A federal immigration judge declared yesterday that two defense witnesses in the case of the three Mexican children slain this year in Northeast Baltimore are illegal residents but are permitted to stay in the country because they may be asked to testify at trial.
Victor Espinoza Perez and his wife, Guadalupe Juarez Hernandez, were issued subpoenas Wednesday by the defense in the murder case, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 13 in Baltimore Circuit Court. But Perez and Hernandez must show the judge in January their plan to leave the United States within 120 days. Both are Mexican citizens.
They have repeatedly said that they believe the two men accused of killing the children, Policarpio Espinoza Perez, 22, and Adan Espinoza Canela, 17 - Victor Perez's brother and son, respectively - are innocent.
The accused men also were the children's uncle and cousin. Police have not established a motive in the killing.
"Victor and Guadalupe would testify that there was a close, warm relationship between Policarpio, Adan and the children," said immigration lawyer Jay Marks, who represents Victor Perez and Hernandez. "This is a tight-knit family. These men used to baby-sit for the children."
Hernandez said in Spanish after yesterday's hearing that she often hears from the defendants from jail.
"They call sometimes, and they are very depressed," she said. "But they have faith."
Brother and sister Ricardo Solis Quezada Jr. and Lucero Solis Quezada, both 9, were found bludgeoned in their Fallstaff apartment May 27 with their 10-year-old male cousin, Alexis Espejo Quezada. One child was beheaded, and the others were partially decapitated.
Victor Perez and Hernandez were arrested by immigration officials Aug. 16 on charges of being in the United States illegally. They were held for 19 days and then were released on $10,000 bail each.
Marks contended that the only reason Victor Perez and his wife have been targeted by immigration officials is that state prosecutors believe the pair's testimony will weaken their first-degree murder case against Policarpio Perez and Canela.
"My clients are material witnesses, and I am convinced that the government is trying to silence them," Marks said. "They are trying to deport witnesses vital to the defense."
Judge John F. Gossart Jr., who conducted the hearing yesterday in U.S. Immigration Court downtown, rejected the suggestion that the government is trying to prevent Victor Perez and Hernandez from testifying.
