Colorado shooting suspect Anderson Aldrich choked their own mother, dad claims
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The father of Anderson Aldrich, who’s accused of killing four in a Colorado gay bar shooting, admitted his son had “a lot of rage” and choked their own mother during one violent domestic outburst.
Aaron Brink, an MMA fighter and former porn star told The Post his ex-wife, Laura Voepel, called to tell him their son had become increasingly violent around a year ago.
“She said he was really nuts,” Brink said. “He was really aggressive and she complained about him. I don’t condone violence. … She said he was (really violent towards her) and I said, ‘He was? Well, I feel sorry for you.’ … He did choke her.”
In a separate incident in 2021, Aldrich — who identifies as non-binary — allegedly threatened to kill their grandparents when they mentioned plans to sell their house and move to Florida, according to reports.
Aldrich’s grandmother told cops Aldrich was “going to be the next mass killer and has been collecting ammunition, firearms, bullet-proof body armor and storing it in the basement of the residence.”
Brink said during the last time he spoke to Aldrich about five or six months ago, the 22-year old told him they needed to see him urgently.
“It was a little awkward for me,” Brink recalled of their conversation. “There was something wrong with him.”
Brink said he thought the request strange since they had been estranged for over a decade. Their conversation also quickly dissolved into an argument, when Aldrich made a “disrespectful” comment about his dad’s new wife.
“I actually made more attempts to email him,” Brink said. “He has been kind of toxic … it was too little, too late. I think we already missed the opportunity … At the time I think he was looking to retaliate or something. I wanted to see him to try to make it work.”
Brink, 48, said he didn’t know if Aldrich owned any guns but said he’d shown interest in snipers and wanted to be in the military at some point.
Ironically, Aldrich was subdued by two military men — US Army veteran Richard M. Fierro and US Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James — after allegedly storming into Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Nov. 19 with a machine gun and starting to shoot, killing five people and injuring dozens of others.
Aldrich has yet to be formally charged but could face five counts of first-degree murder and hate crimes when they are scheduled to appear back in court on Dec. 6. They remains in jail under a no bond hold.
During a court hearing last week at El Paso County District Court, Aldrich’s defense attorneys revealed they are non-binary and used the they-them pronouns.
When asked if he knew that Aldrich identified as non-binary, Brink said he did not know what that meant, adding he was “old school.”
“There are no questions if you’re a man or a woman … no question about that,” Brink said. “He has my genetics, so he’s gonna be pretty heterosexual.”
Brink said he has received criticism over prior comments he made that were “misconstrued” as anti-gay.
“I’m not anti-gay at all. I don’t have any issues with gay people,” he told The Post. “I will not participate [in] homosexuality and I prefer my son not to do the same thing … I was really very relieved to know that he wasn’t gay.”
He added, “Everybody’s lives matter. Your life matters. The gender you are… gay or straight … I have a heart. My heart goes out to the victims. Words can’t describe how sorry I am.”
Brink said his brief relationship with Voepel was “toxic” and he had no choice but to leave his son, who was born with the name Nicholas. He said his relationship with his ex-wife and son took a “nosedive” when he became a successful porn star under the name “Dick Delaware” in 2002.
Brink, who got his start in the adult entertainment industry at age 27, has starred in porn films like “White Boys Can Hump’’ in 2016 and both “My MILF Boss 8’’ and “It’s OK to Put It in My A–’’ in 2014, according to his IMDB page.
He said Aldrich became embarrassed and was repeatedly bullied because of his decision to join the porn industry.
“It was my choice to be a porn star, but I thought he would say, ‘Cool. Cool. My dad’s a porn star! Like, ‘My dad’s a porn star! What does YOUR dad do,'” Brink said.
“But this day and age, it’s the nerds who are pushing people around. It’s so backwards to me. Athletes are being bullied now. … And big dumb jocks like me … who don’t know how to use a computer … they are getting bullied now!”
It was around this time Brink said he also started using drugs. He said his appearance on the TV show “Intervention” also became a sore spot between him and his son, who by then asked to change their name when they turned 15.
Brink still refers to his son by their birth name and he-him pronouns..
Brink said he has yet to speak to his son, but was told by defense attorneys he exercised his rights to remain silent when arrested.
Brink said he is no longer involved with porn and supports himself by doing construction work and MMA fighting. He said appearing on “Intervention” worked and he has been off “hard drugs” but still takes Ketamine from time to time.
He hopes to fight in another match soon and plans to donate a part of the proceeds to the victims and their families.
“No words can make this go away,” he said choking back tears. “I will pray for them. They are in my prayers. That’s all I can say at this point.”
