TRANSKRIP 🔗
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,080
According to USA Today, on September 26, 2015, an anonymous post appeared on Reddit, a public
2
00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:12,880
online forum where people post anything they want according to their interests, sort of
3
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:18,960
like an online meetup community. According to the Reddit thread, someone commented on the following,
4
00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,680
quote, sometime between the ages of three and five, my father took me against a court order away from
5
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,520
my mother without me ever knowing this. He changed my name, my social security number, and did
6
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:37,680
something similar for himself. I have lived my entire life up until a few days ago oblivious
7
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:43,760
to this fact. I only discovered all of this when I was applying for scholarships. I'm not angry at
8
00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:49,760
my father in the slightest. I remember he used to ask me, if I ever committed a terrible crime,
9
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:56,400
would you still love me? I still do, even after learning everything, unquote. Welcome everyone to
10
00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:03,440
Dying to be Found the Dash. I'm your host Deb, and this is a story of Julian Hernandez, a five-year-old
11
00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:11,200
boy who was abducted by his father in 2002 from Birmingham, Alabama. Hi everyone, this is Deb from
12
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:16,400
Dying to be Found. Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing
13
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:22,640
discussions on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind. Recordings are not
14
00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,240
intended for young or sensitive audiences due to the content nature of this podcast. Listener
15
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:39,760
discretion is strongly advised. Hi everyone, thanks for hanging in here with Dying to be Found
16
00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:46,080
the Dash, where every week I'll bring you bonus episodes like today or talk with fellow True Crime
17
00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:52,000
podcasters and enthusiasts. Just look for the Dying to be Found logo. Once you find me, you'll
18
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:59,280
get to hear me and my kiddos Shelby and Corey or my sister Beth tell a tale to every week. If you're
19
00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:06,320
looking for shorter stories and just me telling a tale or looking for just some cross collaborations
20
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:12,400
with other podcasters, be sure to check out The Dash. If you could rate and share, that really does
21
00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,640
help as far as visibility out there in the podcast world. So definitely give it a go. I appreciate it,
22
00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:23,840
but let me get into my storyline today. This Reddit post that I spoke about at the beginning of this
23
00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:30,800
episode, there's speculation that the author is indeed Julian Hernandez, although the circumstances
24
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:37,440
are without question extremely similar to this case. Someone had commented on that post that I
25
00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:43,520
had mentioned in the introduction and the person talking about being abducted responded to that
26
00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:49,600
post by telling them that his father had told him that if his parents ever broke up, his dad would
27
00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:56,400
just take him away. However, the courts felt otherwise and ordered custody to the mum. So what's
28
00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:03,360
this case all about? It's about a little boy who did not find out his true identity until he
29
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:09,600
consciously went through his formative years making good grades, scoring well on his ACT's,
30
00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:16,240
and trying to earn scholarships to pay for college. This boy was named Julian Hernandez and it sounds
31
00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:22,640
like he was doing everything right plus he had a pretty good upbringing. On another note, it seems
32
00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:28,320
that Julian discovered his own past simply by needing to supply his social security number
33
00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:34,880
when applying to those colleges. As it turns out, Julian ran into a few roadblocks turning in those
34
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:40,720
applications because he received messages that his social security number could not be verified.
35
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:47,360
Julian went to visit his school counselor for assistance and imagine his surprise when after
36
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,720
a little bit of digging, they discovered that Julian was registered with the National Center
37
00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:59,760
for Missing and Exploited Children Database. Obviously, Julian's father was promptly arrested.
38
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,920
Bobby Hernandez, age 53, was charged with tampering with official records and providing
39
00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:14,720
false information on June 12, 2015. He was held on a $250,000 bond and because he was currently
40
00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:23,840
living in Cleveland, Ohio, he was scheduled to face charges 650 miles or 1046 kilometers away
41
00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:29,840
in Alabama. Bobby was also charged with interference of custody which could amount to
42
00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:37,520
between one and 10 years in prison if convicted. When Julian was first reported missing in 2002,
43
00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:44,160
he had left a note for Julian's mom that he had taken Julian fishing. Of course, Julian was not
44
00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:50,960
returned that evening and when that happened, Julian's mother contacted police and a warrant
45
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:57,840
was issued as a non-custodial parental abduction, which is a felony offense in relation to
46
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:04,320
interference with child custody. According to ABC News, the child custody interference charges
47
00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:10,880
applied from the time that Julian
Load full transcript
was taken at the age of five until his 18th birthday.
