Family defends Spokane man allegedly killed by his girlfriend’s father on alleged sex trafficking allegations

Andrew Sorensen’s family has been around for a long time.

They adopted him as a baby, supported him with years of physiotherapy for his cerebral palsy, adjusted his diagnosis of autism, sought treatment for his mental health problems, and helped as much as they could when he fell into substance abuse.

Then suddenly last year Andrew Sorensen went missing.

His family was looking for him everywhere, said Theresa Sorensen, his mother. They even thought that maybe he had gone to Seattle or Portland and lived on the streets. The family reported him missing, but there was no evidence, Sorensen said.

The search ended last month. Spokane police found his body in the trunk of a car just a few miles from the family home. His identity was confirmed by dental records days later.

On the same day, 60-year-old John Eisenman was charged with murder in connection with his death.

Eisenman, whose daughter was Andrew Sorensen’s girlfriend, told police he killed 20-year-old Sorenson because he believed the young man sexually trafficked his teenage daughter in Seattle in October 2020.

Police said they could not confirm Eisenman’s claims. Investigators had no information on the case by Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the von Sorensen family vigorously denies Eisenman’s claim. He had no significant adult criminal record and, as his family says, was a thoughtful, compassionate man who would not harm his friends.

Theresa Sorensen officially learned that her son was dead just hours before the news of Eisenman’s arrest.

The circumstances of her son’s death were published in court records and in a police department press release. It was all moving so quickly that she and her immediate family did not have the opportunity to convey the news to the rest of their families that Andrew Sorensen had been found, she said.

“I just didn’t think he was dead, I didn’t,” said Sorensen of the year her son went missing. “It was hard when the call came.”

Overcome obstacles

Andrew came to the Sorensen family as a 6 month old baby with cerebral palsy, Sorenson said.

The family immediately sought comprehensive physiotherapy for him, followed by speech and occupational therapy. Despite the fighting, Andrew was a smiling and caring child.

“He was a happy baby,” said Sorensen. “He was the most loving child. We loved him. “

It took Andrew Sorensen a while to learn to stand, but the physical and occupational therapy paid off and he was able to do most of the activities.

It was only later that his autism became apparent. Loud noises, stuffed animals moving around, haircuts, and the sound of toast being buttered all influenced Andrew and were one of the first signs he was on the autism spectrum.

Social interaction is also difficult, said Sorensen. Your son didn’t understand personal space. The teachers had to explain how to ask if he wanted to hug a classmate.

“He was just the cutest and most loving kid,” said Sorensen. “And he was like that for most of his life.”

When Andrew started 10th grade, Andrew began struggling with anxiety and the constant feeling that he was not like other teenagers.

“It was getting harder and harder for him to get used to,” said his mother.

Behavioral health problems led to some inpatient trips to the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center before the family brought him further assistance from the state, Sorensen said.

When he was around 17, Andrew Sorensen started going downtown Spokane and hanging out with homeless teenagers.

“With his autism, he just felt like he might fit in,” said Sorensen. “And he just made, I don’t know, friends.”

He still lived at home bringing homeless teenagers to hang out at his parents’ house.

“He loved sharing what he had,” said Sorensen.

At one point five or six teenagers lived in the family home. Sorensen said she would help them get meal tickets, enroll in GED programs, or get their Medicaid cards.

“It wasn’t difficult for me,” she said. “That was what I did to my son and I loved her.

“Every single one of the children who came here knew they were being cared for, they were respected and encouraged.”

Andrew Sorensen graduated from online high school – a proud moment for the family.

From then on it got more difficult. He started smoking marijuana when he was around 18, which quickly led to tougher drugs.

“It was getting more and more difficult,” said Sorensen, “but I mean he would come home anyway.”

‘Joy’

Sometimes he brought girls home. One of them was Eisenman’s teenage daughter; The Spokesman Review does not name her because of the sex trafficking claims.

Just like with all other homeless teenagers, Theresa Sorensen helped out the girl. Then the girl received over $ 20,000 in severance payment from a car accident. The money could have helped change the life of a girl who lives on the streets, Sorensen said.

Brenda Kross, Eisenman’s fiancée and mother of the teenage girl, confirmed that her daughter received cash compensation due to an accident. Kross has not returned a request for comment on this story.

