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The Raven Knocks
True Crime/Missing Persons/Cold Cases- I decided to begin a podcast regarding true crime because I feel like some of the victim's story never gets told due to it being to graphic or not admissible in court. I also think that Justice is lost in some of these cases and it's not right. I hope I can be a voice for the ones who lost theirs and perhaps make this world a slightly better place, and have you thinking more cautiously.
The Raven Knocks
The Blue & Purple Child
What happens when a child's cries for help go unanswered? We uncover the devastating story of Mercedes Lasoya, a five-year-old whose life ended under the shadow of relentless abuse. Despite interventions from Child Protective Services, Mercedes endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of her mother, Katrina Rose Mendoza, and her partner, Jose Ruiz. By examining the chilling events and systemic failures surrounding Mercedes' tragic end, we aim to spotlight the urgent need for comprehensive reform in child protection.
Through the harrowing accounts of abuse, listeners will learn about the brutal realities Mercedes faced, including physical beatings, starvation, and psychological manipulation. Not only did Jose Ruiz inflict these horrors, but Christina's complicit behavior also contributed to the ongoing nightmare. Our discussion highlights the alarming gaps in the systems designed to protect vulnerable children, underscoring the necessity for vigilance and timely intervention before it's too late.
Finally, we delve into the perplexing cycle of abuse—why do some who suffer as children inflict similar harm on the next generation? By sharing personal reflections, I invite you to consider the complexities and frustrations this cycle presents. Our hope is to foster dialogue and inspire action towards breaking these chains. Join us in this critical conversation as we seek to understand and prevent such tragedies for future generations.
Hey guys, welcome to my channel, the Raven Knox. I hope you enjoyed our past episodes. I want to thank those subscribers that have subscribed to the premium. I do appreciate it If you haven't already. You can, for basically what will cost you? About a Starbucks a month. It's just $7. You will get bonus episodes, you'll get your episodes sooner and also they'll be ad free. If you can't do that, if it's not in your budget, you can still continue to support the show by liking, subscribing, sharing, etc.
Speaker 1:The story I have for you today involves a child, so if that's a trigger for you, you may want to not listen to this episode. It's another episode that makes my blood boil, so without further ado, I'll go ahead and get started. A mother rushes into the hospital screaming Save my baby, save my baby. She is holding her five-year-old daughter and she is unresponsive. The team rushes her back, not realizing that she was already cold, and began to frantically start working on the little girl. She didn't have a pulse. They used the paddles, they struggled to get IV access, even with an IO. For those of you that don't know, that's where they take a drill drill into the bone, usually in the shin, and try to get IV access through the bone. It's commonly used in pediatrics. Finally, a nurse gets IV access via her neck, but nothing. Cpr is active.
Speaker 1:After they removed a smashed banana from her airway and they were praying for some help above, but it was too late. Five-year-old mercedes lasoya was dead. It goes quiet as they take a breath and really see her. She is covered from head to toe head to toe in bruises. When the nurse got IV access, her blood was very dark red, indicating that the blood was lacking oxygen. The mother stated that she had been feeding her. When she passed out and hit her head on the lamp, she propped her back up and tried to continue feeding her.
Speaker 1:Once she was pronounced deceased, they began taking a closer look at her body. Not only was she bruised from head to toe, but she was bruised all along her backside as well. There wasn't hardly a place where she was not bruised. She was missing clumps of her hair and even had bruising on the inside of her mouth. The bruises were in different stages of healing. They had never seen anything like this before. She had abrasions on her face, her cheeks and a tear in the back of her head from blunt force. She had a 5.3 centimeter of her lip trying to heal missing teeth that were due from trauma, not the natural way of losing baby teeth. She was missing two toenails from her third and fourth toe of her left foot. She had contusions on the back of her head that were made within days of her death. She had a cluster of three contusions measuring 1-2 cm on the lower left side of her abdomen. Her fingers were swollen, caused by injury at the time of her death. Her arms had several contusions. Her back and her buttocks showed she had blood that had been seeping into the tissues. She had multiple blood force injuries of the body and they were very extensive. The police and CPS were called. This was no accident and it was more than choking on food. This child had been tortured.
