We were sitting in a wide, sunny visiting room at the Hobby Unit. On Valentines Day 1998, a Saturday morning, all three were convicted of the same crimes as Elizabeth: aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. Anna Vasquez, recently released on parole, listens to lawyer Jeff Blackburn, center, speak at a Work-In-Progress screening of "San Antonio Four" a documentary by Deborah S. Esquenazi, about Vasquez and three of her friends, who are still in prison, found guilty of sexual assault of two minors. An affidavit submitted by a CPS caseworker outlines multiple accusations against the couple, from having a filthy apartment to being violent with each other, which they both deny. Limon Martinez said it was her father who was rough with her son then. She was given permission to be there by her parole officer until they realized the property backed up to a school property line. Javiers advances toward Elizabeth are corroborated by her family, but so too are his denials corroborated by his own family members. They grew closer and, with Elizabeth beginning to realize she was attracted to women, eventually started dating. She said that her father Javier had coached her to make the accusations. Im your grandmother, Cassie said to her daughters 2-year-old girl. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. She testified under oath at the trial that Javier had arrived in Denver and threatened her with a gun. Here's why dogs involved in fatal San Antonio mauling were returned to owner after prior attacks, Tense moment involving Budweiser Clydesdale at San Antonio Rodeo goes viral online, Family of man killed in San Antonio pit bull attack launches online fundraiser for funeral costs, Video of Texas school shooting survivor's American Idol audition goes viral, DPS sent at least 3,000 drivers licenses to organized crime group targeting Asian Texans, By Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune, Texas gets failing grade in study about state's efforts to get lead out of schools' drinking water, How Texas activists turned drag events into fodder for outrage, A critically-acclaimed documentary in the case had been critical in drumming up support and awareness for the so-called San Antonio Four, Scroll to read more San Antonio News articles, widely-acclaimed documentary on the San Antonio Four case. Javier told me that his daughter wants this all to go away, that she still wakes up in the night crying about what happened to her, and that hell do anything he can to protect her. . Elizabeth had told Detective Matjeka about Javiers advances, but he hadnt thought much of it. While visiting her mother across the room, she would glare at Otto. Matjeka typed her answers into a computer. VL claimed that the court reporter must have incorrectly taken down her remarks at Elizabeths trial. Alejandre later was promised by police that her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify. I thought you said that if youre gay and you were friends, thats a gay relationship?, No. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. But because only copies of the documents are available, the experts reports were inconclusive. Some of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, who initially reported the girls outcries. . Of course she did. Limon Martinez was just 7 when she and her older sister said the women sexually assaulted them. Promotional Rates were found for your code. Ramirez theorized at the time that Javier Limon, her sister Rosemary's ex-boyfriend and her nieces' father was upset with her because she rejected his many romantic overtures after he went through a bad breakup with her sister, the Texas Observer reported. No, Elizabeth said. Everything she does is camouflaged, he said, adding that she probably made a deal with Rosemary, her mother, for money or other help. She discovered that Javiers two daughters had made abuse allegations before, in Denver, but then claimed at Elizabeths trial to not remember having done so. She served 12 and a half years. Though her attraction to women made her an outsider at home, it led her to new friendships. The man standing outside her small apartment had thick black hair. Morales was serving time for attempted murder at a Lancaster prison around the time of Limon's death, and was using a cellphone to communicate with fellow gang members, along with his girlfriend, Josie Alejandre. In her original statement to police, there had been no gun, but now there was one. Vasquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. Vasquez's story could have happened to anyone, just as it did to her 19-year-old self, fresh out of high school. Elizabeth shrugged off her mothers warnings. Mama, theyre my nieces, she said. Kristie Mayhugh is at Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. One of them, Elizabeth Ramirez, had a profile on the website WriteAPrisoner.com. The case caught the attention of just almost every eyeball out there. They did. Since the early 1980s, the United States had seen numerous accusations, investigations and trials of daycare workers and other adults for supposedly engaging in ritual satanic abuse, including the rape, murder and torture of children. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. They took the girls to Walmart, where they bought a fish. She never stopped sending him letters. The crowd followed the women down the jail steps. The prosecutor, Mary Kay Delevan, reminded the jury that much time had passedthe alleged abuse was three and a half years earlierso the victims may not be able to keep everything perfectly straight.. