven to ten feet from where on the road where my son was at. As parents, it's easy for us to overlook the shortcomings of our children. We raise them to be strong, and we love them unconditionally, and sometimes it can be easy to overlook their kindness, thoughtfulness, and the traits that make them special. Sometimes it takes perspective from others to realize the positive effect our children have on the lives of other people. After Tyler's death, strangers would come forward and share stories with Monique about how kind Tyler was to them. We'll take a final break and be back in a moment the conclusion of the first part of Tyler's story. So we just sat there. I was crying, and then this guy and his mother came and they had candles and he's like, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, and my mom wants to stay sorry too.

40:30 We didn't know your son, but we always talked to him and saw him every time we'd go into circle Kay, and this guy's like, your son was cool. Every time I'd walk in, he'd already have my cigarettes ready, he had everything I needed ready. He already knew I'm really going to miss him. And I was like, thank you. You know, in the moments like I'm so sorry, and she hugged me and she was crying, and then more people have started coming and next thing, I know, the whole entire tree forty nine candles outside of it from people bringing them. And it was all strangers, nobody that we knew. So we didn't go home until after midnight. We spent all of Christmas on the side of a road, and of course I didn't sleep. My son cried himself to sleep. I just laid there and shocked, crying. And the next day we had to start the funeral talk and I'm still out of it. My grandma came, She's like, let me help you. And I wasn't even paying attention. I didn't know what was happening. And we left to the store and we came back and that was a man and two news people that had already set up their cameras and everything at the bottom of our stairs and they were just standing there waiting, and I pulled into the spot with my grandma and they're like, are you Monique, And I was like yeah.

41:49 They're like, we'd like to talk to you about your son. So of course I did it because I wanted to put it out there. I wanted someone to tell me if they knew anything, because they didn't have any suspects at that point. So yes, I'll talk to you, and we did the interview. They said it was going to air that night. They left and my sons came and said, look at this thing online that I saw, and then said man found dead on the side of the road. Man hadn't been shot. The man is identified, and he wasn't a man. He was my baby. So I emailed the lady who did the story and I said, Hi, my name is Monie Cartiel, and that man that you keep referring to wasn't a He was eighteen. He was my son.

42:35 He was my baby and his name was Tyler. And she replied, we need to check to make sure this is that. These are facts. They are facts. I'm his mom. And then she said would you like to do an interview? I said yes, and she said, okay, I'll get in contact with you in a little bit. This was through email. I said, okay, We left to the story. We came back and there was another news crews sitting out here. I did about three or four interviews that night and just trying to get the word out what happened and somebody with anything. Well that's pretty much how it went over that whole weekend. It was interviews and just everything was a mess, messing me. I don't know. It was horrible, and especially to happen on a day as specialist Christmas. And I had friends this year asked me, what are you going to do for Christmas? And you know what, I don't do anything anymore because I was really close with my grandmother. I mean my entire life, I was close with her. I really loved her a lot. Even as a grown man. I used to call her and ask her for her advice on different topics. Yeah, she passed away in twenty fifteen. I believe December the fifteenth. I just know it was some time right before Christmas.

43:45 So my Christmas of two fifteen involved me doing the funeral planning and me serving as a pallbearer for my grandmother. And that's kind of how I spent the Christmas holiday that year. And like I said, this was in twenty fifteen, and since then, I really haven't thought too much about Christmas. I just think it's another just I just treated as another day. I mean, I celebrate it from my grandson. But for me personally, I don't think about it. Yeah. Yeah, because every time I think about Christmas, I think about my grandmother passing away right before Christmas and me being her pall bearer. Yeah. So I know you had a more traumatic experience because your son died on Christmas Day, So I'm not sure how you would feel about Christmas. But if you weren't celebrating it or thought didn't think much of it, I certainly can understand. I heard it. So when you lose a loved one and you're bearing that person around that time, that holiday just really doesn't mean a whole lot to you anymore. And I hope that you maybe don't feel that way because you have another son, but you might feel that way too, Or he might even feel that way that Christmas just isn't the same anymore. Yeah, he knows. He said it's not the same, and he gets worried because he's like, I get excited to open presents, but then I feel so bad because I'm excited to open them, but that's

45:15 when my brother was killed. I don't think it's okay to be excited. You can still enjoy things you're supposed to do. He would want you to, I said, But as for me, you don't mind me if you know I'm crying. I'm sad because I can't hold this in. I can't hide it, I can't pretend. So I'm going to be crying a lot and probably forever. On Christmas. Yes, and it's been what three years? Two years, justice past Christmas? Two years? It's hard to tell because it's right there on New Year's daft. So after your son passed away, tell me more about the details. You said that when he spoke to his co worker, this co worker said that he wasn't there when she arrived.

45:59 What was all about? So I went to his job the next day and spoke with the manager, Christine. I was like, I need to know what happened, because this is what happened on my end and what people told me. And I'm confused as to how this girl came to work, but my son wasn't here when she got here. And then she said, oh, that's not the girl that's always late. The girl that was supposed to be here called out. So I had called this other girl to come and take her plate, and she's like, I was still here. And then I told Tiler to go home because he had to work all those hours and he made it sleep. So I told him to go home. I would stay here and wait until this other person that was going to come in and cover that girl shift. I was like, Oh, that makes sense.

46:51 And then she's like, we have no idea what it was. They questioned us. They were asking us for information about customers and if we had your information, and I was like, when was this and she was like about seven o'clock in the morning. I was like, so you knew at seven o'clock in the morning that my son was dead and she's like, yeah, they were already here before seven. And I was upset because she knew. I didn't know. I didn't know until it wasn't confirmed until eleven o'clock, so I was upset. I'm assuming that law enforcement probably asked her not to say anything. I'm sure they wanted to be the one that told you about your son. I think that's how that works. But see, they never called me, and they never came over to letting me know that my son is dead on the side of the road. Nobody contacted me. I found out because I went looking for my son that was at home and it was abnormal. That's how I found out. What a way to find out.

47:46 And I'm guessing that you still live in the area, so you probably drive past that crime scene all the time. Yeah. I still live in the apartment because I can't see myself to move because this is the last place that he lived. So for now, I'm not ready to move. And that concludes the story of Tyler Cardial. He was an innocent young man who did nothing but work so that he could save his money up and buy a truck. He enjoyed playing video games and wanted to attend college. He was close to his family and friends. He had no criminal record or substance abuse or alcohol issues. Unfortunately, he would never live to see his dreams become a reality. Instead of spending Christmas Day opening gifts with his mother and younger brother, he would be killed while walking home from work. For now, Monique Cardiel and Tyler's younger brother both continue to wait for justice and fear that killer Timothy Bell, may not face justice. If you have any information about this case or Timothy Bell in particular, that you would like to share with law enforcement, you can contact Silent Witness for eight to zero Witness or one eight hundred three four three tips and if you are a parent, law enforcement official, friend, or relative seek injustice for an unsolved Thoma side case, please visit my website and complete the contact form. You can also contact me through Facebook. Thank you for listening.