Speaker 1:Katrina Rose Mendoza was 22 at the time she was charged and she had two children, jordan and Mercedes. Jordan was a year older than Mercedes and they were very close. Katrina moved around quite a bit and ended up being raised by her godparents. Her home life was unstable, to say the least, and she had both girls before she turned 18 and CPS were called on numerous occasions due to neglect and abuse. In fact, she had 6,015 pages of records at CPS and this was just regarding her. The first time they were called it was due to the neglect and the girls were taken away. It was due to the neglect and the girls were taken away and after some time they were given back and they closed out the case. The second time was over the same reason. The girls were one and two years old. At that time they put a safety plan in place with her father and she was not allowed to be alone with the girls for some time. Again, that case was also closed. When the girls were three and four she called CPS on her babysitter as Mercedes had a handprint on her back. They were called again two years ago for abuse and she said that this case was also going to be closed, but she had lost contact with CPS. Like how do you not know how to call CPS and make contact? It seemed to me like she moved again. I didn't tell them where she and the girls were, but that's just me.
Speaker 1:Christina said Mercedes was a child who just wouldn't listen. She admitted that she favored Jordan over Mercedes, as Jordan was her firstborn and she had a hard time bonding with Mercedes because she was being taken away from her. So much by CPS Mercedes because she was being taken away from her. So much by CPS. She stated that Mercedes was fun and a very smart girl who was active and beautiful. She liked to dance, sing and make TikTok videos. She said her main issue is when she told Mercedes to do something, she just wouldn't do it. She would also talk back. She said she would punish her by putting her and Tom out in the corner, spank her on the butt with a belt.
Speaker 1:She met Jose Ruiz in 2020 while she was working and they began dating. A couple of months later. She introduced him to her two girls. He would see the girls often and they began to call him Dad. She said they would spend the night often, but in January 2022, they moved in with Jose for about three weeks. She asked Jose to help her discipline Mercedes Before she moved in. Jose took Mercedes home with him for a night. When Christina picked up Mercedes, she was soaked with some kind of liquid. He said she didn't listen, so he threw water on her. When she brought her home, she noticed bruising on the inner part of her thighs. She called Jose to ask what happened and he said he had pinched her when she had misbehaved but didn't realize it was that hard and he promised not to do it again. She still moved in with him a few weeks after that. She stated in those three weeks she was living with Jose is when Mercedes got into the shape that she was in.
Speaker 1:Mercedes would misbehave by playing with her fingers or touching things when she was in timeout, not holding a heavy object up sitting on her legs. When she got tired she would mess up on her ABCs or wouldn't get her numbers right or wouldn't repeat what he told her or answer him correctly. She said that she was completely potty trained and didn't have any accidents until she moved in with Jose. Then she began having accidents often. That reminds me of an episode I done on Harmony so sad. She said he would spank her, he would pull her hair, cover her mouth and nose until she passed out. He did that a couple of times. Jose gave her CPR and brought her back.
Speaker 1:She would be forced to stay up all night, be in timeout in the corner, but when he put her in timeout she would have to be kneeling on rice and she would be in timeout for hours. At times he would tie her arms to pose like a crucifix and he would make her hold heavy objects for hours. When he would spank her, he used the metal into the belt. He would withhold food or not give her anything to drink other than water. He would make her stand for hours at a time. Jose also put thumbtacks in her feet and made her stand on them. He also would put them on her bottom as well. Christina said it was just only four or five at a time, like that's not a big deal.
Speaker 1:If Mercedes refused to stand or do what he said, he would pull out her hair, hit her feet with his phone. Sometimes he would make her stand there naked. He put up ring cameras to watch them and also one in the closet, as this was a normal place for Mercedes to take her punishments. She said she had asked him several times to stop but he wouldn't listen. He would also make Jordan pull Mercedes hair. She admitted to also making her kneel on Ross and pulling her hair and using a belt. Christina also admitted to putting her in the closet for timeout, but it was only three or four times. She said Jose would tell her that she didn't discipline her enough and that's why she disrespected her and ran all over her. Jose would tell her that she didn't discipline her enough and that's why she disrespected her and ran all over her. Jose would also put panties or shorts in her mouth. Once she had an accident, he forced her on the floor and mopped her up in it like drug her through the urine. Then he made her strip naked and he put her soiled panties and shorts in her mouth.
Speaker 1:Christina said that Mercedes was covered in bruises at this time and Jose would go out and buy ice packs to put on her, as they couldn't leave the house for fear of someone seeing them. When seeing them, she said the main reason she was putting the ice packs on her bruises is because she wanted them to heal quicker so she could leave. Really, pictures were shown that Mercedes was in the shower with her panties in her mouth and it showed her head where she had clumps of hair missing. There was also one with her teeth missing and with a bloody nose, with Jose's handprint on her face, along with other bruises on her face. There was one showing Mercedes standing on thumbtacks, one of her tied to a pole, naked, covered in bruises, and a piece of clothing covering her face. He also had a close up of her vagina they had two pit bulls and Jose would take their feces and smear it all over her face.
