Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 8, 2006 1:17:44 GMT -5
Jury picks death for Bandera murderer
The members of Bridget Townsend's family declared victory Wednesday in
their 4-year quest for justice as her killer, Ramiro F. Gonzales, was
sentenced to die.
"My little girl can rest in peace now," Patricia Townsend, 59, said after
the jury's verdict.
Gonzales, 23, showed no reaction, but tears erupted among his family and
Townsend's kin who'd anxiously waited during three hours of deliberations.
Frances Gonzales of Bandera County, the defendant's grandmother who raised
him, collapsed sobbing and screaming.
Her gut-wrenching wails as deputies removed her from the courtroom drowned
out Gonzales' comments to District Judge Antonio Cantu. He asked the judge
if he could apologize to Townsend's family, but Cantu rejected the
request.
An ambulance took Francis Gonzales to Medina Community Hospital, where she
was expected to be released late Wednesday.
"This whole thing has been a tragedy, both for the Townsends and the
Gonzaleses, as you see," defense lawyer Lisa Jarrett said.
She said Gonzales' faith "kept him going" during the prolonged proceedings
that began in July when screening began for 500 potential jury candidates.
That faith was apparent in a note Gonzales sent to a reporter while the
jury was deliberating.
"No matter what happens, it's the Lord's will," he wrote.
The heartache of Townsend's family dates to Jan. 15, 2001, when she
vanished from her Bandera County home.
Her fate wasn't known until Oct. 7, 2002, when Gonzales, in the wake of
receiving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman,
confessed to killing Townsend, 18, and led Bandera County deputies to her
skeletal remains.
He confessed to kidnapping Townsend, whose boyfriend testified that he was
Gonzales' drug dealer, while burglarizing their home for cocaine.
Gonzales shot Townsend at a ranch off FM 1077 in northern Medina County,
where he was raised and where he later took his second kidnap victim.
Townsend was "a wonderful person" who loved life and hoped to become a
nurse, her mother said during her victim impact statement Wednesday.
"Bridget is an angel in heaven. Now no one can hurt her," Patricia
Townsend told Gonzales. "But hell is for you, because that's where I've
been living, so you can join me there."
Gonzales' 2nd victim, who testified at this trial, expressed certainty she
too would have been murdered had she not escaped from a cabin where he had
left her bound by tape.
"I'll sleep better at night," the woman said after Gonzales was sentenced
to death. "I don't have to worry about him getting out of jail and coming
to kill me."
In closing arguments, Jarrett cast Gonzales as remorseful for crimes she
said stemmed from his childhood of neglect, drug use and sexual abuse.
"What could he have been if he had been nurtured?" she asked, urging the
jury to spare his life.
But Assistant Attorney General Laura Baymouth Popps called Gonzales "the
worst of the worst," a sexual predator who kills his victims and enjoys
it.
"He wasn't about to stop himself," she told the jury of 9 women and 3 men.
"He would have kept on going if he hadn't been caught."
She cited run-ins with inmates and jailers as proof Gonzales is a danger,
and that no evidence from the defense merited sympathy for him.
"The only thing standing between him and his next victim is your
decision," Popps said.
"If he's given the opportunity, he will hurt someone. He will kill
someone," she said. "Why? Because he wants to."
(source: San Antonio Express-News)
The members of Bridget Townsend's family declared victory Wednesday in
their 4-year quest for justice as her killer, Ramiro F. Gonzales, was
sentenced to die.
"My little girl can rest in peace now," Patricia Townsend, 59, said after
the jury's verdict.
Gonzales, 23, showed no reaction, but tears erupted among his family and
Townsend's kin who'd anxiously waited during three hours of deliberations.
Frances Gonzales of Bandera County, the defendant's grandmother who raised
him, collapsed sobbing and screaming.
Her gut-wrenching wails as deputies removed her from the courtroom drowned
out Gonzales' comments to District Judge Antonio Cantu. He asked the judge
if he could apologize to Townsend's family, but Cantu rejected the
request.
An ambulance took Francis Gonzales to Medina Community Hospital, where she
was expected to be released late Wednesday.
"This whole thing has been a tragedy, both for the Townsends and the
Gonzaleses, as you see," defense lawyer Lisa Jarrett said.
She said Gonzales' faith "kept him going" during the prolonged proceedings
that began in July when screening began for 500 potential jury candidates.
That faith was apparent in a note Gonzales sent to a reporter while the
jury was deliberating.
"No matter what happens, it's the Lord's will," he wrote.
The heartache of Townsend's family dates to Jan. 15, 2001, when she
vanished from her Bandera County home.
Her fate wasn't known until Oct. 7, 2002, when Gonzales, in the wake of
receiving two life sentences for kidnapping and raping another woman,
confessed to killing Townsend, 18, and led Bandera County deputies to her
skeletal remains.
He confessed to kidnapping Townsend, whose boyfriend testified that he was
Gonzales' drug dealer, while burglarizing their home for cocaine.
Gonzales shot Townsend at a ranch off FM 1077 in northern Medina County,
where he was raised and where he later took his second kidnap victim.
Townsend was "a wonderful person" who loved life and hoped to become a
nurse, her mother said during her victim impact statement Wednesday.
"Bridget is an angel in heaven. Now no one can hurt her," Patricia
Townsend told Gonzales. "But hell is for you, because that's where I've
been living, so you can join me there."
Gonzales' 2nd victim, who testified at this trial, expressed certainty she
too would have been murdered had she not escaped from a cabin where he had
left her bound by tape.
"I'll sleep better at night," the woman said after Gonzales was sentenced
to death. "I don't have to worry about him getting out of jail and coming
to kill me."
In closing arguments, Jarrett cast Gonzales as remorseful for crimes she
said stemmed from his childhood of neglect, drug use and sexual abuse.
"What could he have been if he had been nurtured?" she asked, urging the
jury to spare his life.
But Assistant Attorney General Laura Baymouth Popps called Gonzales "the
worst of the worst," a sexual predator who kills his victims and enjoys
it.
"He wasn't about to stop himself," she told the jury of 9 women and 3 men.
"He would have kept on going if he hadn't been caught."
She cited run-ins with inmates and jailers as proof Gonzales is a danger,
and that no evidence from the defense merited sympathy for him.
"The only thing standing between him and his next victim is your
decision," Popps said.
"If he's given the opportunity, he will hurt someone. He will kill
someone," she said. "Why? Because he wants to."
(source: San Antonio Express-News)