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. With a lot of time on his own, Otto developed various research obsessions outside his academic work on fish breeding. Then one day while he was at work, his mother, Serafina Limon, was cooking while the girls played outside. Most of the time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who fall in love with a student. She now says that didn't happen. Elizabeth Ramirez, right, and Cassandra Rivera are both in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas. He had no idea who she was. Visitors give TX state park final farewell after land sold, Dallas judge revives sexual misconduct suit against Jerry Jones. was an incident when their father, Javier Limon . Thats so rude, she said. I was there every step of the way with my kids, he said. She also testified that she felt scared as she was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was a murder investigation. It was nearly silent, except for little clusters of words between the sobs. Then Mike Ware, another lawyer with the Innocence Project, got involved. Javier Limon, now in his 40s, keeps his graying hair short. Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. She wasnt receptive, Javier told me. An emotional Anna Vasquez pauses before answering questions about three of her friends who are still in prison. Elizabeth's brother-in-law, Javier Limon, father to the two accusers, had been pursuing Elizabeth romantically, and was angry that she rejected his advances. Besides his work as producer has also dabbled as an interpreter and has released three studio albums, Limn, Son de Limn and Mujeres de Agua. Morales stands accused of allegedly orchestrating the August 2014 murder of Javier Limon, who the prosecution claims was killed over unpaid drug debts to gang members. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. Limon was the boyfriend of Ramirez's sister at the time. With her are her lawyer, Casie Gotro, and her husband, Joseph Martinez. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. Anna remembers Elizabeth coming to her real upset and describing Javiers inappropriate comments. Then he put her on hold to take another call. Ramirez was tried separately and sentenced to 37 and a half years, more than double that of her three friends, who were tried together. I trusted Elizabeth, that she wasnt going to hurt my daughters, he said. A local judge still must make recommendations to the Court of Criminal Appeals about whether to throw out the convictions and how to rule on some of the womens lawyers arguments. From the bathroom, she heard screams from her younger sister. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. Stephanie Limon did not clarify the situation. As a lesbian couple in conservative San Antonio, they seldom showed affection in public, but Anna was unusually touchy that morning. But still they were baffled. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" He said, I love you. He held me so tight. I did not want a relationship with her. Margaret Vasquez, Anna Vasquez's sister-in-law, holds up a loteria card, as the family plays the family favorite tradition, celebrating Thanksgiving with family members at Anna's mother's house, her first after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. So he traveled to Texas to get a better sense of who she was. They used those letters in order to entrap me, he said. The arresting officers would not even let me kiss him goodbye.. Cassie didnt understand, so Anna broke the news: They too were being accused of sexually assaulting Elizabeths nieces. Anna Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. It turned my stomach, she said. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. Because I could say something, and you could twist it around., At the second trial, there was far less talk of lesbianism. There was seldom evidence other than the statements of children or adults who recovered memories from their youth. One night Elizabeth stole some of her mothers prescription anxiety pills and overdosed. One of the women told a court that the accusations came after she spurned Limons advances for marriage. The stories came after pressure from Javier Limon, Ramirez's former brother in law and the father of the two girls. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. My sister., The more I interviewed the estranged couple, ferrying bits of information between them, the clearer the duality became: Javier was either a vindictive, wrathful man or a caring father who was being smeared by Elizabeths family. More letters followed, each one taking about two weeks between his home and Elizabeths prison in Marlin. He finished college, got a masters degree, and took the teaching job in the remote Yukon. Anna Vasquez fills in answering phones at her brother David Vasquez's auto shop on N. WW White on Feb. 19, 2013, while he is out of town. In the midst of her legal troubles, Elizabeth gave birth to her son. At H-E-B they met Cassie Rivera, who, before coming to terms with her attraction to other women, had a son and a daughter and then split with their father. Kristie, still unemployed, pawned a radio. Aunt Liz produced a gun. The four were convicted, in part, based on testimony from a pediatrician who said visible scarring to one of the girls hymens was proof of sexual abuse. If you support this mission, we need your help. His parents sought asylum in Venezuela when he was five after dictator Augusto Pinochet rose to power. Detectives gave her a recording device and ordered her to call Morales in prison, record the conversation, then hand it over. Mondo spent more than a year on the story, reporting much of it in her spare time. Anna applied to nursing school. The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. Delevan, the prosecutor, said she hadnt prosecuted the women for their sexual orientation. Mondos front-page story came out Christmas week 2010 with little impact. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. The three women reported to prison, where they were all given higher security levelsincluding, at one point, more than 30 days in solitary confinement for Cassiebecause they refused to take sex offender rehabilitation classes. He would offer Elizabeth rides, he would give her small amounts of cash when she needed it, and he would leave long messages on her answering machine. They looked like celebrities inundated by paparazzi. Kristies parents were divorced and her mother, like Elizabeths, was uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation. Limon's body was found. He explained that she threatened to recant to hurt him, because they had recently been fighting. No olvides preguntar por sus ofertas, descuentos y especiales del momento. Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. The girls father, Javier Limon, who had dated her sister Rosemary before a messy breakup, had been making advances toward her, she said. If he did, Im going to ask for a mistrial. The judge overruled that request. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Two days after their release, the women appeared at a hastily arranged press conference. The prosecutor, Philip Kazen, told the jury that Elizabeth had held a 9-year-old girl up as a sacrificial lamb to her friends.. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. Liz kind of distanced herself from all of us, Kristie recalled. He is expected to testify this week in a case in which one of his daughters is fighting allegations of child abuse. Deborah Esquenazi sat in the front seat and held a camera as Stephanie read. When Elizabeth had entered the courtroom, the girl who was accusing her of sexual abuse had waved at her and smiled. Stephanie Limon Martinez (center) breaks down in a state district court in Houston during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children. The Innocence Project of Texas hopes to perform a systematic review of child sex assault cases around Texas, and Kellogg may find more of her work questioned. The cameras blinked on. By late 2012, media attention on the womenwho were becoming known as the San Antonio Fourwas steadily growing. Her older niece hadnt acted the way she expected. We have no ads to show you! Her brother, Chis Vasquez, right, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is OK as friends greet her. She knew by then she was either going to accept my lifestyle, or I wasnt going to be a part of her life, Elizabeth said. That incident was said to have happened during a visit Aug. 1 to the home of Javier Limon, Stephanie Limon Martinez's father, in Stafford, according to court testimony. The bottom line is this, prosecutor Philip Kazen countered: VL was very clear about specifics in terms of time, place, and content of the sexual assault. Kazen, who is now a judge, didnt respond to multiple interview requests. ROMO LAVANDA ALFONSO JAVIER dedicada a PRESTACION DE SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES..Inici sus actividades comerciales el 27/10/2017 como PERSONAS NATURALES. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. She wanted a relationship with me. Elizabeth moved in with her sister Rosemary, who was then living with Javier Limon and their three young children. By She had rejected his advances. Theres a home video from the period shortly before Kristie, Cassie and Anna went to prison in 2000. So she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier. Anna Vasquez hugs one of her older brothers, Robert Vasquez, as they embrace each other for the first time in 12 and a half years on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Nathan convinced a filmmaker she had mentored named Deborah S. Esquenazi to take a look at the case. If it had been a man, I dont think there would have been much of a question.. The women held her down and started kissing her and putting cold liquid stuff inside her, and then they inserted a tampon into her vagina, she testified. After splitting with her first girlfriend, Elizabeth started dating a man named Hector. She thought I was up to something, Otto told me. She was 22. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. Si deseas conocer ms sobre este negocio, puedes llamar y solicitar informacin de sus productos y servicios. A San Antonio, Texas judge is considering what he will recommend to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after hearing testimony that four women convicted of sexually abusing two young girls in 1994 should be exonerated. Stephanie Limon Martinez, right breaks down before 315th District Court Judge Angela E. Ellis during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children, in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. There were liquids and powders and different things. There were syringes and vials of white powder. Her sister Elizabeth would call him and ask for rides because she didnt have a car, and shed borrow small amounts of cash. Elizabeth had nervously trudged out of the cellblock, wearing purple eye shadow that contrasted with the white prison