Speaker 1:It was at that time she said she left and went to a neighbor's house. She said she didn't leave before because she didn't have anywhere to go. Neighbors had called the police several times due to the screams of a child and crying. The police came once. She walked outside, gave them a story and they left. The second time Jose talked to them and the last time they never even answered the door. The day she left she said mercedes was in bad condition. She said she was feeding her and apparently when she says that she's feeding her she means that she gave her some food to eat. She said mercedes seems really tired and her body just didn't look right and she thought she was getting sick. She got up that morning and began to wash clothes. Her neighbor wasn't there, so it was just her and the two girls.
Speaker 1:She went to an interview at 3 30 and Jose and Jeanette which was the showed up, she said they went to Jose's apartment and Mercedes began to throw up and they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her. It had been two and a half days since she had left Jose. She said as she was eating she passed out, fell and hit her head on the lamp that Jose gave her CPR and brought her back. She then began talking and then began to vomit again. Her feet were really cold so she got a bucket and filled it with warm water and put her feet in it to warm them up. She said they didn't call 911 because she didn't think she was actually dying.
Speaker 1:She passes out again and once again he does CPR and brings her back. That's when they decide to go to the hospital. Now they passed up several hospitals to get to the one they went to. When asked about this, she said it was because she wanted her dad to be there. And again, she didn't think she was dying. But she admitted that she had thrown up again in the car and after that she couldn't tell if she was alive or not. Once she got her inside it wasn't long before they told her she had passed. She said that she was shocked and devastated. She had Jose's phone because she didn't have one and he kept calling, wanting her to bring him his phone, and she yelled at him and told him that her baby just died and the last thing that she cared about was his damn phone. He kept calling and she told him to stop. She was talking to an officer. She said he called her about five times wanting his phone.
Speaker 1:She said the kids did not attend school. They were enrolled but she couldn't think of the name of the school. She said they would cry when she would drop them off so she didn't make them go. She did get in trouble for this through CPS, but she moved and lost contact with them. She said she never missed a doctor's appointment, that Mercedes had asthma and she had an inhaler but didn't know where she got it. When they asked her if she had more than one pharmacy, she said she didn't know what she said. She didn't know what she said. She hadn't taken them to a doctor in three years, so she didn't remember. Okay, well, I used to work in a pediatric clinic and kids of that age get wellness visits every year. They usually get vaccines for school. So if it had been three years then she has in fact missed doctor's appointments and she was probably behind on their vaccines.
Speaker 1:Jordan, the sister, was six years old at this time. She was sent for a forensic interview. In that interview she stated that she missed her sister. She said that Mercedes liked to eat a lot and that's what made her sick. She got sick from eating three yogurts. She also ate a banana and it got stuck and she fell on the floor and hit her head on a metal thing and she went to the hospital. She said that her mom pushed a spoon in her throat. Her mom and Jose pushed on her belly and gave her breath to make her alive. She said her sister scratched her face until the skin came off. They took her sister Jose to Jose's house and Mercedes threw up and that's when they left and didn't come back. She came to the hospital and the doctor took pictures of her bones.
Speaker 1:She said her mom's boyfriend got arrested because he had a gun. She said when her mom gets really mad she slaps her and she uses the belt too. One time she asked for some socks because she was going to a birthday party and her mom slapped her in the face because her mom and Jose was in the room with Mercedes and she wasn't supposed to go in there. She said her sister had to take cold showers and her mom had put her head under the water. She said her sister had hurt toes. She accidentally stepped on her toe and she said ow. She said when she looked at her toes they were bruised. She said her mom would stomp on Mercedes feet and Jose would use thumbtacks in her feet. She said Jose made Mercedes go to the closet and Mercedes peed on herself and Jose told her that she had to put her face in her pee and then he made her sleep in it. She said her mom was watching Jose and told him to stop. She described what a thumbtack was and said that he was pushing them in her feet. She said he had gotten them from the walls.
Speaker 1:She said when she misbehaved she had to go to timeout, couldn't play with her friends or eat candy. Sometimes she would have to stand in the corner. She said Mercedes was watching TV and being good, but when the end of the day came she started being bad. She was running in the house playing with the dogs. She said Jose put her in timeout, gave her more bruises and her face was all bloody. She said he would spank her face. Her mom would spank her hands because she wouldn't move them, so she got two whippings. She hit her with a belt and a shoe. She said Jose had a metal belt that really hurt and he would use the golden part. She got a big bruise for running in the house.
