Elizabeth Syrotchen was 15 years old when she met 30-year-old “online predator” Jason Richards via the dating site, AYI “Are You Interested” (which is now FirstMet “for grownups”). When Elizabeth’s parents discovered what was going on (sexual photos and videos were shared) her mother posed as her daughter online and suggested that they go through with a runaway plan. When Richards showed up outside their Spokane, Washington home at 3 o’clock in the morning, Elizabeth’s father pointed a rifle at Richards, threatened to shoot and then called the police. During Richards’ interrogation at the police station, Richards said he thought she was 18 and broke down in tears saying that he was in love with her.
During the interrogation, Richards retold what had happened outside the Syrotchen house. He said when he got out of the car he heard someone say, “Get back in the car now or I’m gonna shot.” Richards told the police detective that’s when “my aspergers kicks in, where I get kind of agitated and kinda a little fidgety.” When the detective says she’s worked with people with aspergers in the past, Richards says he’s “highly functional” and was diagnosed recently. 48 Hours airs Saturdays at 10pm on CBS.
