UPDATE: John Allen Rubio and Angela Camacho
TEXAS MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR BEHEADING THREE KIDS
by Christopher Sherman – The Associated Press
EDINBRUG, Texas — A jury has sentenced a south Texas man to death after convicting him of beheading his common law wife’s three children in 2003.
Prosecutors had sought a death sentence for John Allen Rubio, who killed three children under the age of four in a windowless Brownsville apartment in 2003.
The Hidalgo County jury deliberated for four hours before choosing the death sentence on Thursday.
Now, Rubio will be placed in the general population of a prison for the first time since the crimes. He spent several years isolated on death row after his original conviction and death sentence in 2003. A state appeals court overturned the conviction in 2007.
RUBIO GUILTY OF FOUR COUNTS OF CAPITAL MURDER
by Ildefonso Ortiz – The Brownsville Herald
A still silence fell over the courtroom as a voice read out loud what was written on a lone piece of paper.
“We the jury find the defendant John Allen Rubio guilty,” stated 370th state District Judge Noe Gonzalez as he read the note handed to him by the jury.
After four hours of deliberation, jurors on Monday afternoon found Rubio guilty of the 2003 capital murder of the three children of his common-law wife.
Rubio, standing in front of the judge’s bench, remained expressionless as Gonzalez read the verdict. Since the judge had vowed to throw out anyone who reacted to the verdict, the courtroom remained silent after verdict was read.
Rubio, 29, was being retried for the murders of Julissa Quesada, 3, John E. Rubio, 14 months, and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months, because his earlier conviction in the case was overturned on appeal. The children’s mother Angela Camacho already has been convicted in the case. Rubio was the biological father of the youngest child.
Rubio was facing four capital murder charges, one for each of the slain children and one for the combined murders.
After the verdict was handed down, Gonzalez quickly moved the case to the punishment phase, where the
jurors will decide Rubio’s fate.
In his opening statement, Cameron County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chuck Mattingly told jurors that Rubio is a danger to society with a long criminal record. He said Rubio is violent and had tried to set fire in his prison cell.
Defense attorney Ed Stapleton told jurors that the alleged fires in Rubio’s cell were toilet paper fires that didn’t place anyone in danger and were simply a form of protest.
Jurors also heard testimony from two police officers, Rolando Trujillo and Juan Sanchez, who stated that they had previously arrested Rubio for possession of marijuana and for family violence.
Defense attorney Nat Perez asked them if Rubio had been violent in any of the arrests. Both officers testified that he had not and that the arrests were misdemeanors.
Further questioning by Perez revealed that the family violence arrest had been because Camacho had told an officer that she feared for her safety. She said Rubio was intoxicated but that he had never hurt her or any of the children.
Jurors also heard testimony from Texas Ranger Roland Castaneda, who stated that he went to Rubio’s cell in 2003 to gather blood and hair samples. He said he saw Rubio act without remorse in regards to the
murders.
On Monday morning, before each side began its closing arguments for the guilt or innocence phase, Gonzalez addressed the jury, stating that the arguments could be considered during the deliberations. But, he said, during their deliberation, jurors must adhere to the guidelines set up in the law or charge that would be presented.
Gonzalez then read the charge, which outlined three possible findings for the jury: guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity. The charge stated that murder referred to the intentional or knowing taking of a life, while capital murder applied to the murder of children under the age of 6 or more than one murder in an act.
If the jury found that the defendant suffered a severe mental disease or defect that kept him from knowing his actions were wrong, then they must declare Rubio not guilty by reason of insanity.
After Gonzalez finished reading the charge, Mattingly began his closing argument.
“The defendant John Allen Rubio, butchered his children,” Mattingly said. “He butchered three babies.”
Mattingly stated that Rubio couldn’t be insane because certain statements that he made showed him to be sane, including the one where he places his hands in front of officer Sonny Cervantes and tells him, “arrest
me” as Cervantes arrives at the scene, showing his knowledge then that the action was wrong.
“These babies, they were fighters,” Mattingly said as he choked back tears. “They fought valiantly and heroically to live until their bodies could take no more.”
Mattingly then stated that to Rubio, the children were just an obstacle to starting a new life and were thus treated as trash being placed in disposable bags.
