Jovonie Ochoa
September 1, 1999 - December 25, 2003
Early Christmas day in 2003, a child lay dying, while
in the same house, his family was Celebrating. That child had been born
on September 1, 1999 andhis name was Jovonie Ochoa.
In October of 2003, Jovonie was left, along with
his two sisters, to live with their paternal Grandmother, Maria Palacious
and their Grandfather Juan Palacious. The mother of these children, Lisa
Ochoa, who was 23 at the time, said that she was unable to care for her
children due to being addicted to heroin.
Living in the house with their mother were Geronimao
Esqueda and Delores Esqueda along with Delores's four young children. They
all lived in a three bedroom house.
During interviews with the children in the house,
investigators discovered that Jovonie had his hands and mouth duct tape
by Delores and that this had happened at least 10 times that the 11 year
old child could remember. A nine year old stated that he had seen his mother,
Delores, duct tape Jovonie's mouth and hands and then strike him in his
head. Delores has denied duct taping his hands and mouth, however, she
says that her own mother did this to Jovonie.
It was discovered, during his autopsy, that Jovonie
had severe bed sores which were consistent with someone who had been confined
to a bed for long periods of time. The medical staff at Methodist Children's
Hospital who took care of Jovonie on Christmas day, said that he was "Skin
and bones". Weighing only 16 pounds, Jovonie was the weight of about a
six month old baby, though he was four years old.
Maria Esqueda, Maria Palacios' 21 year old daughter,
has stated that she saw her mother duct tape Jovonie's mouth and hands
during a visit several weeks before his death, and begged her to stop,
Maria continued to do the duct taping. Maria saw Jovonie during a visit
on Christmas Eve and says that he was so sick he could not get out of bed.
Maria went into his room where he was covered with a green flowered blanked
and said "Hi, Tía Maria. I love you." When Maria left the house
at 10:30pm, the family was still celebrating. The next day , Jovonie was
dead.
Bexar County sheriff's homicide detective Alfred
Damiani had this to say:
"A case this heinous, there can be no explanation
for,"
The arrest warrant for this case states that Jovonie
was severely malnourished and was skin and bones. It indicates that he
was lying on his back for several weeks before his death and the contents
of his stomach revealed very little other than what appeared to be curdled
milk. In the last statements of the warrant it lists both his Uncle and
his Grandmother for taping Jovonie's hands and feet and striking him repeatedly.
Investigators plan to prosecute everyone who was
involved. Jovonie's mother for abandonment, his Uncle and Grandmother for
the abuse and neglect and his Aunt for standing by, watching and doing
nothing about it.
Dep. Chief Ruben Garcia, Bexar County Sheriff's
Office says:
"It's something that we really took to heart
and we wanted to make sure that we conducted a full investigation,"
Rebecca Delgado-Vasquez, Jovonie's God mother says
she kept at Child protective services for two years to try to get them
to help Jovonie:
"I called CPS and I told them something was
wrong with
him, I told them something is happening to
him because he
wasn't that skinny,"
Rebecca also says that she begged Jovonie's Grandparents
to let her have him:
"I begged them to give him to me, just give
him to me, I
said look I won't say anything anymore, I
won't cause you any problems, just give him to me and I'll raise him for
you guys and you'll always get to see him,"
She also says the family has turned against her:
"They're blaming me, they're blaming me and
my husband for coming forward, that if we hadn't come forward, Jovonie
would still be alive,"
On February 2, 2004, WOAI News Radio, reported that
Jovonie's, Grandmother, Mother and Aunt were all put into protective custody
after it became apparent that the other prisoners were outraged and could
threatened to do harm to the three women for what the child had been through.
Jovonie's Uncle is said to be in the general population of the Bexar County
Jail.
Chief Deputy Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz had this to say:
"All three of them are in protective custody.
They are in a room by themselves. They get to come out by themselves
once every 24 hours for an hour,"
How sad that they are protected from others, but,
Jovonie was not protected from all of them.
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Jovonie Ochoa was buried with the grave
stone you see to the left. The memorial stone was paid for by the generosity
of the public through donations.
Jovonie is now resting peacefully, away from those
who chose to harm him andcause his death.
Jovonie's final resting place is at the Wild Flower
Memorial Park located in San Antonio, Texas.
May the Angels keep him in their care! |
My thanks go out to the anonymous person who e-mailed
me this story.
UPDATE:
April 15, 2004
Family
Indicted in Jovonie Ochoa Case
San Antonio, Texas: District Attorney Susan
D. Reed announced that a grand jury has handed-up indictments in the starvation
death of 4 year-old Jovonie Ochoa. The indictments were filed against
Ochoa's grandparents, Maria Palacios and Juan Palacios; Ochoa's mother,
Liza Ochoa; his aunt and uncle, Delores Esqueda and Geronimo Esqueda.
All but Juan Palacios, the step-grandfather, has been previously arrested
for the crime. The indictments charge all the defendants with Injury
to a Child by Omission, which is a first-degree felony punishable by imprisonment
for 5-99 years or life. Various other charges were filed against
the different defendants, depending on their role in Ochoa's death.
Bonds against the defendants will remain as previously set. The bond
against Juan Palacios has been set at $100,000. The investigation
is continuing. The District Attorney said, "This defenseless child's
death was the result of a group of adults targeting him for abuse.
The adults responsible will now have to answer for it."
Please visit the "Jovonie's
Declaration" page of the Blue Ribbon Task
Force which has been established in Texas.
For information about preventing child abuse in the
state of Texas, click the links below. If they can't help you, ask for
someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help for an abused child!
Department
Of Family And Protective Services
Call this number to report
child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
  
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