Speaker 1:She said they lived with Jose because they didn't have a house house. She said they lived with Jose because they didn't have a house. She said her mom would shove a spoon down her throat when she was eating noodles and she kept spitting them out because she didn't like them and her mom kept pushing them back in her mouth. She said that Mercedes didn't have teeth in the front, that Jose had slapped her when her teeth come out, he used his hands and he has a big golden ring and a golden chain. She said he had cameras up everywhere and could see you in the living room even when he wasn't in there. She said he would watch Mercedes steal snacks and she would get in trouble. That was when her lip got all messed up. She wasn't supposed to have milk and she did. She said her dad called CPS on them and they took them away and she got to live with her dad for a little while. When Christina was confronted with what Jordan said, she said she was lying.
Speaker 1:A neighbor who had lived below them stated that he called the police at least three times. He said he only met them in passing. Mercedes liked to pet his dog. He said it was in November when he first began hearing screams and crying from upstairs. He would hear her scream ow, and he said that the crying wasn't normal due to its intensity and duration. He said she was crying as if she was in pain. He could also hear a male voice yelling and something making contact with the body, kind of like a hand. He said they would fight and yell a lot. He also heard a female yelling. He was in medical school so he was in and out at different times. When the child was screaming, the male voice was heard telling her to stop crying. He said he didn't see the kids only that once in passing and he didn't notice any marks on her.
Speaker 1:Another neighbor who lived next door stated that she also called police on several occasions. It was so bad she began writing it down. She could hear them yelling and cussing at the kids, kids crying, screaming, hitting. She heard both male and female voices. She said it was crying as in pain and she could hear a little girl pleading. She could hear the little girl saying no, dad, stop. No. She knew the girl's name by hearing the female yell at her. She had no idea how many kids they had or any of their names, except for a Mercedes. She said it happened a lot. She could hear the slaps and punches and a lot of crying would be coming from the closet. She said she saw the police come out once but didn't see them come come back the other times that she had called. She said on one occasion it began at 4 am and didn't stop until 3 pm. This was on November 30th. She said she never heard them yell at any other children. She said the male voice was more frequent and she said the crying was more fearful when she heard the female and more of a painful cry when she heard the male voice.
Speaker 1:Gabby's husband, another neighbor at the apartment complex, was also concerned with what was happening in that apartment. He said he knew of Jose as he drove a big truck and at first they had issues over parking. He said in December he observed two girls living there and in November he had called the police due to the screaming and crying. They also called when he observed the girls outside without any supervision. He stated he could hear them yelling and cussing at the kids. He could also hear hitting followed by loud music. Ryan Cahill was a police officer at the time and he had gotten a call about a child who had arrived EOA at the hospital. He first made contact with the mother. She stated that she appeared like she was upset, but he thought it was forced, like it wasn't genuine. He observed her for a good hour but his attention would be elsewhere. Within that hour he found out that she had another child and was working with CPS to find that child and put her in custody.
Speaker 1:When asked of his first thoughts when he saw Mercedes, he said it was apparent that her injuries were not as a result of an accident. She had extensive injuries that occurred at different times. Her entire body was covered from head to toe with bruises. A large majority of her hair had been pulled out. She had prick marks on the bottom of her feet and she had a soft spot in her skull. He talked with Katrina and she said that her other child was with her boyfriend. They didn't know at that time who had tortured this little girl. They didn't know at that time who had tortured this little girl. They found out that he was outside and the neighbor had brought Jordan and they took Katrina and Jose to the station and Jordan went into protective custody. The body cam shows Jose telling them what happened At first. He doesn't want to be involved. They block in his car and tell him he was involved. They make him get out of the car.
Speaker 1:He first states that Mercedes threw up her soup or something he didn't know. He said she had a hard time breathing because she had food in her lungs. He placed her over his shoulder and began hitting her on the back and she was able to take a breath. He said I don't know what happened. She was fine, she was talking and he laid her on her side because she was still throwing up. He said she had had noodles and an animal cup and some applesauce. He wasn't sure how long she had been sick because he hadn't seen her in two days, they stated. He stated that they argued a lot and when he saw her three days ago she was fine. She had just seemed a little bit fatigued. He didn't notice any injuries and said that she was walking and talking.
