Shifts at Arbys. Police were on the phone, saying her two nieces then ages 7 and 9 had accused Ramirez and three of her friends of sexually. The letter was several pages long and written in clear cursive script. I know youre very nervous, her lawyer said, according to the transcript. No olvides preguntar por sus ofertas, descuentos y especiales del momento. The lawyers, standing in a row behind them, answered the big-picture questions about the new state law and the legal actions to come. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. Gloria Herrera has taped a picture of her daughter Elizabeth Ramirez, as a young girl, to a rosary and placed it around a statue of Jesus displayed in a shrine, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. Her brother got her a job at his auto shop, but she had to quit when they discovered it was near a school. Serafina had said Elizabeth was suspiciously dour when she brought the girls back after the week at the apartment. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. In other ways, though, her life was starting to look up. We have no ads to show you! Kelloggs admission suddenly undermined the key evidence in the case. If you support this mission, we need your help. Had she ever left her nieces under the care of her friends? They grew closer and, with Elizabeth beginning to realize she was attracted to women, eventually started dating. 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. He explained to Elizabeth that her nieces were accusing her and several of her friendswho had also been at the apartment that weekof sexually abusing them. I want my babies back, she said, crying. Anna Vasquez, pictured here on Sept. 4, 2012, was incarcerated at the Murray Unit, in Gatesville, Texas. Vazquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. Shifts at AutoZone. He had already taken my kids, so he couldnt hurt me there. 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. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. 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 It doesnt mean were all intimate together, had any kind of sexual togetherness., The trial lasted only a couple of days. She spoke confidently, her voice cracking a little when she talked about Kristie, Cassie and Anna, and her son. She immediately denied the accusation. Im sad inside. Mondo spent more than a year on the story, reporting much of it in her spare time. Elizabeth moved in with her sister Rosemary, who was then living with Javier Limon and their three young children. Anna Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. They found Elizabeth guilty in just a few hours, but their debate about punishment lasted into the evening. was an incident when their father, Javier Limon . They worked together at a nursing home, where the residents would constantly tell Gloria what a caring and charming girl she had raised. Javier told me he testified in court on the matter, but that the police filed the CPS report, not him. One morning several days later, in September 1994, Elizabeths friends Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez met at a park. Sept. 5, 2012. 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. Alejandre testified that she agreed to plead to the charges in September 2016 but still believed her case would be dismissed. Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. 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. Elizabeth had been incarcerated nearly 17. He let the letter sit on his desk for a week before he put it in the mail. The story of the San Antonio Four unfolded like this: In the summer of 1994, Ramirez's two nieces, the 9- and 7-year-old daughters of her older sister, stayed for a week with Ramirez and. 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.. Years went by without a response. 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. You have permission to edit this article. She, along with Kristie, had been in prison for 13 years. what happened to javier limon san antonio. Michelle Mondo published a story strongly implying that Javier filed the allegation as punishment for Stephanies recantation. Of course she did. At one point, he had as many as 40 of them, and he would haul 5-gallon buckets from a nearby river for them to drink. They took the girls to Walmart, where they bought a fish. Our new endorsement for Texas Attorney General. The cameras blinked on. Anna Vasquez (from left), Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh and Cassandra Rivera have been fighting to clear their names in a bizarre 1994 sex assault case. 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. He continued typing. No, Elizabeth said. Limon's body was found. 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. 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. 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. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. 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. Maria Vasquez (right), mother of Anna Vasquez, shakes hands with Gloria Herrera (left), mother of Elizabeth Ramirez, as Anna Vasquez's aunt, Valeria Pachecano stands in between during a meeting of the San Antonio Crime Coalition on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Vasquez said she feels an obligation to them. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. More of his work can be found at mauricechammah.com. "I'm a single mom raising kids, living on the streets," she testified, becoming emotional on the stand. Limon has been charged with capital murder. Stephaniewho would not comment for this story on her lawyers advicesoon found herself in a legal battle of her own. Booking mugshots of Elizabeth Ramirez (from left), Kristie Mayhugh, Anna Vasquez and Cassandra Rivera. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. He finished college, got a masters degree, and took the teaching job in the remote Yukon. 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. Otto found an organization called the National Center for Reason and Justice, which was created in the wake of the 1980s-era satanic ritual abuse scandals to advocate for people wrongfully accused of harming children. Six months before graduation, overwhelmed with her work schedule, she dropped out of high school. 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. Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. Elizabeth and Kristie moved in together as friends. I never heard anything back.. The judge hearing the case will determine whether the couple get their children back. 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. The prosecutors, as well as Javier when we spoke 15 years later, accounted for the inconsistencies by saying the girls were young children who could hardly be expected to keep facts straight. The man standing outside her small apartment had thick black hair. One night Elizabeth stole some of her mothers prescription anxiety pills and overdosed. My sister., The more I interviewed the estranged couple, ferrying bits of information between them, the clearer the duality became: Javier was either a vindictive, wrathful man or a caring father who was being smeared by Elizabeths family. 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. Alejandre testified she went to the sheriff's substation voluntarily and spoke with Sgt. I was there every step of the way with my kids, he said. Gay rights activists treated them like rock stars. I would never hurt them in any way, never., Elizabeths lawyer jumped in, saying, Judge, did counsel make reference to O.J. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade in jail while the other three women remain imprisoned. Their reinvestigation wasnt fruitful. The statute made it easier to challenge convictions based on outdated forensic evidence. 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. That was the last time they spoke. No, nothing like that happened, Limon Martinez replied. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. I always felt like an outsider, my whole life, he said. 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. When I reached her by phone hoping to clarify what had happened, she told me, I dont talk to reporters. Kristie remembers her friend accepting money and rides. So she left her sisters home and moved in with a girlfriend from school. When Ramirez rebuffed him, her family claimed, Limon retaliated by. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. Limon was the boyfriend of Ramirez's sister at the time. He didnt want to let me go.. Mondos front-page story came out Christmas week 2010 with little impact. He declined to comment, saying he thought the Express-News didn't properly represent his side in a 2010 story about the women. Stephanie Limon, the younger of the two accusers, called Debbie Nathan and recanted. 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. Swimming with the kids. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Nathan convinced a filmmaker she had mentored named Deborah S. Esquenazi to take a look at the case. Youre confusing yourself because I said that Kristie wanted a relationship with mea gay relationship with me. 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. I tried writing the innocence projects and Oprah and Maury Povich and Montel, Anna told me, anybody who would listen. In the spare, gray courtroom, Cassie, who often wore denim overalls, had on a black dress with white flowers. Kristie, still unemployed, pawned a radio. There had been other little kidsCassies kids and some neighborsin the apartment throughout the week, but now she was adamant that she and her sister had been the only children. He explained that she threatened to recant to hurt him, because they had recently been fighting. 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. He is expected to testify this week in a case in which one of his daughters is fighting allegations of child abuse. Elizabeth Ramirez (clockwise from top left), Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez -- the San Antonio Four -- are all out on bond or parole, but face new trials. 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. She was still leaking milk when the police took her to jail. So he traveled to Texas to get a better sense of who she was. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. Jarrett Morris, who told her she could be facing drug trafficking charges and could lose her kids. 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