Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Three-year-old Jenny Rojas spent only a short time on
Earth, but during that shorttime she endured more than most
adults in their lifetime.
She was passed around threehomes and didn't learn to
properly communicate or use thepotty.
Sadly, she didn't get thechance to reach those routine
childhood milestones before sheslipped through the cracks into
her early grave.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage.
(00:22):
This episode we look at, thecase of Jenny Rojas.
Cases like this really break myheart.
In this case we look at truehuman garbage, also known as
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez, andthe evil they committed.
Let's get into it, thank you.
(01:10):
At around 9 pm on the 21st ofJuly 1995, veronica Gonzalez ran
from her Chula Vista,california apartment with the
lifeless body of her niece,jenny, in her arms.
She took her to a neighbor'sapartment who was a nurse, and
asked her to perform CPR.
The nurse tried to resuscitateJenny, but it was already far
too late.
Jenny was dead.
(01:30):
When asked what had happened,veronica and her husband, ivan
Gonzalez, said that Jenny haddrowned.
However, jenny was riddled withburn marks and bruises and when
questioned by the neighbor,ivan claimed that they didn't
know how to control the water.
The couple fell under an evendarker cloud of suspicion when
they asked the neighbor not tocall police, saying that they
(01:52):
would be blamed for Jenny'sdeath.
The neighbor, however,immediately called the police.
Following the phone call, ivanran back to the apartment and
began to clean up.
When police arrived at thescene, they described the
apartment as filthy androach-infested and said that the
other children inside theapartment were covered with lice
.
At the time of her death, jennyhad been living with her aunt
and uncle in their apartment onHilltop Drive due to the fact
(02:15):
that her parents had abused her.
She had been removed from theabusive situation when she was
just two years old and her birthmother, mary Rojas, lived in
Corona with her six otherchildren while her birth father
was in prison for childmolestation.
He had pleaded guilty tosexually abusing Jenny's
six-year-old half-sister.
Jenny's aunt and uncle were onwelfare and addicted to
(02:35):
methamphetamine.
Nevertheless, they offered tocare for Jenny.
When the young girl moved in,the two-bedroom apartment was
already crowded with two adultsand six other children.
From the moment girl moved in,the two-bedroom apartment was
already crowded with two adultsand six other children.
From the moment she moved in,jenny's fate was sealed and she
suffered unimaginable abuse atthe hands of those who she
believed were there to care forher.
Jenny was forced to sleep in awooden box or behind a door on a
(02:58):
blanket covered with blood andfeces.
Veronica would often hang Jennyin the closet by her hands to
scare her, and she would burnher cheeks with a blow dryer.
She would often be held underhot water, burning her so badly
that most of her hair fell out.
The remaining hair that didn'tfall out was pulled out by
Veronica.
Jenny would also be frequentlybeaten and bound with handcuffs.
(03:19):
In addition, jenny had beensystematically starved.
On the day she died, she wassubmerged in boiling hot water
in the bathtub.
The water had been so hot thatJenny's skin had peeled off her
body.
The couple waited for hourswhile Jenny slowly died before
seeking assistance.
The grim death of Jenny Rojasreverberated in the community
(03:39):
and led to many peoplequestioning how this could
happen.
Were there no checks in place?
As it turned out, there wasn't.
After being abused by her birthparents, jenny was placed in
her grandmother's custody in aguardian arrangement that did
not require the supervision of asocial worker.
However, her grandmotherdecided to pass her off to
Veronica and Ivan.
San Diego County ChildProtection officials announced
(04:02):
that they only learned aboutJenny when she died and her case
was brought to the county'sChild Fatality Committee.
We were never jurisdictionallyinvolved in any placement or
supervision activities.
We were never jurisdictionallyinvolved in any placement or
supervision activities.
We've had no referral on theRojas girl.
There is no way anyone wouldknow about it, said Ivory
Johnson, head of San DiegoCounty's Children's Services
Bureau.
(04:25):
California law favors placingabused children with families so
strongly that sometimeschildren can end up in even
worse situations.
Increased monitoring offamilies after placement costs
money that lawmakers continuallyvoted against spending, said
the director of the WesternDivision of the Child Welfare
League of America.
We want it all, we just don'twant to pay for it.
Eileen Mayer's pastor, saidthis little girl paid with her
(04:46):
life.
Other than Jenny's family, fewpeople even knew that she
existed.
In fact, the first time thatmost of her neighbors knew of
her existence was when herlifeless body was carried
outside by Veronica.
