308: Benjamin Cervera

On the morning of August 17, 2021, the emergency room at Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, was bustling with the usual chaos of a busy hospital. Nurses rushed between patients, doctors consulted charts, and worried parents lingered by their children’s bedsides. Then, the doors burst open. A little boy was rushed inside—his body frail, his skin bruised, his breath shallow. He was barely clinging to life…

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Some children's monsters live in bed, but Benjamin for that
a monster lived in the room next door, and he
called her mom.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
San Antonio and Texas is a city rich in history,
a place where the past and present collide. It was
founded as a Spanish mission in seventeen eighteen and would
become one of the most pivotal locations in Texas history.
The echoes of the famous Battle of the Alamo still
linger in the heart of the city, with crumbling stone
walls of a bygone era. