True Crime with Rachel Shannon
A 4 Year Old's DESPERATE Cries for Help Ignored by EVERYONE: The Tragic Case of Octavia Aquino
Sun, 25 May 2025
The tragic story of Octavia Aquino is a heartbreaking case of a child whose cries for help were ignored by EVERYONE. This 4-year-old was failed by her mother, her abuser, and the roommates who knew what was happening and did nothing to help. Go watch my other episodes on Spotify: The Disturbing Case of Stephanie ParzeShe Tried to Warn Them About her Son, Then he was MURDERED. THE CASE OF GUNNAR SCHUMACHER7 Year old’s Strange Death Reveals Mom’s DISGUSTING Secret: Did She Starve her for Attention?!
Chapter 1: What is the tragic story of Octavia Aquino?
Today's case is one that I've been following since it very first happened. On the surface, it appears to be yet another case of a mother who allowed her boyfriend to abuse her daughter, leading to a horrifying tragic end. But this case is so much more than that. Today we are going to discuss the devastating consequences of the bystander effect.
Chapter 2: Who were the key people in Octavia's life?
So many people in Octavia's life could have stepped in, but no one did. And when you hear about the numerous chances the adult in her life had to step in but didn't, you will be just as furious as I am about this case. Octavia Aspen Aquino was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Mother's Day, May 10, 2020, to Brandon Aquino and Destiny Rhodes.
Octavia was described as the sweetest, kindest, most full-of-life little girl you could ever meet. She was a spunky girl who always had a huge smile on her face. She loved going to the zoo and getting ice cream. She also loved coloring and drawing, and her favorite shows to watch were Paw Patrol, Jurassic Park, and the Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony, and Cocomelon.
Now, as much as I tried digging, I couldn't find that much information about Octavia's living situation or background around her family. Some sources say that she was living with her mother, Destiny. However, in later interviews, Octavia's paternal grandmother, Linda Alvarez, said that she would see Octavia almost every day at her home in Fort Wayne.
The longest she had ever gone without seeing Octavia was when her father Brandon would take her down to Evansville about a five-hour drive south to visit her mother. So I don't know if they shared custody or if she lived mostly with her father. We do know that Destiny had only been living in Evansville for a few months and it was more of a temporary thing.
Chapter 3: What were Octavia's last days like?
So maybe Octavia was living with Destiny before then in Fort Wayne but moved in with her father after Destiny moved. Maybe after she moved, Brandon and her switched off caring for Octavia every week or so. I don't for sure know what the living situation was, so if you know more about her living arrangements, please do let me know in the comments.
with that being said by june of 2024 brandon drove four-year-old little octavia down to evansville to stay with her mother destiny for a few days now destiny lived in an apartment with a bunch of other people the two individuals who actually rented the apartment sisters carly and sydney allowed destiny to stay with them for a few months the
Then there was another girl, Megan, who had also been staying with them for about a week at that time. Also living with them at the time was Destiny's boyfriend, who I will discuss in just a minute. Like I said, this was an arrangement that Octavia's father and grandmother were expecting to go well. She would be with her mother, who she loved.
She had all these other women around her who I believe, at least most of them, they had met in the past and seemed like good people. But when Linda and Brandon found out what was really going on within that apartment and what happened to Octavia as a result, they were heartbroken. By 8.50 a.m.
Chapter 4: What injuries did Octavia suffer?
on the morning of June 14, 2024, the Evansville Police Department received a call from one of the women living in that apartment who reported that she found her roommate's 4-year-old daughter unresponsive and not breathing. When officers arrived, they immediately made contact with Octavia, who was unconscious and barely breathing.
They immediately began examining the little girl, who was already reportedly cold to the touch. Right away, first responders noticed that Octavia was covered in bruises. She had multiple what they described as finger-shaped bruises to her left jawline and neck area, as well as red marks on the right side of her neck. There also appeared to be a human bite mark on her right forearm.
Paramedics did everything in their power to stabilize her before they loaded her up in the ambulance, transporting her to the nearest hospital. Once she arrived, she was in critical condition and had very little brain activity. She was placed on life support while hospital staff did everything they absolutely could to try and save four-year-old Octavia's life.
