SEBASTIAN LOPEZ and SARIYAH GARCIA - 4 months and 14 months (2007) -San Antonio TX

The
mother of two babies whose bodies were found stuffed under a Texas
house in 2007 has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Valerie
Lopez pleaded guilty to capital murder in 2008. State District Judge
Mary Roman sentenced the 22-year-old Lopez on Friday.
The sentence was part of a plea deal in which Lopez agreed to help
prosecutors in their case of her ex-boyfriend, 31-year-old Jerry
Salazar.
The couple shared the San Antonio home where the bodies of
4-month-old Sebastian and 14-month-old Sariyah were found in March 2007
after neighbors reported a foul smell. The bodies, which were wrapped
in plastic, were found after the couple moved out.
Salazar reached a separate plea agreement in December and also received a life sentence.

SUSAN D. REED

CRIMINAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY

BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS









FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



MOTHER OF SARIYAH AND SEBASTIAN SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR HER ROLE IN MURDERS




San Antonio, Texas: February 19, 2010

Today, Valerie Lopez, age 22, was sentenced in the 175th District Court to Life in prison without parole for the murder of her two children, Sariyah Garcia, age 14 months, and Sebastian Lopez, age four months. Valerie Lopez had entered into a plea agreement with the State wherein she agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of Jerry Salazar, age 31, in exchange for the life sentence. In December of 2009, Salazar pled guilty to Injury to a Child by Omission and received a life sentence. The two deceased babies were found wrapped in plastic bags under a house located on Winnepeg Street in March of 2007. Both Lopez and Salazar were the subject of a weeklong manhunt by authorities.

The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Mary Roman, Judge of the 175th District Court. Under the terms of her Plea Agreement, Lopez was sentenced to Life imprisonment without parole.

Man Pleads Guilty In Deaths Of 2 Kids

December 22, 2009

SAN ANTONIO -- A man who served as the primary caretaker of two infants found buried under a San Antonio home in March 2007 has plead guilty for his role in their deaths, according to the Bexar County District Attorney.
Jerry Salazar accepted a plea deal from Bexar County Prosecutors on Tuesday. Under the deal, the 30-year-old has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of Injury to a Child in exchange for a life sentence.

"The case against Jerry Salazar was entirely circumstantial," Assistant District Attorney Catherine Babbit said. "It's been awhile and the witnesses we had some difficulty remembering things locating people and so the evidence in our hand right now really supported a conviction of injury to a child."

Salazar was living with Valerie Lopez when she killed her 14-month-old daughter, Sariyah Garcia, and her 4-month-old son, Sebastian Lopez. The bodies of the children were wrapped in trash bags and stuffed under the home in which they were living, located in the 1300 block of Winnipeg Avenue.

The couple disappeared for four days after the bodies were discovered under the house. The pair were eventually captured and arrested on March 10, 2007.

Under questioning, Lopez admitted she killed both of her children and told investigators that Salazar had no involvement in the deaths. However, Salazar admitted to police that he was aware Lopez had been abusing the children but did nothing to stop it.

"I think the good in all this is in this season those children can now be at peace knowing that the person responsible for their death is serving a life sentence and knowing the person responsible for protecting them is serving a life sentence," Babbitt said.

In July 2008, Lopez plead guilty to two counts of capital murder and received a life sentence without parole.
http://www.ksat.com/news/22040521/detail.html