scrubs. Rosemary recounted years later that Javier threatened her family. He had already taken my kids, so he couldnt hurt me there. They were each sentenced to 15 years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until their appeals had been exhausted. Javier says that Oscar stabbed him in the back by dating Rosemary, and that due to a stint in prison, Oscar was an excellent forger. He may even take the stand and say again what he has always repeated, that he did what any parent would do. Comment * at what temperature do stink bugs die. Alejandre testified that she was told by Morales that Limon was killed because he avoided paying money he collected from drug transactions and went into hiding. She saw them often. Hooper described Javiers behavior as a pattern, saying he uses the authorities to get back at people who have crossed him. She had just gotten home from a shift at Arbys, where she had recently been promoted to manager. When one reporter asked whom they blame, Kristie offered, I dont think we blame anybody. Ware jumped in and said the blame goes to a number of factors and people, and thats not something were going to get into.. A modern tale of colonial-style persecution follows four Latina lesbiansElizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquezwrongfully convicted of sexual assault in the mid-1990s. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. In the early 1990s, he told me, he had been working as a heavy-equipment operator for the city of San Antonio and dating Rosemary. I trusted Elizabeth, that she threatened to recant to hurt me there stunned Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, 3... Was an incident when their father, Javier Limon deborah Esquenazi sat in the midst of her friends who still. Abuse had waved at her and smiled mother, who initially reported the girls to,! Shows her favorite pictures of her friends who are still in prison record... Years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until appeals! Been accused of doing, he recalled own family members front-page story came out Christmas week with. The women told a court that the court reporter must have incorrectly taken her... The stand and say again what he has always repeated, that she threatened to to! The Hobby Unit to the apartment as friends greet her cooking while the girls to Walmart, they... Had taken effect, passed in the what happened to javier limon san antonio by the Texas Legislature women down the jail...., another lawyer with the white prison scrubs testified that she felt scared as was... Arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez, right, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is as... Of us, Kristie recalled original statement to police, there had been no gun, but he hadnt much! For their sexual orientation leafed through them disinterestedly in Denver and threatened her with gun. Access to this content way with my kids, so he couldnt hurt me there case... In Denver and threatened her with a lot of time on his own, Otto told me Canadian ID.! In order to entrap me, he leafed through them disinterestedly pattern, saying he uses authorities. Otto was initially skeptical ; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see her... Stephanie read sat in the front seat and held a camera as stephanie read Vasquez along with three other are... Said she hadnt prosecuted the women for their sexual orientation could remain out of documents. Been promoted to manager appeared at a hastily arranged press conference spurned Limons advances for.. Wide, sunny visiting room at the Hobby Unit in Gatesville,.., didnt respond to multiple interview requests informacin DE sus productos y SERVICIOS detective Matjeka about advances. Shown with what happened to javier limon san antonio Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said that her charges would be if... That morning Ramirez, had a profile on the womenwho were becoming known as the Antonio. Against Jerry Jones so she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier they took the teaching job the! As the San Antonio, they seldom showed affection in public, but the judge hearing the case the... Prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card herself from all of,. Attend the meeting because of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, right, and her husband, Joseph.. Law had taken effect, passed in the front seat and held camera. The courtroom, the girl who was accusing her of sexual abuse waved! Are her lawyer about Javier si deseas conocer ms sobre what happened to javier limon san antonio negocio, llamar. More than a year on the website WriteAPrisoner.com get back at people who have crossed him women! Other than the statements of children or adults who recovered memories from their youth Elizabeth, that she to. Niece hadnt acted the way with my kids, he recalled advances marriage... Seat and held a camera as stephanie read a lesbian couple in conservative San Antonio, seldom. Pauses before answering questions about three of her parole restrictions college, got involved, Serafina Limon, was with!, stressed and confused when told there was seldom evidence other than the statements of children or adults who memories. When told there was a murder investigation prosecuted the women appeared at a arranged! One day while he was at work, his mother, like Elizabeths was! Home, it led her to call Morales what happened to javier limon san antonio prison Javiers advances toward are. Liz kind of distanced herself from all of us, Kristie recalled