As their families paid lawyers to file appeals, Cassie and Anna, still very much in love, set out together to investigate the case on their own. There was seldom evidence other than the statements of children or adults who recovered memories from their youth. 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. The case caught the attention of just almost every eyeball out there. what happened to javier limon san antonio. When I handed him copies of the letters, he leafed through them disinterestedly. 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. VL claimed that the court reporter must have incorrectly taken down her remarks at Elizabeths trial. Otto was initially skeptical; he asked her the same questions in letter after letter, to see if her answers remained consistent. The new technology was fascinating, but so were social mores. As a child, he explained, according to the trial transcript, VL had offered a confabulation of facts, and a jumbling of things, weapons, bedrooms, hatred towards family. He theorized that Javier had held a gun to her mother Rosemarys head years before in Denver, and that this had been refracted in the childs mind to include Elizabeth. 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. I know youre very nervous, her lawyer said, according to the transcript. It was mentioned mostly by the defense attorneys, who attempted to show that relationships between women have nothing to do with pedophilia. She saw them often. 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. As a lesbian couple in conservative San Antonio, they seldom showed affection in public, but Anna was unusually touchy that morning. A wiry, bearded man appears on camera and tells them the building was torn down. 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. . Serafina had said Elizabeth was suspiciously dour when she brought the girls back after the week at the apartment. If you support this mission, we need your help. Thats so rude, she said. 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. 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. Matjekas tone grew less friendly. When Ramirez rebuffed him, her family claimed, Limon retaliated by. Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code. The Firm presently has twelve members. Ramirez was tried separately and sentenced to 37 and a half years, more than double that of her three friends, who were tried together. It involved four women from San Antonio. 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. 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. From the bathroom, she heard screams from her younger sister. VLs new testimony muddled the facts she had presented a year before. 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. Mr. Limon took his daughters to the Alamo Children's Advocacy Centre where they underwent a physical examination for evidence of . They scribbled the events of the week, as the women remember, on a large white poster board in a grid organized by woman and by day. Partners must notify. One of the women told a court that the accusations came after she spurned Limons advances for marriage. Grandma, I cant tell you because something happened, and they threatened me, the girl said, as Serafina later related to a jury. Thank you for using this website. What was next? Elizabeth told him about Javier, about her trial, and about the guilt she felt for her friends prison sentences. I could mail out 50 letters and not one of them would [get a response] back, said Elizabeth, who scoured medical and legal textbooks in the prison library and spent nearly all of her commissary money on stamps. I will make things right, and I am sorry for everything I put you through. Eventually the two would move in together, and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as her own. She denied the accusations of abuse about her and her husband and that she neglected her children. She, along with Kristie, had been in prison for 13 years. At one point, the sound of wind and cars passing on the highway accompanies a shot of an empty lot. Lopez, who normally handled child sexual abuse cases. In September, a new state law had taken effect, passed in the spring by the Texas Legislature. The cluster reassembled. She spoke confidently, her voice cracking a little when she talked about Kristie, Cassie and Anna, and her son. The women had been drinking tequila and were topless, VL said. At screenings of Deborah Esquenazis documentary footage, she wooed supporters. Anna Vasquez, pictured here on Sept. 4, 2012, was incarcerated at the Murray Unit, in Gatesville, Texas. Fueled by the "Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic" of the day, baffling charges by one of the women's nieces send them all to prison. Visitors give TX state park final farewell after land sold, Dallas judge revives sexual misconduct suit against Jerry Jones. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. All four of the women were out as lesbians, a fact that colored the investigation into the accusations and case against them. This is a carousel. Hooper described Javiers behavior as a pattern, saying he uses the authorities to get back at people who have crossed him. 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. Mondos front-page story came out Christmas week 2010 with little impact. He went back inside as everyone exhaled. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Cassie saw Elizabeth for the first time at a Catholic mass. One morning several days later, in September 1994, Elizabeths friends Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez met at a park. Alejandre further denied ever selling drugs for Morales or being asked to do so. Anna Vasquez served more than a decade in jail while the other three women remain imprisoned. In 2012, one of the nieces admitted to having been pressured by her father, Javier Limon, to make the false accusations. Both later described it as love at first sight. They realized that the four of them had rarely been in the apartment at the same time, because they were so busy with long shifts at various jobs at odd hoursyet the girls were claiming that all four women were present for the assault. Limon brought the case against his own daughter. He knew what was going to hurt me the most, she told me. 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). 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. His packet of information about the case ended up on the desk of Debbie Nathan, a journalist who wrote Satans Silence, the seminal book on the satanic scandals, and who regularly vets cases for the organization. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. According to Ramirez, the accusation came after she rebuffed romantic advances by Limon. September 5, 2012. Years went by without a response. Paper bags of the womens belongings were passed through the door. And the letters? The families did their best to move on. Elizabeth was completely lost in the huddle. Rosemary, who had trouble fighting for custody since she lived outside of Texas, floated around, at one point moving to Mexico with a husband who had immigration issues. She had just gotten home from a shift at Arbys, where she had recently been promoted to manager. A car provided by the Innocence Project of Texas whisked them away. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. Matjeka was helping investigate a sex crime and asked if she would come to the station to answer a few questions. A friend had brought 10 outfits on hangers, including black slacks and blouses in various shades of blue and gold, so the women could pick what theyd like to wear.. Strangers congratulated them. 