48
00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:17,520
Court records indicated that Bobby had falsified identification information to obtain a fictitious
49
00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:24,720
ID in Ohio. Whether this was for himself or for Julian is not quite clear. However, authorities
50
00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:30,880
from the state of Ohio believe that Bobby may have applied for an identification card under the name
51
00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:39,760
of a deceased individual. So here's how it played out. On April 28, 2002, Bobby Hernandez, Julian's
52
00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:46,480
dad, was not married to Julian's mom. At some point, they had broken up so eventually resided
53
00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:52,800
in separate homes. The couple was apparently on enough speaking terms together because Bobby made
54
00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:59,280
arrangements with Julian's mom to take Julian to preschool. That never happened. Instead, Bobby picked
55
00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:06,320
Julian up at the designated time and went to run errands instead. He went to the bank, withdrew some
56
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:13,040
cash, and simply left the area. When Bobby failed to show up that evening to return Julian back home,
57
00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:19,280
his mom did call the police to file that missing person's report. Over the next 13 years, many
58
00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:25,840
leads came in, but Bobby and Julian had vanished without a trace. Authorities released information
59
00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:32,800
on Julian's disappearance and received numerous leads all the way from Florida to Canada. Of course,
60
00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:38,720
nothing came to fruition from these leads, but eyewitnesses after the fact said that Bobby was
61
00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:46,080
a soft-spoken man who lived under an alias name of Jonathan Mangina. He loved his son, whom he called
62
00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:54,720
Jay or JJ, and did his best to always provide for him. It wasn't until 2015 that Julian began applying
63
00:06:54,720 --> 00:07:00,240
to colleges and his social security number came into question. This is when his high school counselor
64
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:06,320
helped him fill in the missing pieces of his true identity, whether they realized it or not. So where
65
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:14,080
does Julian go from here? In 2016, 19-year-old Julian Hernandez made a public statement to an
66
00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:20,720
Ohio courts judge that he forgave his father Bobby Hernandez for kidnapping him and raising him on his
67
00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:28,560
own. Julian even said, quote, even if people can't, I forgive him for what he's done. I love him and I
68
00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:35,040
want him to be part of my life. Unquote. Julian went on to advocate for his father and asked the
69
00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:40,720
judge to give mercy on Bobby and keep him from going to prison for this kidnapping. Julian's
70
00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:46,400
argument was that throughout his life, Bobby had pushed him to be a good student, to do right,
71
00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:51,280
and to focus on his future with plans to go to college. Well, let's not forget about Bobby
72
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:57,280
Hernandez here. He was that soft-spoken man and apologized to the court for taking his son from
73
00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,360
Julian's mother. He went on to explain to the court why he had abducted his own son and ended
74
00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:11,280
up in Ohio. Bobby told the judge that Julian was the most important person in his life. The prosecutor
75
00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:18,720
felt otherwise. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor argued that Bobby was a con man and stated that
76
00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:25,600
kidnapping Julian was a horrible thing to do to any parent. One of Julian's grandparents later came
77
00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:32,640
forward to testify that Bobby was angry, controlling, and vengeful and deliberately punished Julian's
78
00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,800
mom by kidnapping Julian because she had left him. Bobby went on to be indicted for kidnapping,
79
00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:46,640
interference with custody, forgery, and tampering with records on November 14, 2015. According to
80
00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:54,080
WVTM 13 television, the tampering and forgery charges were issued when Bobby falsified Julian's
81
00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:59,920
records, which included his birth certificate necessary to enroll Julian in public school.
82
00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:06,320
These charges were also related to Bobby when he obtained an Ohio driver's license and the title
83
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,720
to his vehicle. Bobby went on to plead guilty to two counts of kidnapping, two counts of interference
84
00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:21,600
to custody, one count of forgery, and ten counts of tampering with records. On April 13, 2016, Bobby
85
00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:27,600
was sentenced to four years behind bars in the Ohio prison system and was released on parole for
86
00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:33,680
an additional five years. That would bring us up to today where Bobby has a few more years to serve
87
00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:40,800
on parole. To this day, Julian stands behind his dad and his actions, inferring that he was a good
88
00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:48,320
provider and a good dad who pushed him to succeed in life. Okay, where's Julian's mom in all of this?
