defense attorney Michael Scott asked. It wasnt something easily picked up by the wires.. We have no ads to show you! When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. While the names of those who make an outcry to CPS aren't public, the affidavit and testimony state that the case stems from a call to CPS in early August that claimed that the couple had a history of domestic violence, including Joseph Martinez pulling a butcher knife on his wife and her threatening him with pepper spray. You must understand I was threatened, and I was told that if I did tell the truth that I would end up in prison, taken away, and even get my ass beat. September 5, 2012. They were each sentenced to 15 years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until their appeals had been exhausted. Gloria Herrera keeps a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez in a Bible in her bedroom, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Waiting to solve 5. 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. She now says that didn't happen. No. Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code. As their families paid lawyers to file appeals, Cassie and Anna, still very much in love, set out together to investigate the case on their own. No olvides preguntar por sus ofertas, descuentos y especiales del momento. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade of time in jail while the three other women are still serving time. He explained that she threatened to recant to hurt him, because they had recently been fighting. She immediately denied the accusation. Cassie met her one night when she went to pick up a pizza. Her long straight hair was in a perm with her bangs teased up off her forehead. An emotional Anna Vasquez pauses before answering questions about three of her friends who are still in prison. 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.. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. 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. Kristie remembers her friend accepting money and rides. Freelance writer Maurice Chammah lives in Austin. They traded cars so each could get to work, bought hot dogs for the kids and played basketball at the park. He let the letter sit on his desk for a week before he put it in the mail. 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. As a child, he explained, according to the trial transcript, VL had offered a confabulation of facts, and a jumbling of things, weapons, bedrooms, hatred towards family. He theorized that Javier had held a gun to her mother Rosemarys head years before in Denver, and that this had been refracted in the childs mind to include Elizabeth. All rights reserved. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. Though she hadnt prepared to become a young single mother, she knew she could rely on her three close friends for help. Had she ever left her nieces under the care of her friends? 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. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. She denied the accusations of abuse about her and her husband and that she neglected her children. The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. Shortly after Mondos story appeared came the breakthrough. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. But Javiers sister, Cristina Aguilar, described Javier very differently. 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. If you support this mission, we need your help. We were friends; me, Cassie, and Anna. 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. Vazquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. I will make things right, and I am sorry for everything I put you through. Released on parole after serving 12 and a half years of a 15-year sentence, Anna Vasquez speaks at a screening of "San Antonio Four," a documentary by Deborah S. Esquenazi, on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, while holding photos of her friends who are still in prison. Limon was her sisters ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and 9-year-old nieces. . It was like living in a labor camp, he said. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. Elizabeths mother called her grandson to tell him that his mother would soon be released. here? Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. Anna, right, is greeted by Gloria Herrera, mother of Elizabeth Ramirez who is still in prison. Delevan, the prosecutor, said she hadnt prosecuted the women for their sexual orientation. Javier said that Stephanie had taken advantage of his kindness. Detective Lopez was studying for her sergeant's exam when the complaint was filed by Javier Limon, the girl's father. Elizabeth Ramirez is in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, September 5, 2012. Promotional Rates were found for your code. The women had been drinking tequila and were topless, VL said. They stared in awe as two women kissed openly at a convenience store. 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Sometimes truth has to border these parameters of strangeness of different times, weapons, and thats what happens here in this case.. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Some of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, who initially reported the girls outcries. But he sounded like a respectable guy., As Nathan examined the case, the testimony of Dr. Kellogg, who first examined the victims and described markings on their hymens as signs of abuse, jumped out to her. Cassies mother had kicked her out of the house, so Cassie stayed sometimes at Elizabeth and Kristies apartment. Ex-girlfriend of inmate charged with ordering slaying of Javier Limon testifies, Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. Esquenazi became passionately involved, collecting footage for a documentary that she is still filming. Grandma, I cant tell you because something happened, and they threatened me, the girl said, as Serafina later related to a jury. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. He went on to have another bitter custody battle with his next partner, Carina Hooper, who described him to me as hurtful, mean, a sociopath, and said he accused her son of sexually abusing their daughter, and reported Hooper for neglect to Child Protective Services. Statis. Javier did not testify, but told me unequivocally, There was no gun.), Sometimes truth is different, Ruiz told the jury. Youre confusing yourself because I said that Kristie wanted a relationship with mea gay relationship with me. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. With her are her lawyer, Casie Gotro, and her husband, Joseph Martinez. Editor's note: Violence at a local sporting event last made national news when South San basketball player Tony Limon received a five-year prison . The cameramen turned on their night-lights, which reflected off the glass of the jail door. The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. Anna found a job at a tortilla factory and tried to raise awareness about the case. They looked like celebrities inundated by paparazzi. During that conversation, which was played to the jury, Alejandre could be heard asking Morales who killed Limon. Elizabeth told him about Javier, about her trial, and about the guilt she felt for her friends prison sentences. Anna applied to nursing school. Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. She had just gotten home from a shift at Arbys, where she had recently been promoted to manager. She liked to balance on the balls of her feet, leading her mother to joke that maybe she would become a ballerina. Kristie, still unemployed, pawned a radio. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. Aunt Liz produced a gun. 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. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Elizabeth knew that being a lesbian would make her an outsider in her conservative Catholic family. 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. But Elizabeth soon found problems there as well. She served 12 and a half years. 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. Recently he had been sending her love letters. Alejandre replied, "I thought so, too. 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.. Javiers older daughterwho, because she is still officially considered a victim of child sexual abuse, Ill identify with the initials VLtestified that after several carefree days at Elizabeths apartment, her aunt called her into the bedroom one afternoon and began shouting at her. Anna Vasquez, just released from prison, stops at the "Anna Wall" in her mother's home, joking that the photo of her in a crib as a baby, was the first picture of her behind bars. Limon Martinez took the stand for more than a hour Monday. It doesnt mean were all intimate together, had any kind of sexual togetherness., The trial lasted only a couple of days. She wasnt the spontaneous, happy-go-lucky girl that she would always be. Javier took his daughters to the hospital and the police station. His sister, Cristina, became increasingly angry as she told me, I remember [Javiers older daughter] telling me that they touched them, moving their hands back and forth down there. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. 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. It was mentioned mostly by the defense attorneys, who attempted to show that relationships between women have nothing to do with pedophilia. Vasquez's mother, Maria Vasquez, and aunt, Valeria Pachecano, attended the meeting in her place. They would barbecue at the park on weekends and take trips to a nearby lake. When the two former lovers saw each other, We were both just shaking, Cassie remembers. As Elizabeths mother, Gloria, remembers it, her daughter handed over the letters from Javier and said, Mom, hes after me. Gloria invited Javier out to breakfast and confronted him. His packet of information about the case ended up on the desk of Debbie Nathan, a journalist who wrote Satans Silence, the seminal book on the satanic scandals, and who regularly vets cases for the organization. Their reinvestigation wasnt fruitful. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. Today, Vasquez works with the Texas Innocence Project to overturn other wrongful convictions. Elizabeth was confused. So she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier. Cameras flashed and clicked as the women were engulfed. He explained to Elizabeth that her nieces were accusing her and several of her friendswho had also been at the apartment that weekof sexually abusing them. Yeah, theyre all gay and were friends, but that doesnt mean its a gay relationship. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Alejandre testified she went to the sheriff's substation voluntarily and spoke with Sgt. Anna Vasquez talks with her brother Jerry Vasquez on their mother's front porch after they celebrated her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Cassandra, who goes by Cassie, was uncomfortable and could sense something was wrong. Visitors give TX state park final farewell after land sold, Dallas judge revives sexual misconduct suit against Jerry Jones. Now Kristie had been at the apartment, whereas before she hadnt. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. You got lucky! When he denied that the letters existed, she took them out and pointed to his signature. Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. She saw them often. Anna was working at a Little Caesars. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. Cassie recalls that Elizabeth promised Javier she would marry him. I always felt like an outsider, my whole life, he said. Kristies parents were divorced and her mother, like Elizabeths, was uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation. I could mail out 50 letters and not one of them would [get a response] back, said Elizabeth, who scoured medical and legal textbooks in the prison library and spent nearly all of her commissary money on stamps. Nathan brought the case to the Innocence Project of Texas, where well-known attorney Jeff Blackburn agreed to represent the women. "Word is on the street is that someone else did it, and not [Gregorio Agustine]?" Mike Ware, left, is another lawyer working on the case. Paper bags of the womens belongings were passed through the door. Javier claimed they were forged by Rosemary as a pretext for taking the kids from him. If it had been a man, I dont think there would have been much of a question.. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. 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. Limon's body was found by fieldworkers, and autopsy results showed that he suffered 10 gunshot wounds that struck his lung, heart and liver. Elizabeth Ramirez (clockwise from top left), Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez -- the San Antonio Four -- are all out on bond or parole, but face new trials. Glass of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, like Elizabeths, uncomfortable! Elizabeths, was uncomfortable with her daughters sexual orientation, Valeria Pachecano, attended the meeting of! 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