Melissa Lucio: Child Murderer or Wrongful Conviction? (Part 2)

The Case of Melissa Lucio and Mariah Alvarez

Harlingen Police Department Detective Rebecca Cruz was one of the investigators who took the stand. Cruz said that she’d attended Mariah’s autopsy and also contacted CPS to determine if there had been any allegations of abuse from Melissa’s children in the past. 

Cruz said that on the night of Mariah’s death, three of her younger children were taken to a local Children’s Advocacy Center to be interviewed. She also said that her two older children (Alexandra and Daniella) were taken to the police station to make statements. Cruz said that she never received a copy of the older children’s interviews and that the three younger children did not make any allegations of abuse from Melissa. It was also reported that Rene, one of the younger children, told police that she saw Mariah fall down the steps two days prior, but this was not brought up at trial.

Cruz told the court that she’d been called to investigate the case due to inconsistencies with Melissa’s story about Mariah’s death and injuries. She said that, with a search warrant, she looked through the residence for anything that might indicate abuse, but that nothing was found. She was also quoted as saying, “this child didn’t die from natural causes. This child was killed…Melissa Lucio caused the death of this child.”

The emergency room physician, Dr. Alfredo Vargas, who treated Mariah on the night of her death also testified to her condition. He said that Mariah was dehydrated in addition to the significant amount of bruising on her. Dr. Vargas had spoken to a police officer about the scene and what had happened before he performed his exam.

Several first responders who’d been on scene at Melissa’s home that night told the court about how strange they found her behavior to be. They said that she didn’t seem to be upset and wasn’t even trying to hold or touch Mariah. They didn’t think she was acting like a mother should act in that situation. 

A Texas Ranger even testified that he could tell Melissa was guilty by her body language and reactions while interrogating her. Reportedly, this Ranger had not been at the scene and, prior to talking to Melissa, he was told by Detective Cruz that a toddler was dead due to a significant beating. He was also shown the extremely graphic photos of Mariah’s body. Armed with this information and an unavoidable bias, he went in to begin her interrogation. 

The Ranger said that he could tell by Melissa’s slouched position, that she’d given up and she was responsible for Mariah’s death. He explained that he believed that someone who was truly innocent would have gotten upset, told the detectives to get out of their face and that they wanted their attorney. He said that the goal of his interrogation was to get Melissa “to take responsibility for what she did, and explain…everything she did, how she hit this little girl, and how she grabbed this little girl.”

Dr. Farley, the chief forensic pathologist, also took the stand. She showed photos of Mariah’s body, describing her as “severely abused”. She pointed out marks on Mariah’s back and left arm that she described as “bite marks”. There was no DNA testing done to determine if Melissa’s DNA was found in the “bite marks”. Farley also testified that the bruises on Mariah were “consistent with somebody being hit, or being slammed into something.”

Farley spoke about the untreated broken arm, saying that it would have happened within the past seven days to two weeks prior to Mariah’s death. She also said that the fracture was from tugging or twisting, and that Mariah would have definitely been complaining of pain to the arm. She continued to elaborate on how Mariah’s injuries could not have come from a fall down stairs, that they certainly came from abuse. 

The defense called a neurosurgeon to the stand, who testified that he did agree with Dr. Farley, that Mariah’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, but that the trauma could have been a result of falling down the stairs. He did not speak to her other injuries, as he didn’t have expertise on those. 

Sonia Chavez, Melissa’s sister, testified that she’d never seen her sister act aggressively with her children. She said that after Mariah was returned to Melissa’s custody, she had never seen any signs of abuse.

The defense attempted to call Norma Villanueva, a social worker, to testify about the abuse that Melissa had suffered in her childhood and young adulthood, but it was determined that she “was not qualified to offer her testimony”.

They also attempted to call a psychologist to the stand, Dr. John Pinkerman. He’d explained that Melissa had a history of abusive and inadequate men in her life, exploiting her, then leaving. He reiterated what Melissa’s family once said, that she found a purpose in being a mother. Dr. Pinkerman asserted that because of Melissa’s past, her mental state was that the men in her life did no wrong, that she was to take the blame for things that went wrong. He also explained that he didn’t believe that Melissa met the criteria for women who kill the children; she didn’t have a severe mental illness, there was no apparent motive for retaliation, and no history of violence against her children. It just didn’t fit with the nature of the crime. Dr. Pinkerman’s testimony was not included in this trial.

