The sheriffs spokesman came out and explained that the jail still needed a form from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Gentry was a minister, and though he had told the lawyers he believed homosexuality to be a sin, he also said this belief wouldnt cloud his judgment. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. Though her attraction to women made her an outsider at home, it led her to new friendships. Rosemary, who had trouble fighting for custody since she lived outside of Texas, floated around, at one point moving to Mexico with a husband who had immigration issues. 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. The cluster reassembled. The girls father, Javier Limon, who had dated her sister Rosemary before a messy breakup, had been making advances toward her, she said. To be honest with you, she said, I feel so bad for my brother, because I tell him hes got the worst luck with women.. Limon's body was found. She gave the San Antonio Express-News permission to use her name even though the paper's policy is to not name victims of sex assault, which she still is in the eyes of the law. Their reinvestigation wasnt fruitful. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Gloria took her to the hospital and then kicked her out of the house. Elizabeth had been incarcerated nearly 17. Alejandre is heard saying. They grew closer and, with Elizabeth beginning to realize she was attracted to women, eventually started dating. Anna Vasquez talks with mother Maria Vasquez, center, and friend Denise Tristan, left, as they celebrate Thanksgiving with family members at her mother's house, her first after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the We have no ads to show you! And the letters? Anna found a job at a tortilla factory and tried to raise awareness about the case. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. Michael Barajas She was still a convicted sex offender and there was a long list of parole rules: no cell phones, no computers, no contact with anyone under 18. "They were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime. In November, Anna was released on parole. Strangers congratulated them. The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. 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. 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. Both later described it as love at first sight. On the court, the other girls would call out her nickname, Little Liz! Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. It wasnt something easily picked up by the wires.. When Darrell Otto first sent the letter, he wasnt sure who would reply. 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 . So she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier. 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.. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. 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. 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. We were sitting in a wide, sunny visiting room at the Hobby Unit. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. Cassandra, who goes by Cassie, was uncomfortable and could sense something was wrong. It is probable that [Javier] wrote it, said one, adding that there is not enough evidence to make a definite identification or elimination. Another explained, It is one thing to attempt to imitate someones signature once or twice, but an entirely different and exponentially more difficult thing to attempt to successfully imitate a large quantity of extended writing.. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Photos, illustrations and other art may be available for syndication but must be confirmed. The scene of the crime had vanished. She recorded a second phone call with Morales, and in that same call, Morales still denied any involvement, she testified. The families did their best to move on. He introduced himself as Detective Thomas Matjeka from the San Antonio Police Department, and though he was not in uniform, he said he was with the Homicide Unit. District Attorney Susan Reed agreed that the women could be released on bond pending further legal wrangling in the spring, and that she wouldnt attempt a retrial. Elizabeth Ramirez, the aunt, and her friends Anna Vasquez, Cassandra Rivera and Kristie Mayhugh are fighting to clear their names in the bizarre case that spurred talk of Satanism when they were accused in 1994. When the two former lovers saw each other, We were both just shaking, Cassie remembers. 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Site made in collaboration with CMYK. Her brother, Chis Vasquez, right, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is OK as friends greet her. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? By the time of VL and Stephanies outcries, these public dramas had largely died out, though Dr. Kellogg, in her exam notes, had written, this could be satanic-related. Nathan told me it was probably the last time anyone wrote in the record, This looks satanic., She checked Ottos background, since it seemed strange that he was so interested in the case. Did you threaten him with pepper spray? the lawyer asked. Sometimes truth has to border these parameters of strangeness of different times, weapons, and thats what happens here in this case.. Maria Vasquez (right), mother of Anna Vasquez, shakes hands with Gloria Herrera (left), mother of Elizabeth Ramirez, as Anna Vasquez's aunt, Valeria Pachecano stands in between during a meeting of the San Antonio Crime Coalition on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Swimming with the kids. 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. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. I think that first story was really complicated, she explained. Anna said she no longer cared if anyone saw them as lovers, since they had so little time left. They ask her to keep secrets and instruct her to call at specific times, between 7 and 7:15 a.m. or 5:45 and 6 p.m. I hope these letters are not upsetting, disturbing, or making you feel uncomfortable, one reads. No, Elizabeth said. During that conversation, which was played to the jury, Alejandre could be heard asking Morales who killed Limon. I was only 7, and I was scared.. Mike Ware, left, is another lawyer working on the case. Detective Lopez was studying for her sergeant's exam when the complaint was filed by Javier Limon, the girl's father. The story of the San Antonio Four unfolded like this: In the summer of 1994, Ramirez's two nieces, the 9- and 7-year-old daughters of her older sister, stayed for a week with Ramirez and. Alejandre testified that she agreed to plead to the charges in September 2016 but still believed her case would be dismissed. In the spare, gray courtroom, Cassie, who often wore denim overalls, had on a black dress with white flowers. 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. 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.. 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. They stared in awe as two women kissed openly at a convenience store. He didnt want to let me go.. 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. 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. When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Her long straight hair was in a perm with her bangs teased up off her forehead. 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. The lawyers, standing in a row behind them, answered the big-picture questions about the new state law and the legal actions to come. Partners must notify. 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. She had examined VL and her sister and seen a scar on the hymen that was about two to three millimeters, a scar normally caused by penetration. VLs mood, Kellogg said, was guileless or uncontrived, that is she did not appear to be holding back information or embellishing or adding information., Elizabeth took the stand in her own defense. The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. 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. San Antonio El Berrendo San Ricardo Santa Luca San Roberto Palo Blanco El Capricho Las Minitas El Guerreo El Porvenir Jess Ortiz El RecuerdoEl GuerreoEl Guerreo Ex-girlfriend of inmate charged with ordering slaying of Javier Limon testifies, Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers. A wiry, bearded man appears on camera and tells them the building was torn down. Javier did not testify, but told me unequivocally, There was no gun.), Sometimes truth is different, Ruiz told the jury. San Antonio police arrested Zion J. Limon, 20, in connection with the shootings. A tearful Anna Vasquez speaks on a phone during a prison interview Sept. 4, 2012. At one point, the sound of wind and cars passing on the highway accompanies a shot of an empty lot. The court battle this week pitted Stephanie Limon Martinez and her husband, Joseph Martinez, against her father, Javier Limon, who in court Friday accused them of domestic violence and. It doesnt mean were all intimate together, had any kind of sexual togetherness., The trial lasted only a couple of days. Roughly a year later, in late October 2013, attorney Mike Ware filed writs for all four women. Aunt Liz produced a gun. There had been other little kidsCassies kids and some neighborsin the apartment throughout the week, but now she was adamant that she and her sister had been the only children. A tearful Anna Vasquez, left, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez. He let the letter sit on his desk for a week before he put it in the mail. The lawyers had argued about it, and he expected to get cut from the jury pool, but now here he was sitting in the jury box. You got lucky! By the time of the trials, she told me, good pediatricians knew this stuff had been discredited.. Eventually the two would move in together, and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as her own. In terms of mileage from the Yukon, the North Pole would have been a shorter journey. Police were on the phone, saying her two nieces then ages 7 and 9 had accused Ramirez and three of her friends of sexually. When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. Were all friends. Kristie, still unemployed, pawned a radio. 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). She had not spoken to him for 13 years, though family members had updated her on his growth, his football games and his girlfriends, and informed her that he was staying out of trouble. He is now 18, with a job and a girlfriend. He said, I love you. He held me so tight. . Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. Testimony revealed that Alejandre herself was facing criminal charges after a search warrant was served in April 2015 at a home she previously resided in, when detectives began investigating Morales and his alleged role in Limon's murder. The film showcases the innocent women's fight for innocence and persistence throughout their nearly 15 years in prison. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. But the pool of advocates for the women was growing. Matjekas tone grew less friendly. on He explained that she threatened to recant to hurt him, because they had recently been fighting. 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 had nervously trudged out of the cellblock, wearing purple eye shadow that contrasted with the white prison scrubs. Still hale in his mid-50s, with close-cropped hair, Otto lives without reliable electricity or running water. Morales didn't incriminate himself in the conversation, Alejandre testified, but police "weren't satisfied" because no confession was elicited. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. 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. By I never was a mother to that child.. One of the girls ran in and told her that the other had been playing with dolls in an inappropriate way, undressing them and making them kiss. Javier Limon makes his way to the 315th District Court in Houston to for a hearing concerning his daughter, Stephanie Limon Martinez's custody of her children. He never felt like Elizabeth took advantage of his kindness; helping people was just in his nature, he said. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Javier said that Stephanie had taken advantage of his kindness. 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