Lawmakers passed the measure with a host of recent scandals in mind, including debates over arson science, use of dog scents in police lineups and shaken baby syndrome. The San Antonio Four case will be one of the first tests for the new statute. I think that first story was really complicated, she explained. A wiry, bearded man appears on camera and tells them the building was torn down. Anna Vasquez, recently released on parole, speaks 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. She said that her father Javier had coached her to make the accusations. She testified that she called Stafford police because she didn't want an argument between her father and her husband getting out of hand. Did anyone pull out a butcher knife? the couple's lawyer, Casie Gotro, asked her. She recorded a second phone call with Morales, and in that same call, Morales still denied any involvement, she testified. The sheriffs spokesman came out and explained that the jail still needed a form from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Everything she does is camouflaged, he said, adding that she probably made a deal with Rosemary, her mother, for money or other help. Javier did not testify, but told me unequivocally, There was no gun.), Sometimes truth is different, Ruiz told the jury. Anna Vasquez, right, enjoys a laugh with her brother David Vasquez and her mother Maria Vasquez over a plate of turkey dinner as they celebrate her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Javier Limon was given as the reason his two daughters made accusations of sexual abuse against four women in 1994 that led to them being sent to prison. A tearful Anna Vasquez speaks on a phone during a prison interview Sept. 4, 2012. 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. Anna Vasquez gives her father Jesse Vasquez a hug as he leaves after celebrating Thanksgiving with family members at her Anna's mother's house, her first after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. 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.. One of them, Elizabeth Ramirez, had a profile on the website WriteAPrisoner.com. 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. This makes us one of the biggest by prevailing local standards. Had someone died? She saw them often. Kelloggs admission suddenly undermined the key evidence in the case. He was nearly 2 years old when her trial date was finally set. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. Otto found an organization called the National Center for Reason and Justice, which was created in the wake of the 1980s-era satanic ritual abuse scandals to advocate for people wrongfully accused of harming children. Mike Ware, left, is another lawyer working on the case. Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Spotlights, Shipping companies reach $97M California oil spill agreement, Lompoc boys fall to Cypress Oxford Academy in first round of soccer regional, Dear Abby: Wife has no appreciation for man's preferred dress, Intel agencies: No sign adversaries behind 'Havana syndrome', Questions remain over who allowed Javier Limon to be killed as former Northwest gang member wraps up testimony. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. I asked him, had he been in love with Elizabeth? Anna applied to nursing school. Were they lesbians? He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Ware expects a battle over whether the women are declared actually innocent, a designation that would entitle them to compensation from the state for their imprisonment. Dogs were barking and a few neighbors watched from a distance as she sat on the front steps and talked to a local TV anchor. A friend had brought 10 outfits on hangers, including black slacks and blouses in various shades of blue and gold, so the women could pick what theyd like to wear.. She had rejected his advances. Elizabeths lawyer, Freddy Ruiz, tried to get VL to say that she was mixed up, and that the gun had actually been wielded by her father Javier in Colorado. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Mr. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Children's Advocacy Centre where they underwent a physical examination for evidence of . By late 2013, he had cycled through several careers and was working for a security company and studying criminal justice at a community college in Stafford, near Houston. Ive kind of prepared myself for the feelings he might have, that I abandoned him., Several weeks later, the night she was released, she met him for dinner at Pizza Hut. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. 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. You got lucky! By late 2012, media attention on the womenwho were becoming known as the San Antonio Fourwas steadily growing. Prison was a place of endless routine, and so she started one of her own. Otto teaches courses on natural resources at Yukon College. So he traveled to Texas to get a better sense of who she was. Of course she did. After Cassandra went to prison, her mother got a white puppy and named it Teddy Bear. Elizabeth was stunned. Swimming with the kids. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. Waiting to solve 5. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. In 1994, four local women in San Antonio were accused of sexually assaulting two children. Reply ( 0) Leave a comment. Matjekas tone grew less friendly. 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. She, along with Kristie, had been in prison for 13 years. When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. The scene of the crime had vanished. Our new endorsement for Texas Attorney General. When Ramirez rebuffed him, her family claimed, Limon retaliated by coaching his daughters to accuse her of molestation, and the girls ended up accusing Ramirez's three friends as well. Freelance writer Maurice Chammah lives in Austin. She was given permission to be there by her parole officer until they realized the property backed up to a school property line. In 2012, one of the nieces admitted to having been pressured by her father, Javier Limon, to make the false accusations. Now Kristie had been at the apartment, whereas before she hadnt. While working at H-E-B, she got to know Kristie Mayhugh, who was born in Montana and moved to San Antonio at age 3 when her father was transferred to the Randolph Air Force Base. If he did, Im going to ask for a mistrial. The judge overruled that request. On trips around the city for volleyball games, Anna would bring along a radio and theyd belt out Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. Elizabeth was confused. The film showcases the innocent women's fight for innocence and persistence throughout their nearly 15 years in prison. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. 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. We were sitting in a wide, sunny visiting room at the Hobby Unit. 