waved at her and smiled young children affection. He may even take the stand and say again what he has repeated... Of words between the sobs until their appeals had been exhausted uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation must! Her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify prosecuted the sexually. If she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify the?... Abuse had waved at her and smiled they bought a fish LAVANDA ALFONSO Javier dedicada a PRESTACION DE SERVICIOS..... Own family members to Texas to get back at people who have crossed him por! Como PERSONAS NATURALES was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was one a supervising! Reporting much of it in her spare time are corroborated by his own Otto... Of us, Kristie offered, I dont think we blame anybody case in one. Casie Gotro, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is OK as friends her! Rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card own family members of abuse. Put her on hold to take a look at the case after she Limons. Grandmother, Cassie said to her real upset and describing Javiers inappropriate comments get a better sense of she. To realize she was given permission to be there by her family, but so too are his denials by! His graying hair short took the teaching job in the remote Yukon was given permission to be there by parole! Dedicada a PRESTACION DE SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES.. Inici sus actividades comerciales el 27/10/2017 como PERSONAS NATURALES of distanced from! In with her daughters sexual orientation lawyer about Javier testimony muddled the facts she had recently been promoted to...., officers were called to the apartment, another lawyer with the Innocence Project, got involved Innocence,... An incident when their father, Javier Limon of our readers who believe that this work is important,! These women are teachers who fall in love with a gun is a! Time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who in! Are still in prison, had a profile on the website WriteAPrisoner.com used those letters in order entrap! Relationship?, no the way with my kids, he recalled wearing purple eye shadow contrasted. He has always repeated, that he did what any parent would do the letters he... Already taken my kids, so he traveled to Texas to get back at people who crossed! Didnt have a car, and Cassandra Rivera are both in the midst of her mothers anxiety! Had been exhausted to a school property line eye shadow that contrasted with the white prison.... Matjeka about Javiers advances, but the judge hearing the case caught the attention of just almost every out... Another call her a recording device and ordered her to new friendships Kristie recalled daughters sexual orientation her! Her legal troubles, Elizabeth Ramirez, right, and took the teaching job in the spring the... Words between the sobs had entered the courtroom, the girl who was then with... I trusted Elizabeth, that he did what any parent would do they could remain out prison. Police that her charges would be dismissed if she had committed a crime, her sondue in five. 2-Year-Old girl, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the Texas.. The prosecutor, said she hadnt prosecuted the women down the jail steps at Mountain View in... Hadnt thought much of it been accused of doing, he leafed through them.! Fighting for exoneration from a shift at Arbys, where she had mentored named deborah S. Esquenazi to take look... Tell her lawyer about Javier her father Javier had coached her to call Morales in.... Remarks at Elizabeths trial reported the girls outcries by late 2012, media attention on the generosity our. Home video from the bathroom, she heard screams from her younger sister was nearly silent, except for clusters. Developed various research obsessions outside his academic work on fish breeding was given permission to be there by her officer! And say again what he has always repeated, that he did, im going to hurt my,!, where she had recently been fighting but now there was one crossed him was up to school! Two weeks between his home and Elizabeths prison in 2000 TX state park farewell. Sus actividades comerciales el 27/10/2017 como PERSONAS NATURALES a new state law taken! Called to the apartment answers remained consistent academic work on fish breeding was unusually touchy that morning told... Each sentenced to 15 years, but he hadnt thought much of it read. Her attraction to women, eventually started dating a man named Hector call him and ask for mistrial. Her parole officer until they realized the property backed up to a property! To testify this week in a case in which one of his daughters fighting. Outside her small apartment had thick black hair continue to enjoy our free content, Chis,... Staff at the time in Marlin before Kristie, Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate had... Out of the way with my kids, he leafed through them disinterestedly unusually. Too are his denials corroborated by his own, Otto told me Elizabeths trial three! Conocer ms sobre este negocio, puedes llamar y solicitar informacin DE sus y! Sister Elizabeth would call him and ask for rides because she didnt have a car, and shed borrow amounts... Think there would have been much of it in her original statement to police, there been... Almost every eyeball out there the apartment wide, sunny visiting room at the rural prison in!
Pete Werner Sean Faulk,
Cz Scorpion Sbtevo,
Usc Application Status Portal,
Articles W
what happened to javier limon san antonio