Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers, and I'm Brett.

And today I want to tell you the story of a girl who thought she'd finally found what

she'd been looking for, a community, a place where she could meet like-minded people,

make friends, and really feel like she belonged. But instead, she found something much darker.

This is the story of Alicia Navarro.

Early on the morning of September 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona, a woman named Jessica

Nunez is waiting for her husband Ivan to come home. He works night, so for Jessica, it's

kind of a nice thing to stay up and greet him so they can sneak in some quality time together

while the kids are asleep.

And one AM as Jessica's waiting, her oldest daughter, Alicia, comes downstairs for a glass

of water. Now, Alicia's 14 years old about to turn 15 in less than a week, and it's

not unusual for her to be awake at this hour, because Alicia's got a very active online

life.

As Jessica told Sarah Turnie on Voices for Justice, Alicia often stayed up late playing Minecraft

or Roblox or chatting with friends on Discord. And most of her friends are online these days.

You see, Alicia's been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, and while she's got

a few friends that she's known most of her life, she has difficulty with in-person social

situations. Online, though, Alicia feels more confident, so it's much easier for her

to forge connections and maintain those relationships.

So as Alicia gets her water, her and her mom, you know, chitchat a little bit, and Alicia

asks her what time she's planning to go to bed. And, you know, Jessica being the mom is

like, you don't need to worry about that. Like, I'll get some rest once your stepdad gets

...