melissa lucio daughter mariah alvarez autopsy

Melissa Lucio has spent the last 15 years on death row after she was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. According to court documents, Melissa Lucio was born on June 18, 1969, in Lubbock, Texas. She allegedly suffered abuse by multiple partners that continued throughout her teenage years and into adulthood. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.tiktok.com/embed.js'; As noted in the appeals court opinion document, one of the investigators described Lucio's behavior. The interrogating officers refused to hear the truth: that Melissa did not, and would not, ever hurt her children. Ms. Lucio received a death penalty sentence and is appealing. The officers relied on their presumptions about how a mother should act in this tragic scenario and their gut-feeling, without a thorough forensic examination of the evidence to draw an unscientific presumption of guilt, which then created tunnel vision of investigators and the interrogating officers. According to Bonowitz, factors like ableism and racial and socioeconomic bias in the criminal justice system pose too much of a threat to warrant the use of the death penalty. The trial court prohibited this testimony but allowed the Texas Ranger who coerced Ms. Lucios incriminating statement to testify, falsely, for the prosecution that Ms. Lucios slumped posture, passivity, and failure to make eye contact told him that she was guilty. "[20], In January 2022, Cameron County officials signed an execution warrant for Lucio. The district attorney's office said in a statement to the Brownsville Herald that Mariah had been "severely beaten," had "bruises in various states of healing covering her body" and had missing portions of her hair. He continued by telling her, "We already know what happened". However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons, "despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucio's confession.". Following Mariah's death, Lucio was arrested and questioned for seven hours by Texas Ranger Victor Escalon without a lawyer present, and without receiving food or water. Greg Abbott and other elected officials to stop her execution. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. Research has shown that survivors of sexual abuse and violence, like Ms. Lucio, are even more vulnerable to. "Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. According to documents filed in the Texas Criminal Court Of Appeals in 2011, the children were found in unsafe conditions with scratches and insect bites. If I could take back my vote, I would, Johnny Galvan Jr., one of the jurors in Ms. Lucios case, wrote in, An innocent person is misclassified as a guilty suspect, Police coerce an innocent person into falsely incriminating themselves. And experts who have reviewed Ms. Lucios case, including her interrogation records, have concluded that Ms. Lucio was relentlessly pressured and extensively manipulated during the interrogation. the youngest of her 12 children at the time Ms. Lucio was taken into police custody and immediately blamed for her daughters death. 2023 Innocence Project. HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. She also spoke in one of her sisters TikToks and claimed that blame was placed on her in an attempt to free Lucio. Eighty-three Texas representatives signed a letter asking that she be granted clemency. "The ask is very specific. Abbott must undertake a meaningful review of Ms. Lucios innocence claim, the coercive tactics used in her interrogation, and the tragic circumstances of Mariahs accidental death, before an irreversible injustice occurs. Melissa , a documentary set to be released in 2020, is based on her case. "Her autopsy revealed bruised kidneys, a bruised spinal cord and bruised lungs," the D.A. Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age 6, and had been physically and emotionally abused by two husbands. Bite mark analysis has been wholly discredited since Ms. Lucios trial because it has no scientific basis. Some of the children living with Lucio were previously taken from the home by Child Protective Services and placed into foster care when Mariah was three weeks old, in 2004. Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. On April 15, Ms. Lucios attorneys filed a habeas petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeking a stay of her execution and arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and the State relied on false evidence,and hid favorable evidence, to convict her. , in recognition of the fact that bite mark evidence lacks scientific validity and following the exoneration of a man in Texas convicted based on faulty bite mark evidence, the Texas Forensic Science Commission recommended a state-wide moratorium on the use of bite mark evidence in criminal cases. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez welcomed Mariah into the world in September 2004. The application also states that the state medical examiner who performed Mariah's autopsy was told that Lucio admitted to abusing the girl and was accompanied by two of the interrogating officers during the autopsy. The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. I believe that she should be in prison. A mitigation specialist at trial named Norma Villanueva claims that Alexandra admitted during a family meeting in June 2008 that she was the reason Mariah fell down the stairs.. Lucio was addicted to cocaine and tested positive shortly after Mariah was born; this prompted authorities to place her children in foster care. Neave Criado who visited Melissa Lucio on death row earlier this week spoke at the conference about the bipartisan support her case has received. Lucio said Mariah fell down the stairs two days ago and got hurt. jsTikTok.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? Ms. Lucios execution for April 27, for a crime that never occurred. At Ms. Lucios trial, the medical examiner testified that the bruises and injuries on Mariahs body could only have been caused by abuse. Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith. Only a barbaric people allow such depravity. The U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to review a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that upheld her conviction, paving the way for her execution. "What victims learn to do in these relationships in order to survive the abuse or violence is they learn to capitulate, they learn to comply, they learn to appease. Her next partner, who was also abusive, repeatedly raped her, and threatened to kill her. At 6 years old, she was sexually assaulted by one of her mother's partners, her legal team said in the clemency petition. As her April 27 execution date nears, Lucio's lawyers are hopeful that new evidence, along with growing public support including from jurors who now doubt the conviction and from more than half the Texas House of Representatives will persuade the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Guarnera said these are excellent tips to follow, but pointed out that detectives often do the opposite when they believe someone is a suspect and not a victim. She wasn't a perfect mother, but she made sure we were taken care of," he said. Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture. She was sexually abused by family members beginning at the age of 6. In 2008, Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of her 2-year old daughter Mariah, who died two days after a tragic fall down a flight of stairs. Liza Soberano children: Does Liza Soberano Have Children? Was her child's death really a murder? Lucio, 40, of Harlingen was found guilty of capital murder for the death of her 21/2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Selina recalls her mother excluding Mariah, keeping her separate from her other children on a number of occasions. She stated that he was often addicted to drugs and alcohol and was physically abusive. Mariah was the twelfth child of Lucio. 27, 2022 for the 2007 death of Mariah. window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { "I guess I did it," police say Lucio told them. Melissa Lucio is where she needs to be locked up behind bars for the death of her 2 year old daughter Mariah Alvarez. Courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. a habeas petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeking a stay of her execution and arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and the State relied on false evidence,and hid favorable evidence, to convict her. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. Despite the defense's arguments, Lucio was found guilty of capital murder and later sentenced to death in 2008. Ahead of the election, Mr. Villalobos sought to make an example in Ms. Lucios case, which helped him appear tough on crime. Today, the former district attorney is serving a 13-year federal prison sentence for bribery and extortion. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? "[10], During the trial, Lucio's recorded statements from her interrogation were described as a confession by Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was seeking re-election at the time. Two of the officers who interrogated Ms. Lucio were present at Mariahs autopsy, leading to a biased autopsy process, and an incomplete investigation into Mariahs health history and causes of her injuries and death. . "She gets very emotional because no one believed her for so many years that she was innocent. var isYTTikTok = 1; Greg Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. He claims that before his deceased daughter Mariah Alvarez passed away, he was unaware of her fatal injuries. I dont want her to be executed, she says. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter Mariah, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators. "People generally confess falsely to get out of the interrogation room," Guarnera said. During her trial, those statements were presented to the jury as her confession. During the interrogation, officers berated and intimidated Ms. Lucio, who was pregnant and in shock from the loss of her child, for five hours. Alexander Molony Girlfriend: Who Is Alexander Molony Girlfriend? Lucio's supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if she's executed. Yara Shahidi children: Does Yara Shahidi have children? Eighty-three Texas legislators from both sides of the aisle have signed a letter urging the governor and Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles to grant Ms. Lucio clemency. The Lucio family went to the event to urge the governor to . "The Innocence Project recognized the urgency that an innocent woman was headed for execution," Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation for the organization, told ABC News. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death, July 10, 2008, in Brownsville, Texas. Mariah Alvarez: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy Viral on Twitter & Reddit. The toddler had a mild physical disability that made her unstable while walking and prone to tripping. pic.twitter.com/QZc5YyJZvo (@truecrimewitch) January 15, 2019 I am now convinced that the jury got it wrong and I know that there is too much doubt to execute Lucio. Selina believes her mother is guilty. AP [25], A 2020 documentary by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa follows Lucio's case. Lucio that her teenage daughter, Alexandra, may have been responsible for the bruises found on Mariahs body after her death. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP. In 2008 a Cameron County jury found Lucio guilty on one count of capital murder for causing the death of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. said, adding that an emergency room doctor said it was the "absolute worst" case of child abuse. My mother was never the abusing woman -- the monster that the district attorney Armando Villalobos, former district attorney, made it seem like," John Lucio said. [9][23] The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, announced on April 22 that he sent a letter to Governor Abbott asking him to grant executive clemency to Lucio, as "Mexico has historically manifested an unwavering commitment in its opposition to the death penalty. Texas Innocent Project. Okay, let's kill them. Lucio was found guilty of abusing and killing her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. "The fact that we are all here today and why almost 90 state representatives, the majority of the Texas House, have rallied behind this cause to save Melissa Lucio's life is because of the injustices in her case. Our website services, content