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. Elizabeth and Kristie moved in together as friends. 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. Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. In the midst of her legal troubles, Elizabeth gave birth to her son. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Strangers congratulated them. Kristie remembers her friend accepting money and rides. 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. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. The letter was several pages long and written in clear cursive script. Kristie wanted to return to veterinarian school at Texas A&M if she could find the money. Javier said that Stephanie had taken advantage of his kindness. At left is Rose Vasquez, Anna's sister-in-law, taking pictures. Vasquez said she feels an obligation to them. Im sad inside. In her original statement to police, there had been no gun, but now there was one. We have no ads to show you! Partners must notify. When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. Four gay Hispanic women molesting children was something that seemed to go down everyone's throats quite easily only, it wasn't true. His parents sought asylum in Venezuela when he was five after dictator Augusto Pinochet rose to power. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. It doesnt mean were all intimate together, had any kind of sexual togetherness., The trial lasted only a couple of days. Prior to the accusation, Elizabeth had rejected the advances of the children's father Javier Limon. The crowd cheered. This type of evidence would later be deemed inaccurate. He also gave up drinking, he told me, though he never liked the taste of alcohol anyway. 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. They did. All of the Texas Observers articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. But they were careful to say little about Javier and his daughters. 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. She said that her father, Javier Limon, and her grandmother, Serafina Limon, hit the ceiling when they found out Ramirez and her friends had come out as lesbiana risky move in 1990s San Antonio. 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. Serafina had said Elizabeth was suspiciously dour when she brought the girls back after the week at the apartment. He had already taken my kids, so he couldnt hurt me there. Everyone laughed. 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. I showed the letters and samples of Javiers handwriting to several forensic document examiners. The cameramen turned on their night-lights, which reflected off the glass of the jail door. 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. Both will be thrust into the limelight in the upcoming legal battles over the case. Anna Vasquez had played sports with Elizabeth in high school. Ramirez told the court that the accusations against her and her friends came after she spurned his advances for marriage. 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. He sometimes grows out a mustache thatalong with the tweed jackets he likes, the glasses perched on his head and the iPhone in his shirt pocketgives him the look of a harried college professor. Dr. Nancy Kellogg is still a respected member of the San Antonio medical community. San Javier Los Pandos Las Palmas Joel Garza Santa CruzLa Represa El Organo Lupe Lpez Don Miguel San Manuel Santa Cruz Los banos Luis Garza Los Drenes . Eventually the two would move in together, and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as her own. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. Grandma, I cant tell you because something happened, and they threatened me, the girl said, as Serafina later related to a jury. Though her attraction to women made her an outsider at home, it led her to new friendships. According to Ramirez, the accusation came after she rebuffed romantic advances by Limon. Did anyone pull out a butcher knife? the couple's lawyer, Casie Gotro, asked her. Nathan brought the case to the Innocence Project of Texas, where well-known attorney Jeff Blackburn agreed to represent the women. She says she didnt pay because he wouldnt let her see the kids. About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. . In September 2015, Morris texted Alejandre, telling her to show up to court for her drug possession for sale charges, along with special gang enhancements, she testified. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. "I'm a single mom raising kids, living on the streets," she testified, becoming emotional on the stand. Casie Gotro, Stephanie's lawyer, is at left. 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 Anna Vasquez, one of the four San Antonio women fighting to clear their names in the 1994 sexual assault of two sisters, was released from prison on parole, from the Crain Unit in Gatesville, TX. She thought I was up to something, Otto told me. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. 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. Cassie and Anna are looking for Elizabeths old apartment. They used those letters in order to entrap me, he said. I asked him, had he been in love with Elizabeth? Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her. Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. A car provided by the Innocence Project of Texas whisked them away. In terms of mileage from the Yukon, the North Pole would have been a shorter journey. He said, I love you. He held me so tight. If a woman abuses a young child, it often means the perpetrator has a mental illness. 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. Anna Vasquez hugs one of her older brothers, Robert Vasquez, as they embrace each other for the first time in 12 and a half years on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. 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. But little happened for a year. Promotional Rates were found for your code. She testified that she called Stafford police because she didn't want an argument between her father and her husband getting out of hand. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. One morning several days later, in September 1994, Elizabeths friends Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez met at a park. Statis. Originally the most reticent of the four, Anna became their spokeswoman. Yes. They traded cars so each could get to work, bought hot dogs for the kids and played basketball at the park. 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. Do you know anything about where she learned it? Serafina asked. She would do the same thing if somebody was hurting her child., Elizabeth herself, several months earlier, had said nearly the same words. Our whole relationship was based on him controlling me, she said. The girls father, Javier Limon, who had dated her sister Rosemary before a messy breakup, had been making advances toward her, she said. The crowd followed the women down the jail steps. Ex-girlfriend of inmate charged with ordering slaying of Javier Limon testifies, Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers. 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. Limon's body was found by fieldworkers, and autopsy results showed that he suffered 10 gunshot wounds that struck his lung, heart and liver. Limon brought the case against his own daughter. 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. Years went by without a response. One night Elizabeth stole some of her mothers prescription anxiety pills and overdosed. 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). Swimming with the kids. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Today, Vasquez works with the Texas Innocence Project to overturn other wrongful convictions. Comment * at what temperature do stink bugs die. Had he offered to marry her? 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. Discovery channel documentary 'Southwest of Salem: the Story of the San Antonio Four' unravels the case against lesbians accused of abuse. She served 12 and a half years. Elizabeth was confused. 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. He had no idea who she was. They looked like celebrities inundated by paparazzi. Go ahead and pull the trigger, Javier, Im not afraid of you, she remembers saying. We didnt understand it, and we didnt like it. Elizabeth remembers being racked with guilt as Cassie, Anna and Kristie faced trial together a year later, in February 1998. Everything she does is camouflaged, he said, adding that she probably made a deal with Rosemary, her mother, for money or other help. If it had been a man, I dont think there would have been much of a question.. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade in jail while the other three women remain imprisoned. 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. 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. Stephanie Limon, the younger of the two accusers, called Debbie Nathan and recanted. She saw them often. 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.. 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. She was still leaking milk when the police took her to jail. The first days back were like returning from a long vacation. I dont want to say I was disowned, but I was, Elizabeth told me. At school, coming out wasnt as big a deal because nobody talked about it. In the spare, gray courtroom, Cassie, who often wore denim overalls, had on a black dress with white flowers. 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. A statue of a praying angel stands near Maria Vasquez, right, in her living room where Vasquez prayed daily for her daughter Anna Vasquez. Limon Martinez took the stand for more than a hour Monday. 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. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" Once released on bail, Elizabeth relied on family members to take care of her son while she worked at Taco Cabana and tried to fend off the assault charges. Some of her legal troubles, Elizabeth had rejected the advances of the jail door be deemed inaccurate because. Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind what happened to javier limon san antonio what happened to.. 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