JACQUELINE PEREZ - 3 yo (2010) - El Paso TX

EL PASO, Texas -- The mother accused
of killing her 3-year old daughter and stuffing her body in the trunk of
her car sat stoic for most of the first day of her capital murder
trial, breaking into tears only when prosecutors displayed a picture of
the toddler.At the time of her daughter's killing, Yara Perez,
31, was living with her then boyfriend Francisco Castaneda, who in 2010
was convicted of capital murder for the same crime and was sentenced to
life in prison.Perez's defense attorney, Joe Spencer, is trying to point to Castaneda for the killing."She
(Perez) was absolutely helpless. No parent is ever going to forget
losing their child, much less losing her in your arms," Spencer said.Spencer
said the day Jacqueline died, Perez left the toddler and Castaneda
alone while she ran errands. When she returned home, Perez noticed
Jacqueline had bruises on her chin and cheek.Spencer said
Castaneda did not allow Perez to call police. After police discovered
Jacqueline's body the same day, Perez willingly spoke to a detective
without an attorney present. According to that statement, Perez asked
Castaneda about the bruising, and Castaneda allegedly told her nothing
had happened and said "there you go, starting again," in Spanish.Later
that evening, Jacqueline began vomiting and complaining of a
stomachache. Her breathing then became very shallow and it was clear she
was not well. According to the statement Perez gave police, she
repeatedly told Castaneda they needed to take the child to the doctor.He
resisted and Jacqueline later died. Spencer points to the fact that the
keys to Perez's car were found in Castaneda's pockets to show it was
him who put the toddler's body in the trunk."She should have
called 911 earlier? We believe, based on the medical evidence, wouldn't
have even saved the baby. It was too late. She (Perez) is a victim of
battered women's syndrome. It is very clear. All the symptoms are
there... When she realized Jacquie was extremely sick and hurt, she
passed away shortly after that. At that point, it was too late. Was she
negligent? Maybe. But she did not not have anything to do with killing
that baby," Spencer said during an interview Monday.Prosecutors
brought two witnesses to the stand -- the detective who spoke to Perez
the day of the body's discovery, Erik Messer and Castaneda's sister,
Abigail Castaneda, who called 911 the day of the killing.Castaneda
said Perez called her at about 7 or 8 p.m. the day Jacqueline died. She
said Perez was hysterical, saying she was going to kill herself because
Jacqueline was not breathing. Abigail Castaneda left work to go check
on Jacqueline, but she said Perez would not allow her inside the
apartment, blocking her entry by holding the door.Abigail
Castaneda said she still managed to see Jacqueline on the floor of the
living room, her body covered with a blanket from the belly button down.
She said the baby did not appear to be breathing.Abigail
Castaneda left the apartment but told Perez she was going to call
police. Castaneda said Perez called her minutes later and told her
medics had arrived and were looking at Jacqueline.But minutes
after that, Abigail Castaneda said she called Perez back, and again,
Perez was hysterical, saying the baby was not breathing and that she was
going to kill herself.Abigail Castaneda then called 911. She
told the operator her brother and Perez "were crazy, they were crying,
they were screaming." The jury listened attentively as Prosecutors
played the seven minute 911 call.Soon after, prosecutors showed the picture of Jacqueline. Both Abigail Castaneda and Yara Perez began weeping.Earlier
in the day, during Messer's testimony, Spencer referenced Perez's
statement, in which she said Francisco Castaneda had beat her before.
Messer said he remembered Perez telling him that. According to the
statement, Castaneda once beat her and tried to choke her when Perez
received a phone call from a friend who asked if she was alone."I swear I thought I was going to die," Perez told Messer, according to the statement.According
to the police statement, Perez told Castaneda to tell the truth in
front of Messer, but Castaneda shook his head, as in saying no. Messer,
in the statement, said he interpreted that as a no.Jacqueline's biological father, Marco Gonzalez, has told ABC-7 he does not believe Perez is remorseful."She
has no sympathy at all. People see her on the streets...happy, jolly
just like a regular person with nothing on their mind," he said in June,
2010.Spencer said Perez has been deeply affected by Jacqueline's death."She
saw her child die in their arms. She's never forgotten that. Yara
Perez, when she goes to Walmart, when she goes around town, she's been
assaulted... She's having to deal with this. She's absolutely
remorseful," Spencer said.

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