89
00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:54,720
Personally, I'm a mother and if you've listened to Dying to be Found enough, you know that I lost
90
00:09:54,720 --> 00:10:01,280
my son Cory for 15 minutes of my life while we were out camping and he was three years old.
91
00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:06,320
Longer if you count the minutes it took me to discover that he was gone. The moment of
92
00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:13,760
realization that your child is missing is absolutely excruciating. And that was only for 15 minutes
93
00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:20,880
until I
was able to find Cory at another campsite safe and sound about half a mile away. Although
94
00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:28,080
this is nothing in comparison to losing a child, let alone for 13 years, I personally understand
95
00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:34,160
for a split second what it's like for a child to go missing. Thankfully, Julian's mom got the same
96
00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:40,960
results as me only it took a lot longer. So my heart goes out to her and I am truly joyful that
97
00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:47,600
she was able to find her missing child. Julian's mom was notified that he was found safe and sound.
98
00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:54,400
She realizes that Julian was a grown man when he discovered his true identity and left it up to him
99
00:10:54,400 --> 00:11:01,440
on if they would reunite. So where is Julian Hernandez now? I did my best to find updates
100
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:09,280
on his whereabouts but was unsuccessful. However, back in 2015 when the story made headlines,
101
00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,480
Julian was 18 years old and basically told the media that he wanted to be left alone.
102
00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:21,440
According to Cleveland 19 News, this is what he said. And to be honest, there's little information
103
00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:27,920
on Julian's whereabouts today other than to say he's living his best life. Quote, I would like to
104
00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:34,400
take this opportunity to make a request to the media. I ask that you respect my privacy and the
105
00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:40,640
privacy of my school, my school's faculty, my friends, and my neighbors. I want to go through
106
00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:47,680
my day like I did this week, just being a normal 18 year old. Unquote. So here's some closing thoughts
107
00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:54,720
to sum things up. It's apparent that Julian holds a strong bond with his dad. According to Global News,
108
00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:01,200
Julian is quoted by saying, I think my dad has done a lot of good in our time here in Cleveland.
109
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:07,280
He's raised me well, in my opinion, a lot better than any other parent I've seen. He's pushed me
110
00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:13,360
far in school. And he's the reason why I get some of the best grades in school and why I'm going to
111
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:19,360
college. Unquote. Julian goes on to say that the time he spent with his dad is the only time he
112
00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:26,400
truly felt at home and at peace because of how much hard work he put into everything. So that's the
113
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:33,920
story of Julian Hernandez, the five-year-old boy from Alabama that discovered his own identity.
114
00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:39,680
Please let me know what you have to say about this episode by emailing me at dying the number two,
115
00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:45,440
the letter B found at gmail.com. If you have a short storyline that you would like to hear
116
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:51,600
specifically on the dash, be sure to click on that Linktree account in our show notes to find out how
117
00:12:51,600 --> 00:12:58,000
you can submit a storyline request and I'll get to that right away. You can always let me know now
118
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:03,600
how we're doing by clicking on that follow button. Be sure to rate, review, and consider buying us a
119
00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:09,920
coffee so that we can continue to bring you quality episodes. If you are a True Crime podcaster or
120
00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:15,120
work in the true crime industry and want to be featured on the dash, send me your email and I'll
121
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:21,440
send you more information on how to get on future episodes. Thanks to everyone who has emailed,
122
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:28,800
shared, or commented on the dash. I continue to be amazed with your support. So thanks so much everyone
123
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:35,040
and talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to Dying to be Found, True Crime podcast and our dash mini
124
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:41,200
series. Every week we'll bring you a variety of true crime episodes, a little dash of hope,
125
00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:46,880
plus special bonus episodes with some really cool guests. Before we go, we'd love for you to share
126
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:53,360
this podcast with your friends and give us a five star review. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram,
127
00:13:53,360 --> 00:14:00,720
Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest at Dying to be Found or visit our website at Dying to be Found.com
128
00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:06,240
spelled just like you see in our logo. Better yet, click on our Linktree account found in the show
129
00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:12,560
notes where you'll find all the information in one place. Be sure to dash in every Wednesday for our
130
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:18,000
mini episodes plus every Thursday when I get together with some of my family members. Thanks
131
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:46,000
again everyone and we'll talk to you soon.