One neighbor, alicia Montes,said that the apartments had a
real community feel and most ofthe children played together
outside, but those in theGonzalez household didn't.
(05:07):
Alicia told the San Diego UnionTribune that she had met some
of the Gonzalez children whenthey came to her apartment and
asked for milk and a light bulb.
Another neighbor, mercy Sanchez, said it was common to see the
Gonzalez children peering outthe window.
Following the arrest of Veronicaand Ivan, prosecutors announced
that they would be seeking thedeath penalty.
It was the first time in countyhistory that a couple faces a
(05:30):
death sentence in a child abusecase.
It was the first time in countyhistory that a couple faces a
death sentence in a child abusecase.
Law enforcement officials saidthat the case was one of the
worst that they had ever seenand during a court hearing
detailing the evidence againstthe couple, some couldn't fight
back tears.
During the preliminary hearing,the courtroom was horrified by
the testimony of Jenny's8-year-old cousin, who quietly
(05:53):
recounted that he and his fivebrothers and sisters were also
abused inside the dingyapartment.
He described how they two werehit with belts, a metal bar and
a plastic bat.
He confessed that Jenny'streatment was always far more
brutal, but said that he wasn'tsure why.
He said that on occasion he andhis siblings tried to sneak
Jenny food but were beaten ifcaught.
According to Jenny's cousin, hewatched through the door as
both of his parents took turnspouring boiling hot water over
(06:16):
Jenny's head as she screamed inpain.
Veronica and Ivan both turned onone another and blamed the
other for Jenny's death.
According to Veronica, she wasa victim of spousal abuse and
according to Ivan, he too was avictim of spousal abuse.
Each one told the court thatthey were battered by the other
and only partook in the abuseout of fear.
However, these claims werecontradicted by the testimony of
(06:39):
their own son, who witnessedthe murder.
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez wereboth found guilty and sentenced
to death.
They became the first marriedcouple awaiting execution on
California's death row for thesame crime.
Jenny was initially buried inan unmarked grave, but when the
case was documented in the media, locals were so moved that they
donated money for a headstone.
(07:00):
That concludes this episode.
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalezshould go through the same awful
experience that little Jennydid.
Till next time, please takecare of yourselves.
Thank you.
Three-year-old Jenny Rojas spent only a short time on
Earth, but during that shorttime she endured more than most
adults in their lifetime.
She was passed around threehomes and didn't learn to
properly communicate or use thepotty.
Sadly, she didn't get thechance to reach those routine
childhood milestones before sheslipped through the cracks into
her early grave.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage.
(00:22):
This episode we look at, thecase of Jenny Rojas.
Cases like this really break myheart.
In this case we look at truehuman garbage, also known as
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez, andthe evil they committed.
Let's get into it, thank you.
(01:10):
At around 9 pm on the 21st ofJuly 1995, veronica Gonzalez ran
from her Chula Vista,california apartment with the
lifeless body of her niece,jenny, in her arms.
She took her to a neighbor'sapartment who was a nurse, and
asked her to perform CPR.
The nurse tried to resuscitateJenny, but it was already far
too late.
Jenny was dead.
(01:30):
When asked what had happened,veronica and her husband, ivan
Gonzalez, said that Jenny haddrowned.
However, jenny was riddled withburn marks and bruises and when
questioned by the neighbor,ivan claimed that they didn't
know how to control the water.
The couple fell under an evendarker cloud of suspicion when
they asked the neighbor not tocall police, saying that they
(01:52):
would be blamed for Jenny'sdeath.
The neighbor, however,immediately called the police.
Following the phone call, ivanran back to the apartment and
began to clean up.
When police arrived at thescene, they described the
apartment as filthy androach-infested and said that the
other children inside theapartment were covered with lice
.
At the time of her death, jennyhad been living with her aunt
and uncle in their apartment onHilltop Drive due to the fact
(02:15):
that her parents had abused her.
She had been removed from theabusive situation when she was
just two years old and her birthmother, mary Rojas, lived in
Corona with her six otherchildren while her birth father
was in prison for childmolestation.
He had pleaded guilty tosexually abusing Jenny's
six-year-old half-sister.
Jenny's aunt and uncle were onwelfare and addicted to
(02:35):
methamphetamine.
Nevertheless, they offered tocare for Jenny.
When the young girl moved in,the two-bedroom apartment was
already crowded with two adultsand six other children.
From the moment girl moved in,the two-bedroom apartment was
already crowded with two adultsand six other children.