The Conviction and Sentencing

After deliberation, the jury returned with a verdict; Melissa Lucio was guilty of the capital murder of Mariah Alvarez. The sentencing phase was next, which was focused on Melissa’s being reported as “like to commit acts of violence in prison”, a past DWI conviction, and her perceived lack of remorse at the announcement of her verdict. Several people were called to speak during the sentencing phase, including an officer from the county jail that Melissa had been imprisoned at. The officer, who reported that Melissa was “checked on” every 15 minutes by officers beginning on the day she was found guilty, but she was never found to be crying or upset. 

One of Melissa’s former neighbors also testified. She said that when she babysat Mariah once, she was dropped off by Melissa and wearing only an adult diaper, with a bag of chips to eat. She recalled that Mariah had two bruises on her, but that she didn’t think too much of it. She also said that she often heard running and screaming coming from their apartment, and that she once heard the sound of what she believed to be a belt. She also described the steps at the apartment (the ones that Melissa said that Mariah had fallen down) as extremely steep and “fairly dangerous”.

Dr. Farley was called to the stand again, to reiterate her testimony about the “bite marks”. Finally, social worker Normal Villanueva and Dr. Pinkerman were allowed to testify, and both explained their knowledge of Melissa’s past of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. Norma also spoke about Melissa’s history with CPS, reporting that there were no allegations of abuse. 

Dr. Pinkerman said that after conducting tests on Melissa, he diagnosed her with depression and PTSD. His explanation of Melissa’s demeanor during the interrogation was that she exhibited “dissociation” and “emotional numbing” due to her significant history of abuse. He also contradicted what the prosecution had asserted, saying that he believed Melissa was at a low-risk of reoffending. 

Despite the uncertainty that seemed to still surround the case, Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death by lethal injection. She was the first woman of Hispanic descent to be placed on death row in the state of Texas. Her date of execution was set for April 27th, 2022.

Appeals and a Stay of Execution

Before long, Melissa’s case gained national attention. The Innocence Project got involved and even celebrities like Kim Kardashian began protesting Melissa’s conviction and sentencing. There was a lot of information brought up that backed up the claim that Melissa didn’t receive a fair trial and that she may not not be guilty of murder. Petitions were filed to appeal Melissa’s sentence and request a review of evidence in the case, citing unanswered questions and what many felt was just a poor investigation.

• Melissa had no known history of violence against her children. One of the younger children at the advocacy center told someone that he’d seen Mariah fall down the flight of stairs two days before and that he saw a bruise around eye develop. An older sister also told CPS that Mariah had bruises on her face after the fall. These reports were said to not have been disclosed to the defense.
• Mariah had a history of falls, as well a physical disability that was documented as making her more prone to falls. 
• Mariah’s death was declared a murder by investigators before the autopsy had even taken place. In Melissa’s application for clemency, it was stated: “Dr. Farley, who was told going into the autopsy that Melissa had ‘confessed’ to abusing Mariah, and who was accompanied in the autopsy suite by two of the interrogating officers, assumed everything she observed was evidence of abuse and ignored all evidence to the contrary.”
• Melissa’s extensive history as a victim of abuse wasn’t allowed to be elaborated on during her trial. This information could have helped jurors to understand Melissa’s demeanor during her interrogation and why she “confessed”. It’s been claimed that due to Melissa’s history, she was “especially vulnerable to coercive interrogation tactics”. At one point, one of the detectives even said to Melissa, “If I beat you half to death like that little child was beat, I bet you’d die too”.
• Melissa has admitted that she failed Mariah by not getting her medical care earlier. Mariah’s father, who clearly did not get her medical care either, was found guilty of child endangerment and sentenced to four years in prison, DESPITE his history of violent behavior. 
• There is reportedly new evidence to contradict Dr. Farley’s testimony that the only possible cause of Mariah’s injuries was abuse. The evidence is said to support that her injuries could have been consistent with a fall that took place two days prior. The bite marks that Dr. Farley emphasized during her testimony have been heavily questioned. Bite mark analysis has been largely discredited due to the inability of even trained forensic dentists to correctly identify bite marks.
• FIVE of the jurors who found Melissa guilty have since come out to say that they wish they’d heard this evidence during the trial. One said, “the fact that you can’t pinpoint what caused Mariah’s death means that she shouldn’t be executed”. Another said that if he’d heard this evidence, he might have made a different decision regarding Melissa’s guilt. The jury foreperson, Melissa Quintanill, said “The trial left me thinking Melissa Lucio was a monster, but now I see her as a human being who was made to seem evil because I didn’t have all the evidence I needed to make that decision…Ms. Lucio deserves a new trial and for a new jury to hear this evidence.