If Rubio had indeed been insane and killing demons as per paranoid schizophrenia, then he would have attacked his younger brother who stumbled into the scene and, according to Rubio, was acting possessed, Mattingly said.
“He is a coward,” Mattingly added.
After Mattingly, Perez addressed the jury and began attacking some of the inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case.
According to Perez, if Rubio simply wanted to get rid of the children, he could have placed a hand over their face or used a pillow to snuff out their life, not choke them, stab them and then behead them.
“Bodies don’t lie,” Perez said. “This was overkill.”
Perez then stated that if the children were a burden, why would he talk to Jose Luis Moreno about going to
Austin and taking two of them with him.
Perez then stated that if the main reason was financial problems, then why kill the children if they were a “gold mine” because of all the government aid they were receiving.
Perez then went on to attack the police statements, alleging that even though the prosecution claimed to have read Rubio his rights more than eight times, he didn’t understand them.
According to Perez, the only times Rubio had questions about the rights read to him was when there was an impartial witness such as a magistrate judge or a video camera.
“You saw the officers fight me on the stand about specifically asking Rubio if he wanted a lawyer,” Perez said.
He then referred to a statement by police about Rubio acting different in front of the camera.
“Let me tell you, I know police acted different when the camera was on, too,” Perez said.
After Perez, Ed Stapleton gave the jurors a perspective of life from Rubio’s eyes, from being an abused and neglected child to growing up with sexual abuse and prostitution. He said Rubio then had to tried to have a normal life but was unable to because of mental issues and diseases.
Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos closed the arguments by stating that the 5-year-old Rubio that Stapleton had been talking about was not the monster sitting in the courtroom that butchered three children.
According to Villalobos, if Rubio suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, then why would he go years without suffering from delusions — even without taking any schizophrenia medications?
41 Comments »
Adios cucaracha!
Those pictures just break my heart.
Jesus Christ, what beautiful children. What the hell is wrong with people? I hope he rots in hell for eternity. I understand that people get angry with people. Hell, there have been times when I can understand that my husband may want to come close to killing me but the children? He would never, ever hurt our 2 girls, as angry as he may get. Those photos tear at my heart. I hate seeing the pictures on this site! It makes it more “real”. See ya homo! Hope you like being Bubba’s bitch in prison until they kill you!
What was Angela’s sentence?
She was sentenced to three concurrent life terms and will be eligible for parole in 40 years.
It’s kinda interesting to note that she immigrated illegally into the U.S. to give the 2 older children a better life than they would had in Mexico.
She was given life terms because, as a Mexican citizen, a death sentence could have potentially strained the friendly relationship the U.S. has with Mexico.
Your sarcasm is so subtle. I approve. ;)
Why even allow for the possibility of parole? Lock her up and throw away the key. The mere thought of that bitch ever walking free fills me with disgust.
As far as Rubio goes… well, I can tell you that I won’t be crying myself to sleep when they put the needle in his arm. Good riddance.
To hell with locking them up. Both of them should fry.
this is so sad all around, i feel so much pain for those sweet children whos pain, then death was caused by the two people that should have loved and protected them, but also who the kids loved most in the world. i really do believe that both sperm donor and catcher where and are crazy as pickled bat shit. in fact i believe they are so nuts that there is know medication known to man that can help them, only God can save them. Please let my home state give him an express ticket to hell, and so he wont be lonely, she if she can’t get a buddy pass to go alone with him.
I used to be against the death penalty until I started visiting this site. Now, for monsters like this coward motherfucker, I would pull the switch myself. Hell, I would inject the poison in his arms and do it with a smile on my face. May he burn for eternity. Rest in peace Julissa Quesada, 3, John E. Rubio, 14 months, and Mary Jane Rubio, 2 months.
Well… The upside is, this IS Texas. The only state with an express lane for the needle when it’s all said and done. If he’s really going to die, it shouldn’t take too long for him to have his meet and greet with the Reeper.
I went back to the first article, so I could have a clear grasp of what I was reading about. By the time I reached the end, I was shaking, I don’t know whether that was from anger, or overwhelming sadness. I had to stop, close my laptop and walk outside to compose myself….
