CHEYENNE VASQUEZ - 14 yo (2002) - Boise ID

When Ramiro Granado asks the Idaho Commission for Pardons and Parole
Monday to let him out of prison, Rachel and Joyce Vasquez vow to be
there to oppose it. These two women remain convinced that the
convicted sex offender killed their 14-year-old daughter and
granddaughter, Cheyenne Vasquez, on Jan. 16, 2002, and left her body in
a drainage ditch in West Boise — after having sex with her earlier that
day.“We would be completely devastated if he gets out,” said
Rachel Vasquez, Cheyenne’s mother. “We feel he got off easy in the
first place, and I am convinced the community feels the same way.”“I feel the same pain today that I felt then (in 2002),” grandmother Joyce said. “It never goes away.”Granado,
who turned 50 on Friday, admitted to Boise police he had sex with
Cheyenne on the last day she was seen alive — but has denied being
involved in her death. He has never been charged with her murder.Granado
told police he dropped Cheyenne off at a convenience store at Maple
Grove and Overland roads at 9 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2002 — the night she
disappeared — and she began to walk home. He also admitted to giving
her alcohol that night, according to court testimony.Granado
eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of lewd conduct in 2003 for
having sexual contact with the teen and was sentenced to 20 years in
prison, with eight years fixed. Monday’s hearing in front of the parole board is his first attempt to get out of prison.Cheyenne’s family members have sent the parole board eight letters urging it to deny Granado’s request.‘a slight, small girl’At
5 feet, 2 inches, Cheyenne weighed 110 pounds, wore a size 5 dress and
had a shoe size of 3 1/2.
Rachel Vasquez said Cheyenne met Granado, a friend of her father’s,
when she baby-sat his kids. Granado gave Cheyenne a fifth of rum as a
Christmas gift when she was 13 and bought alcohol for her on several
occasions, according to court testimony. Joyce
Vasquez reported her as a runaway to Boise police on Feb. 7, 2002.
Cheyenne had been gone from her grandmother’s home for almost three
weeks, but family members did not initially report her absence because
they thought she might have been staying with friends or with her
mother, who lived in Nampa at the time, police said.No answersExactly how Cheyenne died remains a mystery. A
maintenance worker discovered her body the morning of April 8 in the
bottom of a shallow and weed-covered drainage ditch nestled between two
office buildings near the corner of Maple Grove and Overland roads.Ada
County coroner’s officials never were able to establish a cause or
manner of death because of the condition of the girl’s body. Police say
she was found wearing a bra, with her jeans unzipped and pulled down
around her hips. Her lips and an eye were swollen and bruised. Police
found a sweatshirt that belonged to Granado near the pond, according to
court testimony. Cheyenne’s blood alcohol level was 0.11, according to the autopsy report.Boise police characterized the death as “suspicious” but never charged anyone with her murder.The sentenceFourth
District Judge Darla Williamson said in 2003 that Granado took
advantage of Cheyenne, who lived in an unstable family environment,
“using the sadness of her life” to build an inappropriate relationship
with the teen.Defense attorney Greg Fuller told the judge in
2003 that Granado, who has five kids, was a committed father and family
man who “got himself in a giant pickle.” Fuller recommended a five-year
prison sentence for Granado at the time, but the judge opted for the
20-year sentence. Granado attempted to get his sentence reduced
later that year — saying he was responding to treatment in prison — but
the judge denied the request. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jean
Fisher argued against the motion, telling Williamson the sentence was
appropriate, pointing out that Granado had given Cheyenne liquor that
night, in addition to having sexual contact with the girl. “(Granado)
is at least partially responsible for her death,” she said in 2003. Fisher declined to comment on Granado’s parole request but did say she planned to testify at Monday’s hearing.