He found criminals particularly fascinating, especially the psychologically obscure, because, like him, they were on the fringes of society. An emotional Anna Vasquez pauses before answering questions about three of her friends who are still in prison. 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. Anna Vasquez (left), Cassandra Rivera and Kristie Mayhugh (right) were tried together and were sentenced to 15 years, which began in 2000 after they lost their only appeal. 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. With her are her lawyer, Casie Gotro, and her husband, Joseph Martinez. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. A statue of a praying angel stands near Maria Vasquez, right, in her living room where Vasquez prayed daily for her daughter Anna Vasquez. He may even take the stand and say again what he has always repeated, that he did what any parent would do. According to Ramirez, the accusation came after she rebuffed romantic advances by Limon. 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. what happened to javier limon san antonio. Outlets must also tag the Observer in all social media posts. I showed the letters and samples of Javiers handwriting to several forensic document examiners. 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. In high school, she remained small, never more than 4-foot-9, though that didnt keep her from playing on the basketball team. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. Javier told me he testified in court on the matter, but that the police filed the CPS report, not him. Morales maintained that he was minding his own business and focused on appealing his prior criminal case to get out of prison, and denied any involvement in the murder. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. This type of evidence would later be deemed inaccurate. Thats so rude, she said. Its just so unusual and bizarre.. When Elizabeth had entered the courtroom, the girl who was accusing her of sexual abuse had waved at her and smiled. She liked to balance on the balls of her feet, leading her mother to joke that maybe she would become a ballerina. 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? 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. Hooper described Javiers behavior as a pattern, saying he uses the authorities to get back at people who have crossed him. She was still leaking milk when the police took her to jail. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Shifts at AutoZone. Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her. Dr. Kellogg has told the Bexar County District Attorneys office that her initial claims at the trial are outdated and that she wouldnt offer the same testimony today. If he did, Im going to ask for a mistrial. The judge overruled that request. In the midst of her legal troubles, Elizabeth gave birth to her son. They were each sentenced to 15 years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until their appeals had been exhausted. Morales didn't incriminate himself in the conversation, Alejandre testified, but police "weren't satisfied" because no confession was elicited. The cameramen turned on their night-lights, which reflected off the glass of the jail door. I love them. Gloria has no unkind words to say about her daughter, but she never describes her as shrewd. The prosecutor, Philip Kazen, told the jury that Elizabeth had held a 9-year-old girl up as a sacrificial lamb to her friends.. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. "Word is on the street is that someone else did it, and not [Gregorio Agustine]?" As a lesbian couple in conservative San Antonio, they seldom showed affection in public, but Anna was unusually touchy that morning. 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. Anna had seen Elizabeth unable to deal with the interests of men before. They were all arrested and convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Limon's body was found. She now says that didn't happen. The prosecutions expert witness was a doctor named Nancy Kellogg, who estimated that she had examined roughly 3,500 sexual assault victims, most of them children. The women had been drinking tequila and were topless, VL said. In October, Child Protective Services was given emergency custody of the couple's three children, all younger than 3. Of course she did. The lawyers, standing in a row behind them, answered the big-picture questions about the new state law and the legal actions to come. Waiting to solve 5. 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. They found Elizabeth guilty in just a few hours, but their debate about punishment lasted into the evening. It was August 2012, and Stephanie, then 25, was a mother herself. Cassies son and daughter continued to drive three hours up Interstate 35 to visit her in prison, but Elizabeth had lost contact with her son when he was 5 and his father obtained custody. Philip Kazen, Elizabeths prosecutor, is now a judge. Originally the most reticent of the four, Anna became their spokeswoman. Yeah, theyre all gay and were friends, but that doesnt mean its a gay relationship. Gina Kim covers crime and courts for Santa Maria Times. Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. 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. She saw them often. No. 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. Everyone laughed. The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. But because only copies of the documents are available, the experts reports were inconclusive. More of his work can be found at mauricechammah.com. Javiers advances toward Elizabeth are corroborated by her family, but so too are his denials corroborated by his own family members. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. 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. Rosemary recounted years later that Javier threatened her family. Im sad inside. The women held her down and started kissing her and putting cold liquid stuff inside her, and then they inserted a tampon into her vagina, she testified. There was a problem saving your notification. Kristie remembers her friend accepting money and rides. Sometimes truth has to border these parameters of strangeness of different times, weapons, and thats what happens here in this case.. Cassandra Rivera, seen here Sept. 5, 2012, is currently in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas. Jarrett Morris, who told her she could be facing drug trafficking charges and could lose her kids. It wasnt something easily picked up by the wires.. 