If I reacted in this way, simply from reading this article, I cannot even begin to fathom the devastation felt by those who discovered the horrific scene that John Allen Rubio and Angela Camacho left in their wake.
I live in Houston, at the time this crime occurred I lived on the other side of the country, so I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to read, as I hadn’t seen it in the newspaper or other media.
My heartaches for Julissa, John and Mary Jane. Had their mother protected them, instead of going along with this psychopath, things might have turned out differently. That sickens me. When you become a mother, you lose the right to be weak. You have to be strong when it comes to your children. You have to do what is best for them, not yourself, or your partner. They deserve that much. The fact that this “woman” (and I use the term loosely) actually participated in this gruesome execution by restraining her child…well, let’s just say it makes me want to do things to her that I would never say out loud for fear of being jailed.
Even the death penalty is too good for these demons. They should have to suffer a fate infinitely worse than what they did to these poor little children. They deserve to die slowly, and painfully….at the hands of someone who they thought loved them, just as they did to these defenseless babies.
I hope he enjoys his time in general population. He was probably starting to get lonely in solitary confinement. With all the media, I am positive he’ll be making some new friends in what time he has left.
I agree Gina. I hope that Bubba and Cletus make him squeal like a pig, every single night until the needle sends him to hell.
Sorry to burst you guys’s bubble, but this man will be isolated on death row. On death row, you have a cell to yourself and almost never even SEE the others, never mind socialize with them. I think they let you out for showers and a few hours of recreation a week.
In cases like this, the options given to the jury (guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity) should be changed to: guilty, guilty as fuck, or FRY THE SHITBAG MOTHERFUCKER!!!!
I’m so tired of these asshats and their anus-dwelling lawyers always doing everything they can to ensure that the worst possible outcome for the shitbag is not guilty by reason of insanity. I’m completely in agreement with the prosecutor here, if the shitbag had been truly loco, he wouldn’t have stopped at the three kids, and there’s no way in fuck he would happily have offered his hands to the police officer and then asked to be arrested. By that time he would have had some time to think, and he was probably counting on his younger brother testifying how “insane” he was at the time of the murders and calculating how that would sway the odds in his favor.
Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he coldly expected to be given a free pass to the funny farm, where he could score some drugs and hey, with looks like that, maybe even a few chicks.
I hope he gets a really good roasting in hell.
And again, how the fuck do those defence attorneys live with the shit they do for all the shitbags in the world? How do they justify their existence? (It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it?) You know another thing that wouldn’t surprise me? That those asshats actually enjoy what they are doing, and the sensation they get when they hide their pointy tails in their asses every morning before going to work.
I second the *FRY THE SHITBAG MOTHERFUCKER!*
Try to imagine for a moment going over to your brother’s house, walking in the door, and finding your niece and nephews slaughtered like pigs on a farm. Then try to imagine running down the street to flag down a cop who all you can say to is “they have no heads!” Try to imagine going over to an apartment with some guy who is related to the occupants and finding a bunch of decapitated babies. Imagine being so freaked out that all you can say to a cop is “no heads!”
Talk about the date from hell.
It would take more than a week to put me back together.
Maybe it’s because the sane part of my brain is screaming DON’T GO THERE!!!! But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t. At least he had the presence of mind to flag down a cop. Speaking of which, how weird mustn’t it have been for the officer? Jesus…
This story gave me nightmares for days. I swear I don’t sleep as good anymore cause this shit I read makes me go insane! However, it does help me appreciate my life and my kids even more than I already do.
Rip little angels;(
the murder was committed in Brownsville so i went to their newspaper website they have some great coverage of the outcome there is the link so glad they are giving him what he deserve hate it though my family is from this same town though
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/rubio-114870-convicted-killer.html
why did my comment get deleted
It wasn’t deleted – any comment that contains a link is moderated, which means it’s not posted until Admin or Max can confirm the link isn’t unrelated. Yer good, I see your comment. :)
Smug little bastard, isn’t he? I seem to remember a similar smirk on his fat mug in the earlier thread.
Let’s see how much he smirks after that purty mouth of his has worked hard to please his cellmate husband. Mouth won’t look so purty anymore with stretch marks all around its edge.