“You always have a roof over your head, you don’t have to be homeless,” said Sorensen to her son’s friend.

Instead, the girl – along with Andrew Sorensen and a few friends – bought a car, new clothes, and drugs, and then drove to Seattle for the weekend, Sorensen said.

“From that moment on there was just no more brakes on them and what they were doing,” she said. “A bunch of kids jumped in the car for a spin. And you know what? It just didn’t turn out well. “

Andrew Sorensen dropped his girlfriend and her friends off somewhere in Seattle and then drove to pick up a group of acquaintances. Everyone left their cell phones in the car, Sorensen said.

Then the car was stolen, Sorensen said, leaving her son with no phone and no way to contact his girlfriend or other friends. He stayed in Seattle for a few more days before his uncle picked him up and took him to Spokane.

“My son had never driven a car like this before, and didn’t have a driver’s license,” said Sorensen. “They all used (drugs) before they left, while they were on the trip, while this was happening.”

Eisenman’s daughter ended up alone in Seattle after her friends found their own way home, Theresa Sorensen said, and her parents came to get her.

“And so I know (the friend) probably felt she was stranded and left because … when she came back she went to the hospital and a week later my son was murdered,” said Sorensen.

Police records confirm the teenage girl was involuntarily admitted to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on October 23, 2020. Two days later, police were called to the hospital to collect a sexual assault kit, but after about an hour in the hospital, the officer found that no sexual assault kit was in use and ended the call, according to police files.

Three days later, hospital staff called the police again to report that Eisenman’s daughter had threatened to kill Sorensen and her parents. The daughter was not arrested or charged with any crime related to the threats.

Disappeared without a trace

A few days after Andrew Sorensen returned from Seattle, he was celebrating Halloween with his family at home before getting up the next morning and meeting a friend.

She was nervous after “last weekend’s disaster” and didn’t want him to leave, but Andrew just packed a small backpack to signal that he was coming home, Sorensen said.

“He left and that was the last I heard from him,” said Sorensen.

Eisenman told police he found out Andrew Sorensen would be at a certain location on Airway Heights and went to confront him for court documents.

He handcuffed the 20-year-old and put him in the trunk of his car before hitting him in the head with a concrete block and stabbing him several times, Eisenman told police.

Eisenman then drove the car to a remote location in northern Spokane County, where he left the car with the body in the trunk. It wasn’t discovered until almost a year later when someone found the car and drove into town.

Hold hope

For the year her son went missing, Sorensen hoped he would return.

“We looked for him, our whole family, for months and months,” she said. “We just prayed every day that we would find him or come home.”

Some extended family members found Andrew Sorensen’s sudden break from social media narratives.

“It wasn’t on social media at all, it was interrupted on November 1st, you know, a lot of families think something really bad happened,” Sorensen said. “But I just had so much hope that we could find him and get him help.”

Now that it has been a few weeks since she found out about her son’s death, she is angry that his chance for change was denied.

“My husband and I have been with Andrew for a long time. We didn’t want to give up, ”said Sorensen. “He took that away from him, a chance to change.”

Look forward to justice

The Sorensen family were injured by the human trafficking allegations against their son, which Sorensen said her son was unable to commit.

After Eisenman was arrested, allegations of killing his daughter’s sex trafficker went viral, leading to more than $ 61,000 being raised for Eisenman’s defense on the crowdfunding site “Give Send Go,” allegedly for Christians is destined.

The road to a possible trial against Eisenman will be long, Sorensen admitted, but the family hopes the sex trafficking allegations will prove false and Eisenman will be held accountable for his actions.

She believes the daughter’s severance payment may have caused a disagreement within the Eisenman family, which could have resulted in her son’s death.

“There were probably plans behind that money,” said Sorensen. “You spent it, and my son played a big part in spending that money.

“There’s anger behind it,” she added.

Despite what Eisenman told police he did to Andrew Sorensen, Sorensen is still worried about her son’s ex-girlfriend, who Kross says has been homeless in Arizona for more than a year. Sorensen doesn’t believe the friend was involved in her son’s death.

“Every day at 19 she is a homeless girl on the street. If you’re so worried that she’s being sexually trafficked, why don’t you get her? ”Said Soerensen. “My heart goes out to you. I pray for you.”