and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Mechanic agreed, describing dissociation as a coping mechanism. It's like Cameron County prosecutor Alfredo Padilla said "the decision was based on evidence and evidence alone". Lucio asserted her innocence more than 100 times by verbally saying 86 times that she did not kill Mariah and by shaking her head no 35 other times, the petition said. [21] Lucio subsequently petitioned for clemency. Lucio has 14 children and was pregnant with the youngest two when Mariah died. She was scheduled for execution on April 27, 2022. On Feb. 8, attorneys for Ms. Lucio filed a motion to withdraw or modify her looming execution date, and on March 22, her legal team filed a petition for clemency to the governor and Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. [22], In April 2022, a juror on the trial, Johnny Galvan Jr., wrote in the Houston Chronicle that he had wrongly succumbed to peer pressure during deliberations and had changed his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty. New evidence suggests the death may have been an accident - and today, the Texas Board of Pardons . MELISSA ELIZABETH LUCIO, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON DIRECT APPEAL CAUSE NUMBER 07-CR-885-B IN THE 138TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CAMERON COUNTY Hervey, J., delivered the opinion of the Court in which Meyers, Johnson, Keasler, Cochran, and alcala, JJ., joined. Lucio said that Mariah had fallen down a steep staircase during the family's move to a new apartment two days prior, but did not appear seriously injured, according to court records. April 17 2022, 4:00 a.m. "Free Melissa . They say he didnt take his daughter to the doctor when she needed it. My moms sisters said that she would get a lesser sentence if we said we abused my sister, Selina adds. Lawyers in Melissa Lucio case request retrial, push for death sentence to be dropped, Rangers believed Lucio had killed Mariah on Feb. 17, 2007, fighting to stop her April 27 execution date, published report on interviewing domestic violence victims. Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. The project's petition, asking Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution, has received over 44,000 signatures. They also argued that a judge's order to exclude expert testimony on the effects of trauma had "deprived Melissa of the only means she had of explaining that, notwithstanding her demeanor and self-incriminating statements, she was innocent of her daughter's murder. [3] Lucio says she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend for about two years, beginning when she was seven years old. This is an incredibly serious allegation that must be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in order to ensure justice for a young girl whose life has already been so drastically impacted by such trauma. She died two days later. Here are 5 things to . The husband of Melissa Lucio, Roberto Antonio Alvarez, is known to have testified in the case involving the death of his daughter, Mariah Alvarez. However, Ms. Lucios husband perpetuated the cycle of abuse. She was just struggling. Nearly 1 in 3 exonerated women were wrongly convicted of harming children or other loved ones in their care and over 70% were wrongly convicted of crimes that never took place at all events that were accidents, deaths by suicide, or fabricated according to data from the National Registry of Exonerations. "I was not gonna admit to causing her death because I wasn't responsible," Lucio said. In a 2010 affidavit, one of Lucios sisters claimed to remember a different conversation in which Alexandra admitted to punching Mariah out of resentment for having to care for her while Lucio and her husband did drugs. He is now serving a 13-year federal prison sentence for bribery and extortion. Lucio is now fighting to stop her April 27 execution date. "There's so much more to it that happens way before the crime.". Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. ", "Texas mother is set for execution as evidence suggests she did not kill her child", "I voted to sentence Melissa Lucio to death. "When you get to this point, you find there's so many layers that most people aren't aware of and don't care about, frankly. ET:This article has been updated to reflect the latest news in this case. Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. Additionally, court documents state that the emergency room physician said he had not seen a case of child abuse worse than Mariah's. Officers used powerfully manipulative techniques many of which rise to the level of risk factors for false confession to coerce Ms. Lucio to incriminate herself. In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. The Texas Attorney General's Office maintains evidence shows Mariah suffered the "absolute worst" case of child abuse her emergency room doctor had seen in 30 years. On Feb. 8, attorneys for Ms. Lucio, to withdraw or modify her looming execution date, and on March 22, her legal team, to the governor and Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The Innocence Project notes that Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time and was likely overwhelmed and grief-stricken after Mariahs death. After Mariah was born authorities found out that Lucio had taken cocaine. She kind of just regurgitates it back, she says the same thing as they said to her because that's the easiest way out," she explained. His father, who survived, led the effort to save Whitaker, saying he would be victimized again if his son was executed. In this undated photograph, Melissa Lucio holds one of her sons, John. In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Hours after Mariah's death, Lucio was interrogated by police for over five hours, according to her lawyers. The youngest of her 21/2-year-old daughter, Mariah, in Lubbock, Texas because it has no scientific basis world. Excluding Mariah, in 2007 it has no scientific basis addicted to drugs and alcohol and was abusive. Confess falsely to get out of the election, Mr. Villalobos sought to make an example in Ms. Lucios for. Panel of the 5th U.S website services, content and products are not intended to be in! With twins at the age of 6 scientific basis on June 18, 1969, in Lubbock Texas. 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