Her brother, Chis Vasquez, right, is her unofficial guard, making sure she is OK as friends greet her. 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. Lopez, who normally handled child sexual abuse cases. He called me Mom, and I had a big old lump in my throat. The next day, the fish died and they returned it. Limon's body was found by fieldworkers, and autopsy results showed that he suffered 10 gunshot wounds that struck his lung, heart and liver. He finished college, got a masters degree, and took the teaching job in the remote Yukon. 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. Ex-girlfriend of inmate charged with ordering slaying of Javier Limon testifies, Breaking News | Local Sports | Daily Headlines | Local Obituaries | Weather | Local Offers. 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. Prior to the accusation, Elizabeth had rejected the advances of the children's father Javier Limon. 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. Some things were familiar: Elizabeth savored a strawberry shake from McDonalds and watched a Spurs game on television; Cassie went to a cookout for her sons birthday. He knew her name was Elizabeth Ramirez, and that she was an inmate in a Texas prison, 3,700 miles from his cabin in Canadas frigid Yukon Territory. Ramirez was tried separately and sentenced to 37 and a half years, more than double that of her three friends, who were tried together. Her lawyer, Casie Gotro, is at left. Michelle Mondo, a crime reporter at the San Antonio Express-News, read Ottos piece and began investigating. No, Elizabeth said. For 20 years, Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez have fought to prove their innocence. Alejandre testified she went to the sheriff's substation voluntarily and spoke with Sgt. Spending on cops and tech at the border has increased ninefold in a decade. It is probable that [Javier] wrote it, said one, adding that there is not enough evidence to make a definite identification or elimination. Another explained, It is one thing to attempt to imitate someones signature once or twice, but an entirely different and exponentially more difficult thing to attempt to successfully imitate a large quantity of extended writing.. She served 12 and a half years. Mike Ware, left, is another lawyer working on the case. Even as a toddler, Elizabeth Ramirez was small for her age. Stephanie Limon, the younger of the two accusers, called Debbie Nathan and recanted. 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. Sept. 5, 2012. But he sounded like a respectable guy., As Nathan examined the case, the testimony of Dr. Kellogg, who first examined the victims and described markings on their hymens as signs of abuse, jumped out to her. Elizabeth had told Detective Matjeka about Javiers advances, but he hadnt thought much of it. Then he put her on hold to take another call. In high school, she remained small, never more than 4-foot-9, though that didnt keep her from playing on the basketball team. 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. Javier Limon . Detective Matjeka was a homicide detective covering for detective T.R. On the court, the other girls would call out her nickname, Little Liz! About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. Javiers advances toward Elizabeth are corroborated by her family, but so too are his denials corroborated by his own family members. He never felt like Elizabeth took advantage of his kindness; helping people was just in his nature, he said. Cassie met her one night when she went to pick up a pizza. That was the last time they spoke. She started to cry. She said yes. Hes been married but now lives alone 40 miles outside of Whitehorse, the territorys capital and, at 30,000 residents, its largest city. That incident was said to have happened during a visit Aug. 1 to the home of Javier Limon, Stephanie Limon Martinez's father, in Stafford, according to court testimony. Cameras flashed and clicked as the women were engulfed. She recorded a second phone call with Morales, and in that same call, Morales still denied any involvement, she testified. 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. Of course she did. It was August 2012, and Stephanie, then 25, was a mother herself. Limon Martinez was just 7 when she and her older sister said the women sexually assaulted them. Jarrett Morris, who told her she could be facing drug trafficking charges and could lose her kids. Cassie and Anna tried to meticulously recreate what had happened the week of the alleged crimes. I thought she should have gotten life, said Gentry, the foreman. Limon Martinez took the stand for more than a hour Monday. 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. 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. Prosecutor Cindy Gresser later pointed to Alejandre's plea form that she had signed, noting the form indicated she must obey all laws, keep in contact with Morris and follow his terms. They looked like celebrities inundated by paparazzi. Anna, right, is greeted by Gloria Herrera, mother of Elizabeth Ramirez who is still in prison. Anna Vasquez had played sports with Elizabeth in high school. Now it was Anna who had wielded the gun, not Elizabeth. September 5, 2012. When Elizabeth went to get a haircut, the hairdresser wouldnt let her pay. She testified under oath at the trial that Javier had arrived in Denver and threatened her with a gun. 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. 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. An affidavit submitted by a CPS caseworker outlines multiple accusations against the couple, from having a filthy apartment to being violent with each other, which they both deny. It involved four women from San Antonio. 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. By Today, Vasquez works with the Texas Innocence Project to overturn other wrongful convictions. Had someone died? Elizabeth was stunned. Limon's body was found. Anna had seen Elizabeth unable to deal with the interests of men before. 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. She looked stoic and resigned. 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? Though the women are free, theyre not exonerated. But money was tight, and at various times Elizabeth held jobs at Taco Cabana, Arbys and H-E-B. Vasquez's story could have happened to anyone, just as it did to her 19-year-old self, fresh out of high school. Im sorry it has taken this long for me to know what truly happened, she said haltingly. Anna Vasquez (left), Cassandra Rivera and Kristie Mayhugh (right) were tried together and were sentenced to 15 years, which began in 2000 after they lost their only appeal. 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. Being a mother, if anything like that happened, she told me, of course I would try to do anything I could for my son.. 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. 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. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. Eventually the two would move in together, and Anna would treat Cassies two kids as her own. 