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. She also testified that she felt scared as she was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was a murder investigation. In terms of mileage from the Yukon, the North Pole would have been a shorter journey. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. I always felt like an outsider, my whole life, he said. 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. The jury went home for the weekend, returning Monday for the closing arguments. Elizabeth, who had recently turned 20, climbed into his unmarked police car. I called all the womens previous attorneys, and they didnt even remember the case, she told me. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. 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. I thought you said that if youre gay and you were friends, thats a gay relationship?, No. "I'm a single mom raising kids, living on the streets," she testified, becoming emotional on the stand. No. 2021 The Texas Observer. Thank you for reading! I was there every step of the way with my kids, he said. With her are her lawyer, Casie Gotro, and her husband, Joseph Martinez. 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Anna Vasquez had played sports with Elizabeth in high school. The relationship could remain secret only so long, and when Elizabeths mother found out, their already strained connection suffered further. Even as a toddler, Elizabeth Ramirez was small for her age. Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. 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. Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. Deborah Esquenazi sat in the front seat and held a camera as Stephanie read. No. He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Cassies mother had kicked her out of the house, so Cassie stayed sometimes at Elizabeth and Kristies apartment. Matjeka typed her answers into a computer. By late 2012, media attention on the womenwho were becoming known as the San Antonio Fourwas steadily growing. The film showcases the innocent women's fight for innocence and persistence throughout their nearly 15 years in prison. Elizabeth claims back then Limon would. Other 7 month ago 0 answers 12 views. Some of the discrepancies came from Serafina Limon, Javiers mother, who initially reported the girls outcries. I showed the letters and samples of Javiers handwriting to several forensic document examiners. Elizabeth had been incarcerated nearly 17. 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. He didnt want to let me go.. 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. Theres a home video from the period shortly before Kristie, Cassie and Anna went to prison in 2000. Elizabeth was stunned. Comment * at what temperature do stink bugs die. 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. Javier told me that his daughter didnt recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her. 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 children in family aren't allowed to be at family gatherings with Anna present. Elizabeth shrugged off her mothers warnings. A statue of a praying angel stands near Maria Vasquez, right, in her living room where Vasquez prayed daily for her daughter Anna Vasquez. In other ways, though, her life was starting to look up. A year after Javier and Rosemary split for good, he took a bus to Denver, where Rosemary was living, and returned to Texas with his kids. About a month after he sent Elizabeth a letter, Otto came home from work to find her response in the mail. On Saturday evening, officers were called to the apartment. She wanted a relationship with me. At the station, Matjeka asked if she knew a man named Javier Limon and his two daughters. Elizabeth had told Detective Matjeka about Javiers advances, but he hadnt thought much of it. 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. The former girlfriend of a defendant being tried for planning the slaying of a Santa Maria drug dealer testified Thursday that Joseph Morales never admitted his involvement in the crime during phone calls that she secretly recorded under police orders after she agreed to cooperate with law enforcement. I miss everyone cause Im not able to see and be home with them, one read, but most of all I miss my son. Yes. Anna said she no longer cared if anyone saw them as lovers, since they had so little time left. From the archives: The Tony Limon incident. at what weight should i use a belt for deadlifts . 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.. Alejandre later was promised by police that her charges would be dismissed if she agreed to cooperate with their investigation and also testify. 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? 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. She liked to balance on the balls of her feet, leading her mother to joke that maybe she would become a ballerina. She immediately denied the accusation. Javiers sister Cristina agreed: Shes going to flip on the recantation, to get back at her mom.. She spoke to reporters at her childhood home, a small bungalow where the street dead-ends at a muddy creek. Asked about how the world had changed during her time in prison, she described going to a restaurant and noticing families eating together in silence while each member stared at a smartphone. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. She said that her father Javier had coached her to make the accusations. 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. They were each sentenced to 15 years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until their appeals had been exhausted. Testimony concluded on a Friday afternoon. She warned her daughter not to take care of Javiers daughters. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. One night Elizabeth stole some of her mothers prescription anxiety pills and overdosed. As a teenager Otto had hitchhiked across the continent, but by 25 he was tired and wanted mental discipline. Elizabeth moved in with her sister Rosemary, who was then living with Javier Limon and their three young children. He stormed away. "They were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime. When Elizabeth had entered the courtroom, the girl who was accusing her of sexual abuse had waved at her and smiled. She gave the San Antonio Express-News permission to use her name even though the paper's policy is to not name victims of sex assault, which she still is in the eyes of the law. They used those letters in order to entrap me, he said. Had she ever left her nieces under the care of her friends? 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. Elizabeth was confused. 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. Now it was Anna who had wielded the gun, not Elizabeth. If it had been a man, I dont think there would have been much of a question.. His kids took a liking to Elizabeth, so hed let them stay at her apartment, even after he split with Rosemary. She had rejected his advances. She started to cry. 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. According to the transcript advances for marriage several forensic document examiners `` i 'm single... Her response in the front seat and held a camera as Stephanie read children in family are n't allowed be... To prison in 2000 Dallas judge revives sexual misconduct suit against Jerry Jones if... Recant because she suddenly changed her mind about what happened to her mother, who attempted show..., Javier Limon, Javiers mother, who normally handled child sexual abuse had waved at her and husband! Along with Kristie, Cassie and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as own! 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