In the meantime, as that was happening, other officers at the scene started questioning all individuals present to see what was going on. Destiny, Octavia's mother, was the first to be interviewed at the scene. She told them that when she left for work that morning at around 6.55am, she saw Octavia asleep by herself on the mattress they shared in the living room.
She explained that Octavia had been dealing with her runny nose the past few days, but other than that, she was in good health. After speaking with Destiny, officers then spoke with the other women who lived in the apartment, who gave them some very disturbing information. They first spoke to Sydney, who said that she had been upstairs and asleep when her sister Carly woke her up in a panic.
She frantically told her that Octavia wasn't breathing. They then woke up Megan, who had been sleeping in Carly's bedroom at the time, before all running downstairs and into the living room. There, they saw little Octavia lying on the mattress in the living room while Destiny's boyfriend, who they knew as Alex, was sitting on the bed beside her.
Sydney told the officer that Alex lived with them as well. He had moved in around the same time that Destiny did back in April. Immediately, Sydney mentioning Alex raised alarms to officers because at no point during their conversation did Destiny mention having a boyfriend. She mentioned all of the other roommates she had, so why did she leave out Alex? That seemed to be intentional.
Either way, after finding Octavia, Sydney described Alex as eerily calm, given that Octavia was very clearly in bad condition. But according to Sydney, Alex acting nonchalant and uncaring isn't all that new to him. She explained that in the days prior, she did notice some bruising on Octavia's body.
She went on to say that on June 13th, the day before, she and Destiny went to work at around 11 a.m., leaving Octavia downstairs with Alex while Carly and Megan were upstairs sleeping.
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Chapter 5: How did Destiny respond to Octavia's injuries?
Chapter 6: What did the police discover during their investigation?
Chapter 7: Why was the bystander effect significant in this case?
Today's case is one that I've been following since it very first happened. On the surface, it appears to be yet another case of a mother who allowed her boyfriend to abuse her daughter, leading to a horrifying tragic end. But this case is so much more than that. Today we are going to discuss the devastating consequences of the bystander effect.
So many people in Octavia's life could have stepped in, but no one did. And when you hear about the numerous chances the adult in her life had to step in but didn't, you will be just as furious as I am about this case. Octavia Aspen Aquino was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Mother's Day, May 10, 2020, to Brandon Aquino and Destiny Rhodes.
Octavia was described as the sweetest, kindest, most full-of-life little girl you could ever meet. She was a spunky girl who always had a huge smile on her face. She loved going to the zoo and getting ice cream. She also loved coloring and drawing, and her favorite shows to watch were Paw Patrol, Jurassic Park, and the Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony, and Cocomelon.
Now, as much as I tried digging, I couldn't find that much information about Octavia's living situation or background around her family. Some sources say that she was living with her mother, Destiny. However, in later interviews, Octavia's paternal grandmother, Linda Alvarez, said that she would see Octavia almost every day at her home in Fort Wayne.
The longest she had ever gone without seeing Octavia was when her father Brandon would take her down to Evansville about a five-hour drive south to visit her mother. So I don't know if they shared custody or if she lived mostly with her father. We do know that Destiny had only been living in Evansville for a few months and it was more of a temporary thing.
So maybe Octavia was living with Destiny before then in Fort Wayne but moved in with her father after Destiny moved. Maybe after she moved, Brandon and her switched off caring for Octavia every week or so. I don't for sure know what the living situation was, so if you know more about her living arrangements, please do let me know in the comments.
with that being said by june of 2024 brandon drove four-year-old little octavia down to evansville to stay with her mother destiny for a few days now destiny lived in an apartment with a bunch of other people the two individuals who actually rented the apartment sisters carly and sydney allowed destiny to stay with them for a few months the
Then there was another girl, Megan, who had also been staying with them for about a week at that time. Also living with them at the time was Destiny's boyfriend, who I will discuss in just a minute. Like I said, this was an arrangement that Octavia's father and grandmother were expecting to go well. She would be with her mother, who she loved.
She had all these other women around her who I believe, at least most of them, they had met in the past and seemed like good people. But when Linda and Brandon found out what was really going on within that apartment and what happened to Octavia as a result, they were heartbroken. By 8.50 a.m.
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