Chronic, heavy marijuana use can produce symptoms that look like mental illness, like paranoia and delusions. In Europe where weed is legal a scam people use to get into treatment facilities (for a variety of reasons) is to show up high for an exam, and people will be diagnosed with “marijuana psychosis”
Rubio thinks he can convince people he was crazy because he was high and high people do weird things. It’s crap and he probably came up with this stupid plan while high.
From what I recall, there’s not a real consensus on pot causing psychosis. There’s some kind of correlation, but not necessarily causal. Having watched so many mentally ill members of my biological line self-medicate with substance/alcohol abuse, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the correlation ends up being that people who are more likely to become psychotic are more likely to use pot in an attempt to regulate themselves.
It’s extremely rare for marijuana to induce psychosis, even in someone who already suffers from mental illness. Are you sure that it was marijuana and not LSD or shrooms that those people were using? Pot can cause anxiety and mild paranoia in some people, but I’m having a hard time believing that so many people could be using it to induce psychosis when THC (the psychoactive agent in marijuana) generally isn’t strong enough to produce those kinds of effects.
I’m here to tell you that heavy pot use doesn’t cause psychosis. It will, however, turn you into a fat, spaced out couch potato with no ambition.
Eh, yes and no. If you’re predisposed to being a fat, spaced-out couch potato with no ambition, smoking pot will practically guarantee your success with that.
I’m curvy, not fat. Any fat is due to working 12 hour days at a computer. Spaced out… on occasion I will admit to that. Mostly on Friday nights, as I sit and stare at a wall in amazement that I survived yet another week on this insane rock. And dammit, my couch is uncomfortable though I might be able to grow a potato there. Potatoes can grow in the strangest places.
I also do not believe that ingesting pot alone makes you stupid or more forgetful. I’ve smoked almost daily for most of my adult life to the exclusion of most other drugs including alcohol, and I don’t notice any forgetfulness. I like to think I haven’t gotten stupider in that time. Read my posts – you be the judge.
Pot affects everyone differently, but one thing it does in most people is magnify their personality. “But what if you’re an asshole?” You truly do become more of one. If pot makes you a lazy psycho, you were that way already but pot magnified it.
You know, the Camacho dame in her photo reminds me of a potato. That big, wide, flat, dirt colored face just cries “Lookit me, I’m a potato.” And one other word: “Starch.”
Except wait a sec, potatos are far more attractive. When I look at one I think of vitamin C, healthful fiber (skin on mine, please!) and a delicious meal. Looking at this broad, I think of a stupid, conniving slut with the character of diseased phlegm.
Also, look at la Camacho’s eyes. The eyes of a potato show more animation, personality, and charm. ;-)
I used to smoke pot morning, noon, night and all times in between. All I ever did was laugh, go to the all you can eat pizza buffet and sleep get up and roll another one.
Come to think of that wasn’t all that bad;-)
pot actually, has been said to cause bipolar type psychosis like illnesses when used regularly as an adolescent.
I don’t recall reading anything bout him smoking marijuana. I could be wrong tho. The first article said he was sniffing spray cans and getting high off of household chemicals. However, I do believe he was probably taking numerous drugs on top of having mental issues. Still no excuse for what he did to those kids.
You’re right, it was huffing, which does cause serious issues in the brain. And you’re also right, voluntary impairment is no defense.
If he was only stoned, it had nothing to do with his actions. If he was on some other medication or illegal drugs at the same time, sure pot might contribute to a synergistic effect. By itself, it relaxes you and might actually put you to sleep. It might also make you crave Funyuns. It’s tough to rip someones head off when all you really want is a Funyun.
I can’t recall ever reading anyplace that a violent crime was committed while the criminal was ONLY stoned, with nothing else in his system. If I’m wrong, someone please post a link. I really would like to know.
I can’t remember reading such a thing either. Alcohol, yes; pot, no.
Thanks forlornw!:)
burn bitch.
I live in Brownsville and I just passed by the apt where these murders happened…of course no one lives there anymore but the outside alone seems like demons surround that place. I can’t imagine what those beautiful kids went thru on that day and to think I was here in the same town when it was happening makes me sad. The only thing that brings me comfort is knowing that these kids are now in the loving arms of their REAL father which is the king of kings and the lord of lords….God Almighty.