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. Then he put her on hold to take another call. Anna, Cassie, Kristie and Elizabeth emerged from the jail, holding hands in a line with Mike Ware, and raised their arms up. 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. 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. 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. Some things were familiar: Elizabeth savored a strawberry shake from McDonalds and watched a Spurs game on television; Cassie went to a cookout for her sons birthday. 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. 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. When Darrell Otto first sent the letter, he wasnt sure who would reply. Did anyone pull out a butcher knife? the couple's lawyer, Casie Gotro, asked her. It turned my stomach, she said. 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 . I asked him, had he been in love with Elizabeth? Matjeka was helping investigate a sex crime and asked if she would come to the station to answer a few questions. Javier claimed they were forged by Rosemary as a pretext for taking the kids from him. Elizabeth and Kristie moved in together as friends. She testified under oath at the trial that Javier had arrived in Denver and threatened her with a gun. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. Anna Vasquez, left, appears safe in her brother Robert Vasquez's arms as she returned home after serving 12 and a half years in prison. I dont want to say I was disowned, but I was, Elizabeth told me. 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. And the letters? She spoke confidently, her voice cracking a little when she talked about Kristie, Cassie and Anna, and her son. Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. 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. His primary company is a group of huskies. Stephanie Limon Martinez (center) breaks down in a state district court in Houston during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children. In the midst of her legal troubles, Elizabeth gave birth to her son. 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. Their reinvestigation wasnt fruitful. Elizabeths friends say she could have done more to reject Javiers advances. . Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. Swimming with the kids. We met once at the colleges library, and then later at a Whataburger, where he takes his kids so often that he knows the staff well. A tearful Anna Vasquez, left, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez. Shortly after Mondos story appeared came the breakthrough. Javier Limon, now in his 40s, keeps his graying hair short. was an incident when their father, Javier Limon . A sentence of 37 and a half years was a compromise between more and less lenient jurors. 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.. 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. Alejandre further denied ever selling drugs for Morales or being asked to do so. She had just gotten home from a shift at Arbys, where she had recently been promoted to manager. Limon was overbearing and lectured her constantly. 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. Her long straight hair was in a perm with her bangs teased up off her forehead. on 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. The women cooperated with authorities and vehemently denied that any abuse had taken place. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Limon's body was found. 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. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. Cassie and Anna are looking for Elizabeths old apartment. 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. In October, Child Protective Services was given emergency custody of the couple's three children, all younger than 3. The next day, the fish died and they returned it. Testimony concluded on a Friday afternoon. Rosemary recounted years later that Javier threatened her family. No, nothing like that happened, Limon Martinez replied. 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I showed the letters and samples of Javiers handwriting to several forensic document examiners. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" 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. They worked together at a nursing home, where the residents would constantly tell Gloria what a caring and charming girl she had raised. 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. Stephanie Limon Martinez, center, was just 7 when she and her older sister said the women sexually assaulted them. 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. 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. 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 did not testify Monday but is expected to this week. 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. 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. Cassie remembers her lawyer telling the women that they would surely win and coaching them not to jump up and down when the jury announced an acquittal. Fueled by the "Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic" of the day, baffling charges by one of the women's nieces send them all to prison. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. It involved four women from San Antonio. She claimed Morales never told her who Limon owed money to but that she did know there had been a business deal between Morales and Limon that went awry and soured their relationship. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. Promotional Rates were found for your code. So he traveled to Texas to get a better sense of who she was. 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. He said, I love you. He held me so tight. The first days back were like returning from a long vacation. When Elizabeth went to get a haircut, the hairdresser wouldnt let her pay. She would do the same thing if somebody was hurting her child., Elizabeth herself, several months earlier, had said nearly the same words. Of course she did. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. Elizabeth claims back then Limon would. By late 2012, media attention on the womenwho were becoming known as the San Antonio Fourwas steadily growing. Cassie recalls that Elizabeth promised Javier she would marry him. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. The language was chatty and upbeat. A tearful Anna Vasquez speaks on a phone during a prison interview Sept. 4, 2012. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. 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. She told me about a man who is constantly in relationships with women who take advantage of him. This type of evidence would later be deemed inaccurate. 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 were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime. That was the last time they spoke. 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. Michael Barajas 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 because Limon Martinez is now working to help exonerate her aunt and the other women. Shifts at Arbys. 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. Of course she did. She said yes. He declined to comment, saying he thought the Express-News didn't properly represent his side in a 2010 story about the women. Then Mike Ware, another lawyer with the Innocence Project, got involved. Mama, theyre my nieces, she said. Ramirez was tried separately and sentenced to 37 and a half years, more than double that of her three friends, who were tried together. Javiers sister Cristina agreed: Shes going to flip on the recantation, to get back at her mom.. Gina Kim covers crime and courts for Santa Maria Times. Anna remembers Elizabeth coming to her real upset and describing Javiers inappropriate comments. Even as a toddler, Elizabeth Ramirez was small for her age. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. It was nearly silent, except for little clusters of words between the sobs. 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. I trusted Elizabeth, that she wasnt going to hurt my daughters, he said. 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. Her son took a plea deal and is now a registered sex offender. Little Liz! Her father had left, but the rest of Elizabeths large familythree brothers, two sisterswas tight and affectionate. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. He found criminals particularly fascinating, especially the psychologically obscure, because, like him, they were on the fringes of society. They traded cars so each could get to work, bought hot dogs for the kids and played basketball at the park. 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. Elizabeth had one theory. Do you know anything about where she learned it? Serafina asked. In other ways, though, her life was starting to look up. At this trial, the younger of Elizabeths nieces, Stephanie Limon, who was not a witness at Elizabeths trial, would testify (her name is used here because she has recently spoken to the media about the case). what happened to javier limon san antonio. He been in love with Elizabeth got involved vehemently denied that any abuse had taken.! 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