Speaker 1:The officer asked him what happened today and he said he had no idea that Katrina had just called him over to a friend's house, which was the neighbor's, and she sounded scared and upset. Mercedes was having trouble breathing. He said her eyes rolled back in her head. So he began compressions and she came back Once, back at his apartment, she began doing the same thing and he once again gave her compressions, but this time foam was coming out of her mouth. And that's when they took her to the hospital. He said she was conscious, just couldn't breathe. But she threw up on the way to the hospital and next thing he knows Katrina says she's dead. When they asked why he passed up so many hospitals to get to this one, he said that is where Katrina wanted to go and he only does what he's told to do.
Speaker 1:Now the officer knew he was lying because her injuries showed the bruises that she had did not just happen. They were in different stages of healing and there was no way you could have not seen her injuries three days ago. He told them that when he first laid eyes on Mercedes he saw some devil that had been torturing that little girl and there were two adults that was with that girl him and Katrina. He told him he didn't want to hear excuses. It was time for him to man up and admit to what he had done. The autopsy was going to tell him everything he needs to know about what happened and this was his only chance to tell his side. He told him he didn't care how bad of a child he was. No child deserved that. No adult deserved that hell. They didn't even treat prisoners of war like that. He said you beat the out of that little girl and you tortured her. He told him a normal person looking at her in no way would describe her as fine. Jose said he didn't do it. He admitted to spanking her with a belt and putting her in the corner. He said her sister, jordan, pulled out her hair and beat on her, and Katrina let it happen. He said he did pinch her once. He said Katrina made her stand and hold a heavy box for punishment. The officer noted scratches and marks on his hands, called him on his bullshit story and walked out.
Speaker 1:Anthony Adami, a special investigator for CPS, was dispatched to the hospital. He had to conduct a body check and photograph the body for evidence. He said the bottom of her feet had tiny red dots. They were more than 10 of them on the bottom of her left foot. The toenail was missing on her third and fourth toe and there was an abrasion of some sort. It appeared like she had had a severe injury to that area. She had bruising to her left foot, right ankle and on her legs. She had a straight pattern going down her thigh. It was a bruising pattern. She had severe bruises on both sides of her hips about the size of his hands. She had severe bruising on her buttocks, lower back on the center of her chest. Her left nipple was red and discolored, very different from the other one. Her neck had cuts and bruising. Her teeth was discolored and she had teeth missing. Her skin under her lip appeared like something was there, he said. It was hard to describe, but she had several markings on the skin under her lower lip. She had cuts on her face her nose, forehead, cheeks and several clumps of missing hair. She had bruising on her arms, especially in the wrist areas. He stated there was an active investigation on her but they had been unable to locate her. The police obtained a search warrant and found several clumps of hair in the apartment. The apartment was pretty much empty as they had been moving to a different apartment. They found some items of evidence, but Mercedes herself would provide all that they needed.
Speaker 1:The medical examiner concluded that she was basically beaten to death. The medical term is called rhabdomyolysis. Basically, it's when your muscle tissues completely break down and release proteins into your bloodstream. This puts an extreme strain on your kidneys and your kidneys will shut down. In her case, it was caused by extreme trauma to the skin which affected the muscles, and then the molecules from the muscles got into the kidneys. Her kidneys showed necrosis, which means her kidneys were dying. He stated that if she was forced to hold something heavy for hours at a time over the course of two to three weeks, this could also cause it. Her being small and being a child increases this as well. She didn't have any internal injuries to her throat. So if Katrina did shove a spoon down her throat, it didn't damage it. Her airway was clear and she didn't have any evidence of choking to death. Her airway was clear and she didn't have any evidence of choking to death. I also want to say that you can also get rhabdomyolysis from overexerting yourself like an exercise. Now, when this happens, if you get to the hospital soon enough, then they can treat you. But if it goes untreated, then you know it'll kill you. The breakdown of your muscles once it gets in your bloodstream it'll kill you.
Speaker 1:Jose was found guilty of seven counts of injury to a child, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Why he was not charged with murder, I don't know. Jose was sentenced to life in prison. Katrina took a plea deal and testified against Jose and received 45 years and she cannot appeal her sentence. That was the max. His mother and sister would get on the stand and testify about their life of abuse.
Speaker 1:I'm not undermining their abuse or even the abuse that Jose got when he was a child. What I don't understand is the repeat cycle. It seems to me that if you are abused as a child, then you would think you would grow up and never do that to your children because you know what it feels like. I don't understand why people who have been abused tend to be abusers when they become adults. I mean some things that happened to me as a child I would never do to my own children. Oh, take a breath, but what do I know? But I hope you enjoyed the show today. Please like, subscribe and share with your buddies. I appreciate you all listening. This has been a Southern Sass production. Until next time my ravens stay out of rest stops and be safe out there.
