Originally published 2021-11-04.
In late 2021, police in Spokane, Washington, arrested John Eisenman, then 60, for the killing of 19-year-old Andrew Sorensen, whose body had been found in the trunk of an abandoned car. Eisenman told investigators he had acted because Sorensen had sold his teenage daughter into a sex-trafficking ring for $1,000. Police said they found no evidence to support that claim. Eisenman later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The case drew international headlines because of the father's story. The full picture that emerged in court was very different: a young man with disabilities, killed on the strength of an accusation that investigators could not substantiate.
What happened to Andrew Sorensen
Andrew Sorensen, who had cerebral palsy and autism, was reported missing in 2020. According to court records reported in Spokane, Eisenman and his fiancée, Brenda Kross, travelled to Seattle in October 2020 to "rescue" his daughter from what he believed was prostitution. Eisenman then learned that Sorensen would be at a mobile home park in Airway Heights, a small city west of Spokane.
Investigators said Eisenman confronted him there, bound and gagged him, and forced him into the trunk of a car. Police described a brutal assault in which he was struck in the head with a cinder block and stabbed repeatedly. The car, with his body still inside, was then left in a remote part of north Spokane County.
Almost a year passed before anyone found him. On 22 October 2021, people looking over an abandoned car next to a Spokane park opened the trunk. Amber Hellerman, whose partner was among them, later told reporters that she suddenly heard someone shout there's a body
. Detectives traced the vehicle back to Eisenman, who was arrested and held on a $1 million bond.
The trafficking claim and what police found
Early headlines repeated Eisenman's version almost word for word: that the 19-year-old was his daughter's boyfriend and had sold her into a trafficking ring for $1,000, and that the girl had since been brought home. Those details came from the suspect himself. Police stressed from the start that they had nothing to corroborate the claim and that no related trafficking investigation was under way in the area.
That never changed. In later court proceedings, prosecutors and police said they had found no evidence that Sorensen had trafficked anyone. Even the relationship between him and the girl was described only through Eisenman's account. Spokane police also made a broader point when the arrest was announced: they do not condone vigilante violence, and suspected crimes must be reported, not avenged.
A note on the victim's name
Some early reports gave the victim's first name as Aaron. Court reporting identifies him as Andrew Sorensen, though some local outlets spell the surname "Sorenson."
Guilty pleas and sentences
In November 2024, Eisenman pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and Kross pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. In January 2025, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Annette Plese sentenced Kross to eight and a half years in prison. Kross apologised in court, saying there were no words to explain what she had done.
Eisenman, by then 63, was sentenced in 2025 to 25 years, the middle of the standard range; prosecutors had asked for 22. A deputy prosecutor described him as the "primary actor" in the killing. His lawyer said he pleaded guilty to spare the family a trial and expected to die in prison.
Sorensen's relatives spoke at the hearings. His father addressed Eisenman directly, telling him Evil came over you
, and said a simple phone call could have settled whatever Eisenman believed. His mother said Andrew had depended on her care, and that she missed being able to give it.
Why vigilante justice goes wrong
It is easy to understand why a story about a parent avenging a trafficked child spreads so fast. Fear for children is powerful, and the idea of a father taking matters into his own hands taps into it. But this case shows the danger of acting on belief rather than evidence.
- Accusations are not facts. Without an investigation, there is no way to test whether a claim is true, misunderstood or entirely mistaken. Here, the accusation was never supported.
- Vulnerable people can be targeted. Sorensen had disabilities that may have made him less able to defend himself or explain his side.
- Real victims are not helped. If a child really is being exploited, violence against a suspect does nothing to identify others involved, secure evidence or get the child specialist support.
Some people raised money online for Eisenman's defence after the first headlines, a reminder of how quickly a one-sided story can shape public sympathy before the facts are known.
What sex trafficking usually looks like
Popular images of trafficking often involve strangers snatching victims and selling them for cash. Anti-trafficking organisations such as Polaris, which runs the US National Human Trafficking Hotline, say the reality is usually quieter:
- Most traffickers rely on deception, manipulation and threats rather than kidnapping.
- Many survivors were trafficked by people they knew, including romantic partners and family members.
- Trafficking does not require moving someone across borders; it can happen in a person's own town.
- Any commercial sex involving a minor is trafficking under US law, regardless of whether the young person appeared to agree.
- People being exploited often do not ask for help, because of fear, shame, isolation or loyalty to the person controlling them.
Knowing these patterns helps people spot real warning signs, and also explains why the right response is to involve trained professionals rather than act alone.
If you suspect a child is being exploited
In the US, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, text 233733, or use the online form at humantraffickinghotline.org. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Outside the US, contact local police or a national child protection line.
Reporting concerns gives investigators the chance to find out what is really happening and to protect the child. The Spokane case is a sad lesson in what can happen when that step is skipped: a young man lost his life, and two families were torn apart.
Sources: Yahoo News: Man who brutally killed 19-year-old he falsely accused of sex trafficking gets 25 years in prison; KXLY, 16 January 2025: Spokane woman sentenced in 2020 murder of 19-year-old; Polaris: Myths, facts and statistics; early reporting by the Daily Mail, November 2021.
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