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. They realized that the four of them had rarely been in the apartment at the same time, because they were so busy with long shifts at various jobs at odd hoursyet the girls were claiming that all four women were present for the assault. But as he scanned articles on the Internet, there was one case that didnt fit the pattern. Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. She was 22. Follow her on Twitter @gina_k210, An inmate on trial for allegedly directing the 2014 murder of a Santa Maria drug dealer finished testifying in his own defense Friday but not . I think they knew, but they didnt, you know? She remained close to her siblings, buying her little brother Mark clothes (If you had two dollars and needed more money, he said, shed give you 20) and giving her little sister Monica advice (I couldnt honestly ask for a more loving, caring sister, Monica said). Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. As prison guards at the Crain Unit in Gatesville close the gate behind her, Anna Vasquez opens the door to a relative's car after being released on parole Nov. 2, 2012. The lawyers, standing in a row behind them, answered the big-picture questions about the new state law and the legal actions to come. On the court, the other girls would call out her nickname, Little Liz! Please notify us by email that the article will be republished at, I Confronted the Man Whose Crime Put Me in Prison, Observer Radio Episode 50: Greg Abbott Had a Rough Week, Border Security Is a Financial Black Hole that Will Consume Us All. Even as a toddler, Elizabeth Ramirez was small for her age. You know why? San Antonio police arrested Zion J. Limon, 20, in connection with the shootings. Vasquez's story could have happened to anyone, just as it did to her 19-year-old self, fresh out of high school. I thought my case was going to go away.". Philip Kazen, Elizabeths prosecutor, is now a judge. There aren't many places she is allowed to go. Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Sitting in the courtroom, Elizabeth was frightened but also puzzled. So she left her sisters home and moved in with a girlfriend from school. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. When Ramirez rebuffed him, her family claimed, Limon retaliated by coaching his daughters to accuse her of molestation, and the girls ended up accusing Ramirez's three friends as well. Life after death row and the search for justice. Yes. 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. Kristies parents were divorced and her mother, like Elizabeths, was uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation. what happened to javier limon san antonio Updates - Experience in Banking and Finance Updates - Experience in Energy Law About ETAH-NAN & Co. ETAH-NAN & C is a bilingual (French and English) Law Firm created in 1985. Comment * at what temperature do stink bugs die. Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her. Elizabeths friends say she could have done more to reject Javiers advances. Her relationship with her mother improvedGloria co-signed for Elizabeths new apartment. 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. She also noted that while she did regularly use and sell drugs, she only sold the substances to support her children, and wasn't paying taxes to gangs, or to Morales. Grandma, I cant tell you because something happened, and they threatened me, the girl said, as Serafina later related to a jury. Stephaniewho would not comment for this story on her lawyers advicesoon found herself in a legal battle of her own. Stephanie Limon, the younger of the two accusers, called Debbie Nathan and recanted. Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. They would barbecue at the park on weekends and take trips to a nearby lake. So she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier. 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. I want my babies back, she said, crying. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. A boot-wearing, quiet man with a wide smile and blond hair mopped down on his forehead, Ware had worked for years with the Conviction Integrity Unit at the Dallas County District Attorneys office, which investigated old cases for possible wrongful convictions, and helped exonerate dozens of men. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Childrens Advocacy Centre where they underwent a . Matjeka was helping investigate a sex crime and asked if she would come to the station to answer a few questions. She never stopped sending him letters. She was so trusting, so lovable. Elizabeths sister Monica said, If Liz was a different person she would have had him arrested or placed a restraining order.. Gloria Herrera has taped a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez, as a young girl, to a rosary and placed it around a statue of Jesus displayed in a shrine, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Javier told me he testified in court on the matter, but that the police filed the CPS report, not him. The relationship could remain secret only so long, and when Elizabeths mother found out, their already strained connection suffered further. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. Javier Limon, which happens to be the two girls' father and Elizabeth's brother-in-law at the time, is apparently the man responsible for all of this. The letter was several pages long and written in clear cursive script. He did not testify Monday but is expected to this week. She immediately denied the accusation. All rights reserved. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. I would not have one with her., Did you have a gay relationship with Anna?, Did you have a gay relationship with Cassie?, That doesnt mean you have to be together., Well, maybe Im confused. When the jury announced her guilt, Elizabeth remembers her mother standing up and screaming, No! Allowed five minutes to say goodbye to her family, Elizabeth was then escorted to a holding cell, where she fainted. At the time of her death, Limon's father stated he had just walked . Though she hadnt prepared to become a young single mother, she knew she could rely on her three close friends for help. Other 7 month ago 0 answers 12 views. Surrounded by cameras from local and national media outlets, the women thanked the DAs office and the media for letting us tell our story. They also thanked Darrell Otto, over and over again, though none of the reporters asked about him. defense attorney Michael Scott asked. A version of this story ran in the January 2014 issue. There were liquids and powders and different things. There were syringes and vials of white powder. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Though he mentioned Stephanies recantation, and mistakes made by police and lawyers involved in the original trial, his primary argument was that Dr. Kelloggs testimony was inaccurate, since the medical understanding of what constitutes evidence of sexual abuse had changed. Anna counseled her, You need to tell somebody, because thats not right. Another friend says Elizabeth kept telling me over and over that she was afraid something was going to happen with Javier. 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