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 new technology was fascinating, but so were social mores. 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. Fueled by the "Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic" of the day, baffling charges by one of the women's nieces send them all to prison. Elizabeth still wasnt sure what she wanted to do, and she struggled with her new identity. Her brother got her a job at his auto shop, but she had to quit when they discovered it was near a school. Aunt Liz produced a gun. I trusted Elizabeth, that she wasnt going to hurt my daughters, he said. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and 9-year-old nieces. Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. 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. A tearful Anna Vasquez speaks on a phone during a prison interview Sept. 4, 2012. It was Nov. 18, and they had been waiting since that morning, having skipped lunch because the release seemed imminent. Prior to the accusation, Elizabeth had rejected the advances of the children's father Javier Limon. 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. She saw them often. 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. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade of time in jail while the three other women are still serving time. Nathan contacted family members and others connected to the case, and Otto sought out reporters and published a short essay of his own on Texas Monthlys website. At one point, the sound of wind and cars passing on the highway accompanies a shot of an empty lot. Though her attraction to women made her an outsider at home, it led her to new friendships. 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. Most of the time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who fall in love with a student. Mr. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Children's Advocacy Centre where they underwent a physical examination for evidence of . 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. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Her older niece hadnt acted the way she expected. Maybe the lawyer could explain to the authorities that no crime had occurred; it was just a malicious accusation orchestrated by a bitter man. In high school, she remained small, never more than 4-foot-9, though that didnt keep her from playing on the basketball team. The video cuts between scenes of them spinning Cassies kids on a small playground carousel and swimming at a beach. Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. Cassie met her one night when she went to pick up a pizza. Matjekas tone grew less friendly. [Javiers younger daughter] told me herself, They were kissing us., Lonnie Gentry, the jury foreman at Elizabeths 1997 trial, listened to Javiers older daughter describe what had happened to her. The first days back were like returning from a long vacation. Site made in collaboration with CMYK. Investigators say Richard Adam Hernandez shot and killed Rose Marie Limon on January 31 at her apartment on Pecan Valley Drive. They found Elizabeth guilty in just a few hours, but their debate about punishment lasted into the evening. He went back inside as everyone exhaled. Editor's note: Violence at a local sporting event last made national news when South San basketball player Tony Limon received a five-year prison . 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. Anna found a job at a tortilla factory and tried to raise awareness about the case. Every Sunday, she would write her son a letter and have her mother deliver it. Elizabeth Ramirez is in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, September 5, 2012. Matjeka typed her answers into a computer. She tried to get out, but the door was locked. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. The younger of the two accusers, now 25, has recanted, saying no assault occurred. 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. 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. Guards at the rural prison stared in surprise at his Canadian ID card. After splitting with her first girlfriend, Elizabeth started dating a man named Hector. Javier Limon . From the archives: The Tony Limon incident. 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. Gloria Herrera shows her favorite pictures of her daughter, Elizabeth Ramirez, Friday, Dec. 3, 2010. That was the last time they spoke. 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. He is expected to testify this week in a case in which one of his daughters is fighting allegations of child abuse. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story: This article was originally published by the, Articles cannot be rewritten, edited or changed beyond alignments with house style books. The Innocence Project of Texas hopes to perform a systematic review of child sex assault cases around Texas, and Kellogg may find more of her work questioned. Anna Vasquez, just home after serving 12 and a half years in prison, admires family photos on the walls in her mother's home. 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. Javiers advances toward Elizabeth are corroborated by her family, but so too are his denials corroborated by his own family members. Elizabeth had nervously trudged out of the cellblock, wearing purple eye shadow that contrasted with the white prison scrubs. There was seldom evidence other than the statements of children or adults who recovered memories from their youth. 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. Ramirez has testified that the. 