FIRST BY THE MAN (SHE
SAYS RAPED HER -- AND A
SECOND TIME -- BY THE
JUSTICE SYSTEM.... WHEN
CRUCIAL EVIDENCE IN HER
CASE - WAS DESTROYED.
HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN?
TONIGHT SHE TELLS HER
STORY TO NEWS 13 )S
GABRIELLE BURKHART ON
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT.
"...Amanda Bryand/Victim
I felt it in my gut,
something was gonna
happen..." "...quick nat
sound effect..."
THAT NIGHT FOUR YEARS
AGO STILL HAUNTS THIS
21-YEAR-OLD.
NEWS 13 NORMALLY DOESN )T
IDENTIFY ALLEGED RAPE
VICTIMS.... BUT AMANDA
BRYAND WANTS PEOPLE TO
SEE HER FACE - AND HEAR
HER STORY.
"...Amanda Bryand/Victim
it )s been very hard, but
I mean if all us victims
could come together, we
could put this guy in
jail, we could get some
amount of justice
(sniffles (..." SOMETHING
SHE )S BEEN WAITING FOR
-- FOR YEARS.
AMANDA WAS A 17-YEAR-OLD
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WHEN
SHE SAYS SHE
STARTED GETTING
TEXT MESSAGES FROM A GUY
CLAIMING TO HAVE A
MUTUAL FRIEND. THINKING
SHE WAS CHATTING WITH
SOMEONE HER AGE --
AMANDA SAYS SHE
EVENTUALLY AGREED TO
MEET. "...nat pop door
shuts..."
THAT )S WHEN THINGS TOOK
A TURN.
"...Amanda Bryand/Victim
whenever I got into the
car, I was like - whoa.
I mean he definitely
wasn )t 18, he was much
older..."
SHE SAYS THE MAN POLICE
LATER IDENTIFIED AS ELI
KRONENANKER...
LOCKED HER IN HIS CAR
AND DROVE HER TO HIS
ALBUQUERQUE HOME.
THEN DRAGGED AMANDA
INSIDE BY HER
HAIR...WHERE SHE SAYS HE
RAPED HER AT GUNPOINT.
"...Amanda Bryand/Victim
I felt numb, I felt like
I was overpowered, like
I was never - my life
was over at that
point..."
SHE SAYS HE THREATENED
TO KILL HER IF SHE TOLD
ANYONE.
THEN DROPPED HER OFF ON
HER STREET WHERE SHE
SAYS HE MADE HER WALK
HOME AS HE FOLLOWED
BEHIND IN HIS CAR.
AMANDA EVENTUALLY TOLD
HER PARENTS AND WENT TO
THE POLICE.
"...they did do a rape
kit..."
SHE HANDED OVER HER
CLOTHING...TEXT
MESSAGES... INTERVIEWED
WITH DETECTIVES....
AND WAS ASSIGNED A
PROSECUTOR UNDER FORMER
DISTRICT ATTORNEY, KARI
BRANDENBURG.
ALTHOUGH HE WAS
(CHARGED ( WITH
RAPE...RECORDS SHOW
KRONENANKER WASN )T
ARRESTED FOR IT RIGHT
AWAY.
"...Amanda Bryand he
told me to drop the
charges or he was gonna
go after my family,
too..." KRONENANKER (WAS
ARRESTED MONTHS
LATER...AFTER
AMANDA SAYS HE SHOWED UP
AT HER HOUSE AND "HIT
HER WITH A CLOSED
FIST"... THREATENING HER
ONCE AGAIN.
BUT HE BONDED OUT THE
SAME DAY.
TWO MONTHS LATER -- THE
D-A )S OFFICE DECIDED NOT
TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE
CASE.
AMANDA HAD NO IDEA.
SHE LIVED IN FEAR.
STILL...SHE FOUND THE
COURAGE TO SPEAK UP.
"...Amanda Bryand/Victim
what )s really given me
my strength is knowing
that there are other
victims out there..."
THAT BECAME CLEAR SHE
SAYS - IN 2015 - WHEN A
WOMAN SHE )S
NEVER MET CAME FORWARD
WITH A CASE - ALL TOO
FAMILIAR. THIS TIME ELI
KRONENANKER IS ACCUSED
OF KIDNAPPING AND
RAPING A
YOUNG WOMAN POLICE SAY
HE MET ONLINE AND
STARTED TEXTING.
