Victims' relatives testify in Rubio punishment phase

EDINBURG — Closing arguments are expected today in the punishment phase of the capital murder trial of John Allen Rubio, convicted Monday of the slayings of three children.

Both the prosecution and defense have concluded their presentation of witnesses and the jury will be charged with making a sentencing recommendation to the judge. The prosecution has said it is seeking the death penalty.

Rubio, 29, was found guilty in the 2003 slayings of Julissa Quesada, 3, John E. Rubio, 14 months, and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months, all children of his common-law wife, Angela Camacho. Rubio was the biological father of the youngest child.

On Wednesday, jurors heard from tearful relatives of the children, and also from Dr. Marguerite Dewitt, a forensic pathologist who testified that Julissa and little John Rubio sustained small superficial puncture marks that were not meant to kill but to cause pain.

Dewitt displayed graphs and some of the autopsy photos, and said the wounds were
sustained while the children where still alive.

Angela Saldivar, the mother of Camacho and grandmother of the children, took the witness stand and described the children as happy and always smiling.

“I lost my three adored children, I was no longer going to have them with me,” Saldivar sobbed. “All was lost for me. ... I miss them dearly. I need them.”

Saldivar said she was especially fond of Julissa and called her “my adored pet.”

Also testifying was Mayra Gonzalez, who said she was the children’s aunt and missed them dearly. She said she had never met Rubio.

“To this day I still can’t believe it,” Gonzalez said of the slayings. “(The children) were full of life, everybody loved them and cared for them. When CPS took them (from Camacho and Rubio) I wanted to get them.”

In the months before the slayings, Child Protective Services had investigated Camacho and Rubio on allegations of inadequate care of the children, but after the couple fulfilled certain requirements the children were returned to them.

During the testimony of the family members, some of the jurors were brought to tears.

The jury also heard from Alan Brantley, a former FBI agent and profiler who is a psychologist and an expert on violence and crime assessment.

He testified that Rubio is emotionally disturbed and with certain stressors has a high probability of being dangerous.

A defense attorney repeatedly objected to Brantley’s testimony on the grounds that he has only a master’s degree in psychology, not a doctorate, and is not qualified in the state of Texas to practice psychology. The attorney said Brantley’s observations were not scientific and couldn’t be peer reviewed.

The defense called as a witness one of Rubio’s special education teachers, Delfina Trevino, who talked about Rubio’s learning disability at the time he was a student. She said he began calling her “Mom” when she got after him for missing assignments.

During cross-examination, Trevino said Rubio was in classes with the regular student body but was given an easier workload and extra time to complete assignments.

The defense also called as witnesses Dean Garza, the infirmary supervisor for the Cameron County Jail System, and Lt. Gilbert Flores and other detention officers who testified to Rubio’s good behavior while in custody.

Garza said Rubio went to his office several times and, despite having access to pens or other potentially dangerous items, was never aggressive toward him.

Jurors also heard from Methodist Deaconess Cindy Johnson who said that she had spoken to Rubio and found him to have had a sad childhood but still kept a certain dignity to himself.

Several Catholics, including priests and nuns, voiced their opinion against Rubio being put to death.

The last witness for the defense was Dr. Jolie Brams, a psychologist who testified that Rubio experienced neglect and abuse from a very early age that led to psychotic symptoms, including visions of shadows. She said Rubio suffered from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.