From the moment she moved in,jenny's fate was sealed and she
suffered unimaginable abuse atthe hands of those who she
believed were there to care forher.
Jenny was forced to sleep in awooden box or behind a door on a
(02:58):
blanket covered with blood andfeces.
Veronica would often hang Jennyin the closet by her hands to
scare her, and she would burnher cheeks with a blow dryer.
She would often be held underhot water, burning her so badly
that most of her hair fell out.
The remaining hair that didn'tfall out was pulled out by
Veronica.
Jenny would also be frequentlybeaten and bound with handcuffs.
(03:19):
In addition, jenny had beensystematically starved.
On the day she died, she wassubmerged in boiling hot water
in the bathtub.
The water had been so hot thatJenny's skin had peeled off her
body.
The couple waited for hourswhile Jenny slowly died before
seeking assistance.
The grim death of Jenny Rojasreverberated in the community
(03:39):
and led to many peoplequestioning how this could
happen.
Were there no checks in place?
As it turned out, there wasn't.
After being abused by her birthparents, jenny was placed in
her grandmother's custody in aguardian arrangement that did
not require the supervision of asocial worker.
However, her grandmotherdecided to pass her off to
Veronica and Ivan.
San Diego County ChildProtection officials announced
(04:02):
that they only learned aboutJenny when she died and her case
was brought to the county'sChild Fatality Committee.
We were never jurisdictionallyinvolved in any placement or
supervision activities.
We were never jurisdictionallyinvolved in any placement or
supervision activities.
We've had no referral on theRojas girl.
There is no way anyone wouldknow about it, said Ivory
Johnson, head of San DiegoCounty's Children's Services
Bureau.
(04:25):
California law favors placingabused children with families so
strongly that sometimeschildren can end up in even
worse situations.
Increased monitoring offamilies after placement costs
money that lawmakers continuallyvoted against spending, said
the director of the WesternDivision of the Child Welfare
League of America.
We want it all, we just don'twant to pay for it.
Eileen Mayer's pastor, saidthis little girl paid with her
(04:46):
life.
Other than Jenny's family, fewpeople even knew that she
existed.
In fact, the first time thatmost of her neighbors knew of
her existence was when herlifeless body was carried
outside by Veronica.
One neighbor, alicia Montes,said that the apartments had a
real community feel and most ofthe children played together
outside, but those in theGonzalez household didn't.
(05:07):
Alicia told the San Diego UnionTribune that she had met some
of the Gonzalez children whenthey came to her apartment and
asked for milk and a light bulb.
Another neighbor, mercy Sanchez, said it was common to see the
Gonzalez children peering outthe window.
Following the arrest of Veronicaand Ivan, prosecutors announced
that they would be seeking thedeath penalty.
It was the first time in countyhistory that a couple faces a
(05:30):
death sentence in a child abusecase.
It was the first time in countyhistory that a couple faces a
death sentence in a child abusecase.
Law enforcement officials saidthat the case was one of the
worst that they had ever seenand during a court hearing
detailing the evidence againstthe couple, some couldn't fight
back tears.
During the preliminary hearing,the courtroom was horrified by
the testimony of Jenny's8-year-old cousin, who quietly
(05:53):
recounted that he and his fivebrothers and sisters were also
abused inside the dingyapartment.
He described how they two werehit with belts, a metal bar and
a plastic bat.
He confessed that Jenny'streatment was always far more
brutal, but said that he wasn'tsure why.
He said that on occasion he andhis siblings tried to sneak
Jenny food but were beaten ifcaught.
According to Jenny's cousin, hewatched through the door as
both of his parents took turnspouring boiling hot water over
(06:16):
Jenny's head as she screamed inpain.
Veronica and Ivan both turned onone another and blamed the
other for Jenny's death.
According to Veronica, she wasa victim of spousal abuse and
according to Ivan, he too was avictim of spousal abuse.
Each one told the court thatthey were battered by the other
and only partook in the abuseout of fear.
However, these claims werecontradicted by the testimony of
(06:39):
their own son, who witnessedthe murder.
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez wereboth found guilty and sentenced
to death.
They became the first marriedcouple awaiting execution on
California's death row for thesame crime.
Jenny was initially buried inan unmarked grave, but when the
case was documented in the media, locals were so moved that they
donated money for a headstone.
(07:00):
That concludes this episode.
Ivan and Veronica Gonzalezshould go through the same awful
experience that little Jennydid.
Till next time, please takecare of yourselves.
Thank you.
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