Even as a toddler, Elizabeth Ramirez was small for her age. on They also wouldnt face sex offender restrictions. They took the girls to Walmart, where they bought a fish. Javier Limon, now in his 40s, keeps his graying hair short. Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. 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. 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). They found Elizabeth guilty in just a few hours, but their debate about punishment lasted into the evening. Deborah Esquenazi sat in the front seat and held a camera as Stephanie read. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. Would you like me to go sit down? Elizabeth answered, Yes, please., Later on, Elizabeth interrupted his questions to declare, I love those children 100 percent. "I'm a single mom raising kids, living on the streets," she testified, becoming emotional on the stand. This type of evidence would later be deemed inaccurate. Limon's body was found by fieldworkers, and autopsy results showed that he suffered 10 gunshot wounds that struck his lung, heart and liver. defense attorney Michael Scott asked. Anna was working at a Little Caesars. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. Anna applied to nursing school. 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. He went back inside as everyone exhaled. 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. But Javiers sister, Cristina Aguilar, described Javier very differently. Liz kind of distanced herself from all of us, Kristie recalled. Vasquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. Stephaniewho would not comment for this story on her lawyers advicesoon found herself in a legal battle of her own. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. The most painful memory of that day was being separated from my newborn son, she later wrote. Elizabeth knew that being a lesbian would make her an outsider in her conservative Catholic family. 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. 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. But they were careful to say little about Javier and his daughters. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. He also gave up drinking, he told me, though he never liked the taste of alcohol anyway. All rights reserved. Alejandre later was promised by police that her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify. But still they were baffled. Shortly after Mondos story appeared came the breakthrough. Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. Her long straight hair was in a perm with her bangs teased up off her forehead. The arresting officers would not even let me kiss him goodbye.. Where had these accusations come from? From the archives: The Tony Limon incident. 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. It turned my stomach, she said. Vasquez was recently released on parole, but the other women remain behind bars. Elizabeth was stunned. Stephanie Limon Martinez (center) breaks down in a state district court in Houston during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Stephanie Limon Martinez, right breaks down before 315th District Court Judge Angela E. Ellis during questioning at a hearing concerning custody of her children, in Houston, Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. One morning several days later, in September 1994, Elizabeths friends Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez met at a park. Gay rights activists treated them like rock stars. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. 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. They were all arrested and convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Elizabeth Ramirez was four months pregnant when she heard a knock at the door. Im sorry it has taken this long for me to know what truly happened, she said haltingly. If he did, Im going to ask for a mistrial. The judge overruled that request. Were they lesbians? This makes us one of the biggest by prevailing local standards. Around the same time, Anna was put on maintenance duty and assigned to fix the lights in Cassies cell. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. The women cooperated with authorities and vehemently denied that any abuse had taken place. Paper bags of the womens belongings were passed through the door. 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Though her attraction to women made her an outsider at home, it led her to new friendships. More of his work can be found at mauricechammah.com. There aren't many places she is allowed to go. 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. The language was chatty and upbeat. was an incident when their father, Javier Limon . 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. She never stopped sending him letters. Elizabeth's brother-in-law, Javier Limon, father to the two accusers, had been pursuing Elizabeth romantically, and was angry that she rejected his advances. Detectives gave her a recording device and ordered her to call Morales in prison, record the conversation, then hand it over. Two days after their release, the women appeared at a hastily arranged press conference. In early February 1997, Elizabeth sat at the defendants table as the judge stated the charges against her: aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. Surrounded by cameras from local and national media outlets, the women thanked the DAs office and the media for letting us tell our story. They also thanked Darrell Otto, over and over again, though none of the reporters asked about him. Elizabeth shrugged off her mothers warnings. The women had been drinking tequila and were topless, VL said. She started to cry. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade in jail while the other three women remain imprisoned. The prosecutor, Philip Kazen, told the jury that Elizabeth had held a 9-year-old girl up as a sacrificial lamb to her friends.. It is a portrait of the mundane logistics of low-wage life. Had she been in lesbian relationships? 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. At screenings of Deborah Esquenazis documentary footage, she wooed supporters. . She saw them often. There was a problem saving your notification. Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. Im your grandmother, Cassie said to her daughters 2-year-old girl. Anna had seen Elizabeth unable to deal with the interests of men before. 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. And the letters? Partners must notify. San Antonio police arrested Zion J. Limon, 20, in connection with the shootings. 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. The case caught the attention of just almost every eyeball out there. The three women reported to prison, where they were all given higher security levelsincluding, at one point, more than 30 days in solitary confinement for Cassiebecause they refused to take sex offender rehabilitation classes. Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. Gresser claimed thatAlejandre often missed calls from Morris, and still continued selling or using drugs. Question ( 92735) Answer ( 32) She tried to get out, but the door was locked. 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.. Elizabeth claims back then Limon would. Javier said that after the girls spent the week at Elizabeths in July 1994, he didnt notice anything different at first. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. The cluster reassembled. The allegations that arose in 1994 stunned Elizabeth Ramirez. 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. She now says that didn't happen. At one point, the sound of wind and cars passing on the highway accompanies a shot of an empty lot. But money was tight, and at various times Elizabeth held jobs at Taco Cabana, Arbys and H-E-B. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. In 2012, one of the nieces admitted to having been pressured by her father, Javier Limon, to make the false accusations. Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code. Limon Martinez was just 7 when she and her older sister said the women sexually assaulted them. I look at this as a giant jigsaw puzzle, said Mary Burdette, an investigator hired by the lawyers, and sometimes a piece is missing and its just gone., If this case returns to court, VL may be the focus of a high-stakes cross-examination over whether she told the truth as a child. 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.. 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. What was next? When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. I dont want to say I was disowned, but I was, Elizabeth told me. The next day, the fish died and they returned it. 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. We were inseparable, Cassie said. 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. By She now says that didn't happen. 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. During that conversation, which was played to the jury, Alejandre could be heard asking Morales who killed Limon. Swimming with the kids. She had rejected his advances. Alejandre replied, "I thought so, too. 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. 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. So she decided to tell her lawyer about Javier. Anna Vasquez, right, enjoys a laugh with her brother David Vasquez and her mother Maria Vasquez over a plate of turkey dinner as they celebrate her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. 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. Since the early 1980s, the United States had seen numerous accusations, investigations and trials of daycare workers and other adults for supposedly engaging in ritual satanic abuse, including the rape, murder and torture of children. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. Elizabeth told him about Javier, about her trial, and about the guilt she felt for her friends prison sentences. 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. Booking mugshots of Elizabeth Ramirez (from left), Kristie Mayhugh, Anna Vasquez and Cassandra Rivera. 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