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. Get our latest in-depth reporting straight to your inbox. Anna Vasquez, left, sits next to long time friend Denise Tristan as the family prepares to play a game of loteria, a traditional Mexican game. 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. Vasquez was recently released on parole, but the other women remain behind bars. The girl's father, Javier Limon, claims that shortly after bringing them back to San Antonio from Denver in 1992, they were caught acting out sexually with dolls, which led to their disclosing these events to him. Anna, Cassie, Kristie and Elizabeth emerged from the jail, holding hands in a line with Mike Ware, and raised their arms up. Because I could say something, and you could twist it around., At the second trial, there was far less talk of lesbianism. . 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. I remember reporters at the time wanting to know if we were trying these women because they were lesbian, which was ludicrous, she told me. I did not want a relationship with her. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. This makes us one of the biggest by prevailing local standards. No, nothing like that happened, Limon Martinez replied. By the time of the trials, she told me, good pediatricians knew this stuff had been discredited.. More letters followed, each one taking about two weeks between his home and Elizabeths prison in Marlin. He checked out a video from the college library on female sexual predators. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 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. 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. Esquenazi became passionately involved, collecting footage for a documentary that she is still filming. They did. carvajal mazzini francisco javier dedicada a venta al por menor de alimentos, bebidas, principalmente y diversos articulos como: aparatos de uso domestico, articulos de ferreteria, muebles, prendas de vestir, cosmeticos, etc, en almacenes no especializados (supermercados, tiendas de abarro.inici sus actividades comerciales el 18/03/1997 como personas naturales. Elizabeth knew that being a lesbian would make her an outsider in her conservative Catholic family. 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. Javier Limn (born 1973) is a record producer, singer and songwriter born and raised in Madrid, Spain.Limn has worked with several artists, mainly from Spain, since he incorporates elements of flamenco rhythm to his work. 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. Eventually the two would move in together, and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as her own. That incident was said to have happened during a visit Aug. 1 to the home of Javier Limon, Stephanie Limon Martinez's father, in Stafford, according to court testimony. 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. When Elizabeth went to get a haircut, the hairdresser wouldnt let her pay. Limon Martinez said it was her father who was rough with her son then. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. 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. We have no ads to show you! He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. 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. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. His parents sought asylum in Venezuela when he was five after dictator Augusto Pinochet rose to power. The scene of the crime had vanished. Promotional materials distributed by your outlet, including all social media work, must include cites for the Observer and our reporter. Question ( 92735) Answer ( 32) I would not have one with her., Did you have a gay relationship with Anna?, Did you have a gay relationship with Cassie?, That doesnt mean you have to be together., Well, maybe Im confused. Yes. Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. Our whole relationship was based on him controlling me, she said. Elizabeth had just learned of her pregnancy and was recovering from a car accident. His primary company is a group of huskies. Alejandre later was promised by police that her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify. One of the women told a court that the accusations came after she spurned Limons advances for marriage. 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). There aren't many places she is allowed to go. Sept. 5, 2012. Deborah Esquenazi sat in the front seat and held a camera as Stephanie read. I dont want to say I was disowned, but I was, Elizabeth told me. By Do you know anything about where she learned it? Serafina asked. Booking mugshots of Elizabeth Ramirez (from left), Kristie Mayhugh, Anna Vasquez and Cassandra Rivera. The letter was several pages long and written in clear cursive script. Partners must notify. 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. He did not testify Monday but is expected to this week. The families did their best to move on. Elizabeth, who had recently turned 20, climbed into his unmarked police car. 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. 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. Promotional Rates were found for your code. You know why? He had no idea who she was. I think that first story was really complicated, she explained. 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. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. With a lot of time on his own, Otto developed various research obsessions outside his academic work on fish breeding. Nathan convinced a filmmaker she had mentored named Deborah S. Esquenazi to take a look at the case. Anna Vasquez fills in answering phones at her brother David Vasquez's auto shop on N. WW White on Feb. 19, 2013, while he is out of town. 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. Elizabeth told him about Javier, about her trial, and about the guilt she felt for her friends prison sentences. He knew her name was Elizabeth Ramirez, and that she was an inmate in a Texas prison, 3,700 miles from his cabin in Canadas frigid Yukon Territory. They would barbecue at the park on weekends and take trips to a nearby lake. At left is Rose Vasquez, Anna's sister-in-law, taking pictures. Javier Limn Customer Service Manager & Chief Digital Officer (CDO) en Volkswagen Financial Services - Mxico A sentence of 37 and a half years was a compromise between more and less lenient jurors. When he denied that the letters existed, she took them out and pointed to his signature. Aunt Liz produced a gun. Kelloggs admission suddenly undermined the key evidence in the case. 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