ACCORDING TO A CRIMINAL
COMPLAINT - THE WOMAN
HAS "DEVELOPMENTAL
DELAYS."
BUT SHE DESCRIBED IN
DETAIL A VIOLENT
ATTACK...
AND LED DETECTIVES
(RIGHT TO KRONENANKER )S
HOME. HE WAS ARRESTED
AND (AGAIN - BONDED OUT.
AMANDA RETURNED TO THE
this is my chance to get
it going
again..."
INSTEAD - SHE DISCOVERED
A BOMBSHELL.
"...a lot of my evidence
was destroyed ..."
SHE LEARNED PHOTOS,
D-N-A EVIDENCE, WITNESS
STATEMENTS THAT MADE HER
CASE -- WERE ALL GONE.
AMANDA WAS CRUSHED.
"...Amanda it hurt my
feelings a lot to know
that they didn )t review
my case the way they
should have
originally..."
"...and it )s not fair,
I )m the one that )s had
all the consequences for
everything that he did
to me (crying (..." NOW
SHE WANTS OTHERS TO
SHARE HER OUTRAGE.
"...Gabrielle Burkhart
And Amanda isn )t giving
up. She recently
introducted herself at a
rally to newly elected
forth some
justice in her case..."
TRUE TO HIS
WORD...TORREZ (DID ( TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT HER
CASE.
"...Raúl
Torrez/Bernalillo County
District Attorney I
assigned the case to one
of the new senior
attorneys that I brought
into the office when I
took over in January..."
HE SHARED HIS DISTURBING
DISCOVERY WITH
AMANDA...THEN SAT
shocking to me is the
fact that evidence in
this case had been
destroyed..."
"... at the direction of
this office..."
"...and because of that
decision, we aren )t able
to move forward with the
case..."
TWO YEARS AFTER AMANDA
CAME FORWARD...SOMEONE
UNDER THE FORMER
DISTRICT ATTORNEY GAVE
THE O-K TO DESTROY
CRUCIAL EVIDENCE.
(BEFORE ( D-N-A LAB
RESULTS WOULD EVENTUALLY
MATCH KRONENANKER TO
D-N-A ON AMANDA )S
CLOTHING.
"...Raúl
Torrez/Bernalillo County
District Attorney for us
to be in a position
where we can )t move
forward because of
mistakes that happened
in this office, is
unacceptable..." WE
CALLED FORMER D-A KARI
BRANDENBURG.
SHE TOLD US ON THE PHONE
SHE HAD NO IDEA HOW THIS
HAPPENED... AND DOESN )T
HAVE ACCESS TO CASE
FILES THAT MIGHT GIVE US
THE ANSWER.
TORREZ IS TRYING TO
PIECE IT ALL TOGETHER.
happen? Torrez: So
there )s
years ago, we )re gonna
get
to the bottom of how
that decision was
made..."
IN KRONENANKER )S MORE
RECENT CASE DETECTIVES
SAID QUOTE "ELI NOT
ONLY APPEARS TO BE A
THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY,
BUT TO THE VICTIM...AND
APPEARS TO BE DISPLAYING
A PATTERN AS A SERIAL
RAPIST."
A CHILLING THOUGHT AS
AMANDA KEEPS AN EYE ON
KRONANKER )S LATEST RAPE
CHARGES.
"...Amanda I am more
than willing to fight
to happen on this other
victim )s case..."
"...Raúl Torrez I made a
promise to her, I made a
promise to her mother
that we )re gonna learn
from this
experience and that my
administration is going
to focus a lot more
time, energy and effort
on these types of
cases..."
"...we owe people like
Amanda - more..."
ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT,
GABRIELLE BURKHART, KRQE
NEWS 13.
KRONENANKER )S SECOND
RAPE CASE WILL BE TWO
YEARS OLD IN JULY -- AND
THERE )S STILL NO TRIAL
DATE SET.
HE REMAINS FREE.
CASES LIKE AMANDA )S ARE
EXACTLY WHAT THE D-A
HOPES TO HELP WITH THE
"VICTIMS SERVICES
ALLIANCE."
VOLUNTEERS WILL ASSIST
THE D-A )S OFFICE TO
BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH
VIOLENT CRIME VICTIMS
... AND KEEP THEM IN THE
LOOP AS THEIR CASES
WIND THEIR WAY THROUGH
THE SYSTEM.
TO SEE A TIMELINE OF THE
EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE
IN THIS CASE GO TO THE
KRQE NEWS APP.