Alejandre later was promised by police that her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify. Its just so unusual and bizarre.. Ramirez has testified that the. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. One night Elizabeth stole some of her mothers prescription anxiety pills and overdosed. In November, Anna was released on parole. Fueled by the "Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic" of the day, baffling charges by one of the women's nieces send them all to prison. Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. The girls father, Javier Limon, who had dated her sister Rosemary before a messy breakup, had been making advances toward her, she said. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. In its ruling, the state's highest criminal court blames the saga on a vindictive man named Javier Limon, the girls' father and Ramirez's one-time brother-in-law. Our whole relationship was based on him controlling me, she said. She was 22. Prior to the accusation, Elizabeth had rejected the advances of the children's father Javier Limon. 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. 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. Pedro Pascal was born in Santiago, Chile. Elizabeth had nervously trudged out of the cellblock, wearing purple eye shadow that contrasted with the white prison scrubs. Lawmakers passed the measure with a host of recent scandals in mind, including debates over arson science, use of dog scents in police lineups and shaken baby syndrome. The San Antonio Four case will be one of the first tests for the new statute. 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. His questions grew more personal. He explained that she threatened to recant to hurt him, because they had recently been fighting. Shifts at AutoZone. 2021 The Texas Observer. Cassie met her one night when she went to pick up a pizza. Anna Vasquez, just released from prison, stops at the "Anna Wall" in her mother's home, joking that the photo of her in a crib as a baby, was the first picture of her behind bars. She liked to balance on the balls of her feet, leading her mother to joke that maybe she would become a ballerina. Where had these accusations come from? From the archives: The Tony Limon incident. Elizabeth had one theory. 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. I called all the womens previous attorneys, and they didnt even remember the case, she told me. Vasquez was recently released on parole, but the other women remain behind bars. The questioning continued, focusing on Elizabeths relationships with women. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. He would offer Elizabeth rides, he would give her small amounts of cash when she needed it, and he would leave long messages on her answering machine. According to Ramirez, the accusation came after she rebuffed romantic advances by Limon. 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 tearful Anna Vasquez, left, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez. Six months before graduation, overwhelmed with her work schedule, she dropped out of high school. 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. Did you threaten him with pepper spray? the lawyer asked. She was still leaking milk when the police took her to jail. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. 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. When Elizabeth went to get a haircut, the hairdresser wouldnt let her pay. Originally the most reticent of the four, Anna became their spokeswoman. Other 7 month ago 0 answers 12 views. 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. Javier Limon . 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. 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. She was so trusting, so lovable. Elizabeths sister Monica said, If Liz was a different person she would have had him arrested or placed a restraining order.. 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.. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. Her father Javier called, and as VL assured him that everything at Aunt Lizs house was going just fine, her aunt held the gun to her head. Elizabeth was confused. Delevan, the prosecutor, said she hadnt prosecuted the women for their sexual orientation. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. They were all arrested and convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Elizabeth told him about Javier, about her trial, and about the guilt she felt for her friends prison sentences. Lopez, who normally handled child sexual abuse cases. I asked him, had he been in love with Elizabeth? Do you know anything about where she learned it? Serafina asked. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. This makes us one of the biggest by prevailing local standards. The relationship could remain secret only so long, and when Elizabeths mother found out, their already strained connection suffered further. He had no idea who she was. So she left her sisters home and moved in with a girlfriend from school. Shifts at Arbys. 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. Morales was serving time for attempted murder at a Lancaster prison around the time of Limon's death, and was using a cellphone to communicate with fellow gang members, along with his girlfriend, Josie Alejandre. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. 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. Proving the . Gloria took her to the hospital and then kicked her out of the house. From the bathroom, she heard screams from her younger sister. Alejandre testified that she agreed to plead to the charges in September 2016 but still believed her case would be dismissed. I always felt like an outsider, my whole life, he said. 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. Mr. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Children's Advocacy Centre where they underwent a physical examination for evidence of . 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. The younger of the two accusers, now 25, has recanted, saying no assault occurred. Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her. It was mentioned mostly by the defense attorneys, who attempted to show that relationships between women have nothing to do with pedophilia. Matjeka typed her answers into a computer. "They were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime. 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. His parents were Salvador Allende supporters and he recalled what happened in a Reddit Ask Me Anything. 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. 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. No olvides preguntar por sus ofertas, descuentos y especiales del momento. But money was tight, and at various times Elizabeth held jobs at Taco Cabana, Arbys and H-E-B. 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. No. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the 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. She thought I was up to something, Otto told me. Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Strangers congratulated them. He called me Mom, and I had a big old lump in my throat. Now Kristie had been at the apartment, whereas before she hadnt. You got lucky! He let the letter sit on his desk for a week before he put it in the mail. 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. Javier Limon, now in his 40s, keeps his graying hair short. They found Elizabeth guilty in just a few hours, but their debate about punishment lasted into the evening. An appreciative Anna Vasquez, right, looks up to her brother Chris Vasquez at her homecoming. Dr. Nancy Kellogg is still a respected member of the San Antonio medical community. 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. All four were indicted for sexually assaulting Elizabeths nieces, and all four maintained their innocence while scrambling to remember if anything out of the ordinary had happened the week the girls stayed at Elizabeths apartment. All four of the women were out as lesbians, a fact that colored the investigation into the accusations and case against them. Now it was Anna who had wielded the gun, not Elizabeth. The case caught the attention of just almost every eyeball out there. Philip Kazen, Elizabeths prosecutor, is now a judge. She and her husband, Joseph Martinez (right), were in a Houston courtroom Dec. 3 fighting child-abuse allegations leveled at her by her father Javier Limon, who 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. 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. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. 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. Every Sunday, she would write her son a letter and have her mother deliver it. Reply ( 0) Leave a comment. It wasnt something easily picked up by the wires.. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. At the time of her death, Limon's father stated he had just walked . The stories came after pressure from Javier Limon, Ramirez's former brother in law and the father of the two girls. There aren't many places she is allowed to go. Stephaniewho would not comment for this story on her lawyers advicesoon found herself in a legal battle of her own. He said, I love you. He held me so tight. Anna was working at a Little Caesars. Limon's body was found. Elizabeth was stunned. He was nearly 2 years old when her trial date was finally set. Morales stands accused of allegedly orchestrating the August 2014 murder of Javier Limon, who the prosecution claims was killed over unpaid drug debts to gang members. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. But they were careful to say little about Javier and his daughters. 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. Morales didn't incriminate himself in the conversation, Alejandre testified, but police "weren't satisfied" because no confession was elicited. He found criminals particularly fascinating, especially the psychologically obscure, because, like him, they were on the fringes of society. I know youre very nervous, her lawyer said, according to the transcript. State law had taken effect, passed in the opposition movement against what happened to javier limon san antonio regime... 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