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. On trips around the city for volleyball games, Anna would bring along a radio and theyd belt out Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks. Detective Matjeka had little or no experience interviewing children who making complaints of sexual . When the two former lovers saw each other, We were both just shaking, Cassie remembers. When Javier got home, the girls told him the whole shocking story of being held down and raped, he said. at what weight should i use a belt for deadlifts . 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. 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. Anna Vasquez talks with her brother Jerry Vasquez on their mother's front porch after they celebrated her first Thanksgivings after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. She told me about a man who is constantly in relationships with women who take advantage of him. Anna was working at a Little Caesars. Then one day while he was at work, his mother, Serafina Limon, was cooking while the girls played outside. 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. By late 2013, he had cycled through several careers and was working for a security company and studying criminal justice at a community college in Stafford, near Houston. Alejandre replied, "I thought so, too. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. His primary company is a group of huskies. He stormed away. In the backseat of a car, Stephanie Limon (now Stephanie Martinez) read from a sheet of notebook paper. Anna Vasquez, right, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez after she was released from prison. While working at H-E-B, she got to know Kristie Mayhugh, who was born in Montana and moved to San Antonio at age 3 when her father was transferred to the Randolph Air Force Base. Vasquez along with three other women are fighting for exoneration from a 1994 sexual assualt case. The relationship could remain secret only so long, and when Elizabeths mother found out, their already strained connection suffered further. September 5, 2012. Stephanie Limon Martinez (right), shown with lawyer Casie Gotro, is fighting child-abuse allegations she said are based on retaliation. He finished college, got a masters degree, and took the teaching job in the remote Yukon. There aren't many places she is allowed to go. Philip Kazen, Elizabeths prosecutor, is now a judge. 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. But money was tight, and at various times Elizabeth held jobs at Taco Cabana, Arbys and H-E-B. 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. They ask her to keep secrets and instruct her to call at specific times, between 7 and 7:15 a.m. or 5:45 and 6 p.m. I hope these letters are not upsetting, disturbing, or making you feel uncomfortable, one reads. 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. Elizabeth knew that being a lesbian would make her an outsider in her conservative Catholic family. She spoke confidently, her voice cracking a little when she talked about Kristie, Cassie and Anna, and her son. Originally the most reticent of the four, Anna became their spokeswoman. As a lesbian couple in conservative San Antonio, they seldom showed affection in public, but Anna was unusually touchy that morning. The film showcases the innocent women's fight for innocence and persistence throughout their nearly 15 years in prison. 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. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Both later described it as love at first sight. Limon was overbearing and lectured her constantly. Matjeka was helping investigate a sex crime and asked if she would come to the station to answer a few questions. Nathan convinced a filmmaker she had mentored named Deborah S. Esquenazi to take a look at the case. 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. An allegation was filed with Child Protective Services that she and her husband were fighting violently in front of their young children and that was grounds for removal to foster care. Thats so rude, she said. I thought she should have gotten life, said Gentry, the foreman. A tearful Anna Vasquez, left, embraces her mother Maria Vasquez. 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.. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. We were sitting in a wide, sunny visiting room at the Hobby Unit. Stephanie Limon did not clarify the situation. The prosecutor, Mary Kay Delevan, reminded the jury that much time had passedthe alleged abuse was three and a half years earlierso the victims may not be able to keep everything perfectly straight.. A wiry, bearded man appears on camera and tells them the building was torn down. All rights reserved. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. She had rejected his advances. Shortly after his daughters stayed at Elizabeths apartment, Javier called her and said he had something important to tell her. Javier Limn Customer Service Manager & Chief Digital Officer (CDO) en Volkswagen Financial Services - Mxico Mondo spent more than a year on the story, reporting much of it in her spare time. Though he mentioned Stephanies recantation, and mistakes made by police and lawyers involved in the original trial, his primary argument was that Dr. Kelloggs testimony was inaccurate, since the medical understanding of what constitutes evidence of sexual abuse had changed. And the letters? 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. 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. Thank you for reading! The cameramen turned on their night-lights, which reflected off the glass of the jail door. 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