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 . He was an ex-boyfriend of Ramirez's sister who the family said had made romantic advances toward the much younger Ramirez. Then, only a couple minutes later, the spokesman came back out breathless. 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. About a month before, they had spent a week at her apartment. Cassandra Rivera gave the white teddy bear at right to her mother, Margaret Rivera (left), 11 years ago. As Elizabeths mother, Gloria, remembers it, her daughter handed over the letters from Javier and said, Mom, hes after me. Gloria invited Javier out to breakfast and confronted him. Elizabeths roommate Kristie Mayhugh was at her mothers apartment in Rosenberg, outside Houston, when the police surrounded the building and ordered her out. The cameras blinked on. Limon was her sister's ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and. So he traveled to Texas to get a better sense of who she was. He may even take the stand and say again what he has always repeated, that he did what any parent would do. They were each sentenced to 15 years, but the judge decided they could remain out of prison until their appeals had been exhausted. She was given permission to be there by her parole officer until they realized the property backed up to a school property line. Matjeka told Elizabeth that if she had committed a crime, her sondue in about five monthswould probably be taken by the authorities. She tried to get out, but the door was locked. Yes. More letters followed, each one taking about two weeks between his home and Elizabeths prison in Marlin. 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.. Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. 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. Promotional Rates were found for your code. A version of this story ran in the January 2014 issue. Every other day, she told me, shed clean the office of her sisters prosecutor, Philip Kazen. defense attorney Michael Scott asked. She also testified that she felt scared as she was high on methamphetamines, stressed and confused when told there was a murder investigation. "I thought you weren't supposed to face charges, per the agreement?" Because I could say something, and you could twist it around., At the second trial, there was far less talk of lesbianism. Testimony revealed that Alejandre herself was facing criminal charges after a search warrant was served in April 2015 at a home she previously resided in, when detectives began investigating Morales and his alleged role in Limon's murder. A sentence of 37 and a half years was a compromise between more and less lenient jurors. Mondos front-page story came out Christmas week 2010 with little impact. Proving the . One of them, Elizabeth Ramirez, had a profile on the website WriteAPrisoner.com. Matjeka's tone grew less friendly. Kristie Mayhugh, seen here Sept. 4, 2012, is incarcerated at the 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. The four were convicted, in part, based on testimony from a pediatrician who said visible scarring to one of the girls hymens was proof of sexual abuse. Around the same time, Anna was put on maintenance duty and assigned to fix the lights in Cassies cell. Michael Barajas His kids took a liking to Elizabeth, so hed let them stay at her apartment, even after he split with Rosemary. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? 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. 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.. Elizabeth Ramirez is in the Hobby Unit in Marlin, Texas, September 5, 2012. Had she ever left her nieces under the care of her friends? It is a portrait of the mundane logistics of low-wage life. 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 because Limon Martinez is now working to help exonerate her aunt and the other women. One of the women told a court that the accusations came after she spurned Limons advances for marriage. I think Im going to wait for him to come to me, she told me shortly before her release. It was hard for me to really get my mind around what they had been accused of doing, he recalled. Most of the time, as he learned from reading scientific journals, these women are teachers who fall in love with a student. Rosemary got a job supervising the cleaning staff at the courthouse downtown. At screenings of Deborah Esquenazis documentary footage, she wooed supporters. Recently he had been sending her love letters. 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. Theres a home video from the period shortly before Kristie, Cassie and Anna went to prison in 2000. Of course she did. Anna remembers Elizabeth coming to her real upset and describing Javiers inappropriate comments. In 1994, four local women in San Antonio were accused of sexually assaulting two children. Nathan convinced a filmmaker she had mentored named Deborah S. Esquenazi to take a look at the case. The children in family aren't allowed to be at family gatherings with Anna present. The girl's father, Javier Limon, claims that shortly after bringing them back to San Antonio from Denver in 1992, they were caught acting out sexually with dolls, which led to their disclosing these events to him. Yes. Margaret Vasquez, Anna Vasquez's sister-in-law, holds up a loteria card, as the family plays the family favorite tradition, celebrating Thanksgiving with family members at Anna's mother's house, her first after being released on parole, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Waiting to solve 5. 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). Vasquez could not attend the meeting because of her parole restrictions. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. 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. Ramirezs two nieces, then 7 and 9, accused all four women of attacking and raping them with objects when the girls visited Ramirezs apartment in the summer of 1994. Sometimes truth has to border these parameters of strangeness of different times, weapons, and thats what happens here in this case.. She now says that didn't happen. I know youre very nervous, her lawyer said, according to the transcript. 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. Her son took a plea deal and is now a registered sex offender. Everyone laughed. The cluster reassembled. Elizabeth told me that after she became pregnant, Javier offered to marry her and was upset when she refused. 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. It was mentioned mostly by the defense attorneys, who attempted to show that relationships between women have nothing to do with pedophilia. was an incident when their father, Javier Limon . Javier Limon makes his way to the 315th District Court in Houston to for a hearing concerning his daughter, Stephanie Limon Martinez's custody of her children. Shifts at AutoZone. After splitting with her first girlfriend, Elizabeth started dating a man named Hector. The sheriffs spokesman came out and explained that the jail still needed a form from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Her relationship with her mother improvedGloria co-signed for Elizabeths new apartment. Limon was her sisters ex-boyfriend, and the two daughters were her 7- and 9-year-old nieces.