Andra Sachs, Brad Sachs: Menendez Brothers Inspired Ashton Sachs To Murder His Parents In California On ‘Unusual Suspects’


Andra Sachs and husband Brad Sachs were shot and killed in their home three years ago by Ashton Sachs, the California couple’s son. The murders were inspired by the Menendez brothers case. Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent will air “Snake in the Grass,” an episode that will re-create the chilling events based on the real story. The Sachs murder case fascinated the public because it was rare to see this kind of murder in an upscale beach town.


Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent episode “Snake in the Grass”

When an entrepreneur couple is found dead in their bed, investigators are looking for suspects in a home invasion until the evidence reveals the killer is closer to home.


2014: Days Before Valentine’s Day: Couple Murdered In Bed

According to Unusual Suspects, Detectives were called to a home in the San Juan Capistrano area for a fatal shooting that had occurred there. The beautiful mansion was owned by Andra and Brad Sachs, a couple who had divorced 14 years earlier after one of their daughter’s drowned in the family pool. Though divorced, Andra Sachs and Bradford Sachs reunited and decided to live together to raise their five children.


The bodies of Andra Sachs and Bradford Sachs were found in the couple’s bed. Both victims had been shot multiple times in the face, according to court records. Nothing was stolen, so it appeared to be a home invasion case in the beginning. Police believed Andra Sachs and Brad Sachs were targeted.



What was even sadder was their eight-year-old son was also shot and left paralyzed in the ambush.  There was one more person in the house that night, Andra and Brad Sach’s 17-year-old daughter, who hid in the closet from the intruder, as you’ll see on Unusual Suspects’ documentary.


Andra Sachs didn’t come from a wealthy family but managed to accumulate wealth due to her savvy business deals. They say she was a real shark when it came to sales. However, there were some very angry people who weren’t happy about Brad and Andra Sachs’ success and many accused them of acquiring their wealth by ripping off other people. This was another angle the police looked into.



To solve the case, police detectives had to work through a long list of enemies who didn’t mind that Andra and Brad Sachs were dead. Some even posted in online forums that the couple got what they deserved and that it was all due to good-old-fashioned karma. It definitely seemed that they were killed by a disgruntled client.


The investigation steered in the opposite direction when phone records sent police to Seattle, Washington, where they found the weapon used in the ambush in a car that belonged to the couples’ son, Ashton Sachs.


Relatives described Ashton Sachs as a funny, caring, and happy child. They couldn’t believe that this same sweet and special kid was the one who did it. Police believed the motive in the killings wasn’t money–but revenge–for the way his parents treated him.


Unusual Suspects Ashton Sachs: The Great Pretender

In a police interview, Ashton Sachs said his father was mean and didn’t like him, and that his mother didn’t seem to care about him at all. This confused family members who say Ashton spoke at a memorial service for his parents and called his mother, Andra Sachs, his “hero.”


California detectives also learned Ashton Sachs often isolated himself, abused substances, and spent hours playing the video game “League of Legends.” Ashton also had a morbid fascination with the Menendez brothers murder case. And on one occasion, Ashton Sachs tried to end his own life after a bad break-up with his girlfriend. Instead of getting him some help, his parents sent him off to college. It is believed Ashton Sachs had never been taught how to handle stress in his life or how to handle rejection.


Whatever the reason, Ashton Sachs had 18 hours to think about what he was doing while he made the drive to his parents’ home. For the murder of Andra Sachs and Brad Sachs, Ashton Sachs is serving four life sentences. He smiled at his lawyers when the judge handed down the sentence.


TV Crime Sky received a message from someone who knew the family. Here is the message in its entirety.

“I knew the Sachs both in the community and professionally. I [helped them with a financial situation] because Mrs. Sachs wouldn’t go back to the house when the baby died. The condition of the hotel when I met with them was in complete disarray. Furniture upside down, dead funeral flowers empty bottles of alcohol. The night I needed to meet with them. I arrived and the children were running around wild. Not fed, dirty clothes, the parents were clearly mourning.”


“When I got there she was sleeping. I saw the kids and decided to go out and get them some food, coloring books and things to do. The nanny who was being blamed for the death had fled. Ashton’s demeanor was so creepy odd, while I was feeding them and coloring with them while I was waiting for the parents to sober up so they could do their loan application. Ashton’s very cold and matter of fact told me “. Do you know why we are here? I said yes, without elaborating not wanting to upset anyone. He coldly stated, “my baby sister is dead, now mommy will have more time for me.” He wasn’t sad, he smiled. It has haunted me to this day. The minute I heard of the killings. I knew he did it. When later the news broke people kept asking me how I knew. You would have had to be there to know the utter chaos and dysfunction of the family … dead flowers tipped over furniture, cushions all over the place.”


“No food for the kids and the cold as ice conversation with Ashton. I will never forget. He was a little kid, I always believed he had something to do with the baby in the pool … I knew their caregivers. They were very attentive / Mr. and Mrs. Sachs were absentee parents. That nanny loved that baby as her own. She would have never let her out of her sight… what Aston did started long before he killed his parents. There is something very not right with him. When his mom adopted the kids. He hated them and was very jealous. I have a very strong feeling he helped or ignored that baby in the pool. This was long before any fascination with brothers who killed their parents.”



According to the source, the Hispanic/Latina nanny returned to her native country of Mexico after the scandal. Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent airs tonight at 9 p.m. on ID.


[Main Image via Ashton Sachs/Facebook]



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