Cassie didnt understand, so Anna broke the news: They too were being accused of sexually assaulting Elizabeths nieces. She recorded a second phone call with Morales, and in that same call, Morales still denied any involvement, she testified. Dr. Nancy Kellogg is still a respected member of the San Antonio medical community. In 2012, one of the nieces admitted to having been pressured by her father, Javier Limon, to make the false accusations. 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. They couldnt get me drunk or doing anything illegal. He and Rosemary had gone through a messy custody battle over the kids after she moved to Denver and began a relationship with a former friend of Javiers named Oscar Aguirre. Then Mike Ware, another lawyer with the Innocence Project, got involved. 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. At left is Rose Vasquez, Anna's sister-in-law, taking pictures. Cassandra, who goes by Cassie, was uncomfortable and could sense something was wrong. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the There aren't many places she is allowed to go. The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. They traded cars so each could get to work, bought hot dogs for the kids and played basketball at the park. I never heard anything back.. here? Stephanie Limon did not clarify the situation. What happened to javier limon san antonio Opublikowane przez w dniu 6 listopada 2020 The new film Freedom Fighterpart of the 75th anniversary series Bob Marley Legacyexamines Marley as a symbol of human rights with a voice more powerful than any politician. A video of Anna Vasquez plays on a computer and is projected to an audience at a meeting of the San Antonio Crime Coalition on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Javier did not testify, but told me unequivocally, There was no gun.), Sometimes truth is different, Ruiz told the jury. It was the first day of testimony in a hearing involving Stephanie Limon Martinez, 25, and her husband, Joseph Martinez, 29, who both believe the accusations against them are in retaliation. Kristie remembers her friend accepting money and rides. Limon Martinez took the stand for more than a hour Monday. Ware and the other lawyers for the women have said that no matter how much the ongoing investigations may cast doubt on the legal and medical context for the convictions, much about the case will remain a mystery. Limon Martinez and her husband believe the accusations against them are in retaliation because she is now working to help exonerate her aunt and the other women. Life after death row and the search for justice. Then Aunt Liz ordered her to take a shower. Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. He asked to film her walking around the yard, and she complied, but she wouldnt stick one foot past the curb for the camera to symbolize her freedom, since it would technically violate her parole conditions. 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.. Vasquez's story could have happened to anyone, just as it did to her 19-year-old self, fresh out of high school. Had someone died? But still they were baffled. Gloria Herrera, left, and her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez in a photo taken during a visit in prison. Elizabeth was completely lost in the huddle. You got lucky! Elizabeth Ramirez is in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, September 5, 2012. She liked to balance on the balls of her feet, leading her mother to joke that maybe she would become a ballerina. Most of the time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who fall in love with a student. The prosecutors, as well as Javier when we spoke 15 years later, accounted for the inconsistencies by saying the girls were young children who could hardly be expected to keep facts straight. He may even take the stand and say again what he has always repeated, that he did what any parent would do. Javier said that after the girls spent the week at Elizabeths in July 1994, he didnt notice anything different at first. Detective Lopez was studying for her sergeant's exam when the complaint was filed by Javier Limon, the girl's father. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. When Javier got home, the girls told him the whole shocking story of being held down and raped, he said. Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. Though Annas family was more accepting than the others, she still remembers gawking looks whenever she and Cassie would stroll together at carnivals. He stormed away. 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. They looked like celebrities inundated by paparazzi. He liked to party and her workaholic lifestyle drove them apart, but not before she became pregnant with his son. Every Sunday, she would write her son a letter and have her mother deliver it. When Darrell Otto first sent the letter, he wasnt sure who would reply. Sitting in the courtroom, Elizabeth was frightened but also puzzled. 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. 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. I called all the womens previous attorneys, and they didnt even remember the case, she told me. In other ways, though, her life was starting to look up. At one point, he had as many as 40 of them, and he would haul 5-gallon buckets from a nearby river for them to drink. She wanted a relationship with me. Cassies mother had kicked her out of the house, so Cassie stayed sometimes at Elizabeth and Kristies apartment. 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. 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. Javiers sister Cristina agreed: Shes going to flip on the recantation, to get back at her mom.. They scribbled the events of the week, as the women remember, on a large white poster board in a grid organized by woman and by day. Elizabeth Ramirez holds her baby boy shortly after his birth in a family photo. Vasquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. 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. Then he put her on hold to take another call. Esquenazi became passionately involved, collecting footage for a documentary that she is still filming. 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. But Javiers sister, Cristina Aguilar, described Javier very differently. Anna Vasquez (from left), Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh and Cassandra Rivera have been fighting to clear their names in a bizarre 1994 sex assault case. Alejandre is heard saying. 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 will make things right, and I am sorry for everything I put you through. 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 was given permission to be there by her parole officer until they realized the property backed up to a school property line. 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.. 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. Discovery channel documentary 'Southwest of Salem: the Story of the San Antonio Four' unravels the case against lesbians accused of abuse. 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. HOUSTON A young woman who recently recanted a nearly 20-year-old accusation of sexual assault, which had sent her aunt and three other women to prison, was in a courtroom here Monday fighting child-abuse allegations leveled at her. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. "Word is on the street is that someone else did it, and not [Gregorio Agustine]?" Paper bags of the womens belongings were passed through the door. Mondos front-page story came out Christmas week 2010 with little impact. Alejandre countered that it was difficult to pick up calls while she was on the streets, couldn't pay her phone bill, and she reiterated that she only sold drugs to support her children. Every other day, she told me, shed clean the office of her sisters prosecutor, Philip Kazen. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. Comment * at what temperature do stink bugs die. It wasnt something easily picked up by the wires.. Stephaniewho would not comment for this story on her lawyers advicesoon found herself in a legal battle of her own. Then one day while he was at work, his mother, Serafina Limon, was cooking while the girls played outside. 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. The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. Some of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, who initially reported the girls outcries. 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. But because only copies of the documents are available, the experts reports were inconclusive. 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. 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. Javier Limon, now in his 40s, keeps his graying hair short. She warned her daughter not to take care of Javiers daughters. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. Rosemary recounted years later that Javier threatened her family. The cluster reassembled. The jury went home for the weekend, returning Monday for the closing arguments. Couldn't it be possible that he had coerced his children to make up a story so he could "get even" with the woman who dared to prefer women over him? 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. He also gave up drinking, he told me, though he never liked the taste of alcohol anyway. A sentence of 37 and a half years was a compromise between more and less lenient jurors. She was 22. According to Ramirez, the accusation came after she rebuffed romantic advances by Limon. Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 12:35 pm, Owner of San Antonio bar Moses Rose's launches GoFundMe to cover court costs as talks stall, San Antonio gourmet hot dog spot The Dogfather quietly opens second location. The women had been drinking tequila and were topless, VL said. I was there every step of the way with my kids, he said. Promotional Rates were found for your code. Anna Vasquez, pictured here on Sept. 4, 2012, was incarcerated at the Murray Unit, in Gatesville, Texas. In 1994, four local women in San Antonio were accused of sexually assaulting two children. Kids' removal called payback for recanting, Woman fighting to clear name in 1994 sex assault is paroled, Parole OK'd for woman fighting for exoneration. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. After she turned 16, Elizabeth began to stay out later, experiment with drugs, date boys and fight with her mother, Gloria. When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. Her son took a plea deal and is now a registered sex offender. VL claimed that the court reporter must have incorrectly taken down her remarks at Elizabeths trial. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. Both later described it as love at first sight. Im sorry it has taken this long for me to know what truly happened, she said haltingly. All four of the women were out as lesbians, a fact that colored the investigation into the accusations and case against them. About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. The letters refer to Elizabeth as My Little Angel and include bits of poetry. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. 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. 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. 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). Javier Limon . Gina Kim covers crime and courts for Santa Maria Times. As a teenager Otto had hitchhiked across the continent, but by 25 he was tired and wanted mental discipline. One of the women told a court that the accusations came after she spurned Limons advances for marriage. Javier told me he testified in court on the matter, but that the police filed the CPS report, not him. Anna Vasquez, right, answers questions, as her sister-in-law Rose Vasquez, left, gives thanks for Anna's release from prison. 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. 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. Their reinvestigation wasnt fruitful. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. Elizabeth knew that being a lesbian would make her an outsider in her conservative Catholic family. The letter was several pages long and written in clear cursive script. Limon's body was found. . Anna was working at a Little Caesars. 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