One of the biggest concerns with the possibility of Melissa’s innocence is the extent of the bruising found on Mariah. Dr. Michael Laposata, the chairman of the Pathology department at the University of Texas Medical Branch determined that Mariah had evidence of DIC at the time of her death. DIC, which stands for Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, can be caused by multiple things, including an infection, immune reactions, and major damages to organs or tissues. 

Once DIC progresses, the body becomes unable to clot, which leads to bleeding just under the skin or through the nose, mouth, or other orifices. If someone was in an advanced stage of DIC, they could bruise very easily, even with normal contact. Dr. Laposata said that DIC can cause serious bruising without any trauma and that “it is not possible to tell the difference between a bruise from DIC and a bruise from abuse”. 

Strangely enough, Melissa’s defense attorney, Peter Gilman, was hired into the District Attorney’s office shortly after Melissa’s sentencing. The District Attorney at the time, who pushed for the death penalty in Melissa’s case, Armando Villalobos is now serving a 13 year sentence in federal prison for bribery and extortion. 

Did the Jury Get it Right?

While there are a lot of people who don’t believe that Melissa is guilty, there are still those who believe that the jury made the right decision in charging her with Mariah’s murder. One of these is Melissa’s daughter Selina. On her Tik Tok page, she’s made several videos about Melissa. She claimed that before Mariah was born and before CPS took the children away, Melissa was not physically abusive. Selina said that in late 2006, when the children were put back in Melissa’s custody, Melissa became abusive, but just towards Mariah. She said that Mariah had bruises on her matching the rings that Melissa wore. She’s made several videos about the case that can be found on her TikTok page with the handle, @5thof14, as she was the fifth oldest child.

Another Suspect?

In the documentary on Hulu titled, ‘The State Vs. Melissa Lucio’, another suspect is brought to light. One of Melissa’s older daughters, Alexandra, reportedly told CPS worker Normal Villanueva that she was responsible for Mariah falling down the stairs. Danielle, another one of Melissa’s daughters, reported that Alexandra was really mean to Mariah because they didn’t have the same father. Danielle said that Mariah was terrified of Alexandra, and that she knew that when Mariah had marks or bruises, they were from Alexandra. She even remembered seeing Alexandra hitting Mariah’s head on the ground on purpose. (Not sure if this had any relation to what caused her death)

One of Melissa’s sisters remembered when she and her mother visited Melissa once in jail. She asked Melissa if Alexandra would ever hit Mariah, to which Melissa didn’t respond. She just put her head down and cried. Could she have admitted to causing Mariah’s death to protect Alexandra? Alexandra has since denied ever making any of these statements or harming her sister Mariah. Norma, in a sworn affidavit, stated that she reported hearing these statements from Alexandra to Melissa’s defense attorney and that he told her not to bring that information up again. When asked about one of Melissa’s other daughters being abusive towards Mariah in the 2020 documentary, Peter Gilman said, “that kind of sounds right”.

On March 22nd, 2022, Melissa’s attorneys (new attorneys of course!) submitted an application for clemency to the Texas Governor and the Board of Pardons and Paroles on the basis that Melissa’s conviction was built on:

1. “an unreliable ‘confession’ that is essentially a mere ‘regurgitation’ of facts and words officers fed to her during the five hour interrogation, and…
2. unscientific, false evidence that misled the jury into believing that Mariah must have been killed by physical abuse, when the evidence is actually consistent with a conclusion that Mariah died from medical complications after a fall.”

On April 25th, 2022, just two days before Melissa was scheduled to die by lethal injection, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed her execution. The 138th Judicial District Court off Cameron County has been ordered to consider new evidence in the case of Mariah Alvarez’s death. Her attorneys are working to have sitting judge Gabriela Garcia removed from her case, as one of her staff members served as a paralegal in Melissa’s original trial. That paralegal’s husband is Peter Gilman, Melissa’s original defense attorney. Though she is still imprisoned, Melissa has been removed indefinitely from Texas’ Death Row.