THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for your prayers, your time, and your support in taking care of our family as we work through this trial. We wanted to give you an update as we head into the weekend. Please remember this is a private blog and that is the only way I can share this information so please don't share this with others!
Thursday was all about making sure we had people who could decipher truth and decide the best interests of the 4 Garcia children. It was a tortuous 6 hour marathon for all (almost 100 potential jurors in the pool), getting questioned from each of the 5 attorneys. We left the courthouse about 8pm, but we felt so bad for all those jurors that got there early that morning.
The trial began yesterday morning. The Harris County District Attorney started with her opening statement. It was a very emotional and compelling retelling of the trauma that the four siblings endured including extreme physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
The next opening statement was delivered by the Bio Dad's attorney. She said her client never knew what was going on with the kids, that Bio Mom ran off with the kids, that it wasn't his fault, and that the jury should reunify him with his kids.
Then Bio Mom's attorney spoke. His argument was that the jury should not hold her guilty for her pending criminal child abuse charges. He also compelled the jury to consider all the evidence before making up their minds.
Our attorney spoke next. He showed a picture of each of our families with the happy foster kids included in them. He told the jury that they would later be seeing devastating pictures of these same kids and that they would have to decide what was best for the kids' future. He argued that his trial is about kids, not parents.
The last attorney was the kids' Ad Litem. She explained that she would always go last and that her job was to tell the jury what is best for the kids. She told them this case is very simple.
The first witness called was the emergency CPS investigator. Her testimony was about the condition of the kids at the time she met them at Texas Children's Hospital. She said of the over 150 cases she has worked on, this one will always stay in her memory because of the condition of the kids. She described them as extremely emaciated and in excruciating pain. She also described Bio Mom as being "blank," not seeming to acknowledge or empathize with the actual condition of her kids. The CPS Investigator was cross examined by Bio Dad's attorney, who tried to make the Investigator sound negligent for not trying to contact Bio Dad. However, our lawyer and the Ad Litem wrapped up by helping clarify that the scope of the CPS Investigator's job is to make sure the kids are safe, not to hunt down absentee parents.
The second witness was the child abuse Detective that investigated the case. Like the CPS Investigator, the Detective said that of the hundreds of child abuse cases he has worked on, this one stuck with him because of the condition of the kids. He described them as near death from starvation as well as other various injuries. He also described Bio Mom as unemotional. He described that as a result of the investigation, the District Attorney pressed criminal charges on Bio Mom. Bio Mom's lawyer spent an excruciating hour cross examining the Detective about minutia that seemed irrelevant. We know he was trying to find something, anything, to help his client look better, but the jury started falling asleep so we took a break. After the break, he asked one more question and we moved on to our lawyer and the Ad Litem. The Ad Litem did a great job of cleaning it up with the detective:
- Ad Litem: In your experience of hundreds of child abuse cases, is it usual for a parent to seek justice for the harm done to their child?
- Detective: Yes
- Ad Litem: And in this case, did Mr. Garcia (Bio Dad) ever once contact you to seek justice?
- Detective: No
- Ad Litem: Did Mr. Garcia ever once reach out to you to offer to assist you in your efforts?
- Detective: No
- Ad Litem: Did Mr. Garcia ever once communicate any concern for the kids?
- Detective: No
- Ad Litem: I pass the witness
It was a pretty awesome minute after the hours of testimony and confusing cross examination.
The last witness of the day was Bio Mom. She told the story of when she met and moved away with Bio Dad and made these important claims:
- She was 16 and he was in his mid 20s when he impregnated her
- While she was pregnant with her first child, she contracted an STD from Bio Dad
- He did not want her to keep the baby
- He was physically and verbally abusive to her when she was pregnant and also in front of the children later
- She called the police several times for physical abuse but because they were friends with Bio Dad, they never did anything
- She described leaving him to return to Houston to live with her mom and that Bio Dad came to find her and they called the police on him
- She described his court ordered child support, that it was intermittent at best, and that he never sent any gifts, food, or necessities like diapers, and never attempted to find or contact the kids on their birthdays or any other occasions
- She stated she does not believe Bio Dad would be a good father
- The weirdest thing she said was that the Stepdad was a good person, so she is still covering for him, which we find unimaginable.
Then we recessed for the day. We felt pretty content with how things had gone. It really seems to be going in our favor so far and the jury seems to be getting the truth about both Bio Mom and Bio Dad. On Monday, we will hear from one of the children's doctors and then start the cross examination of Bio Mom.
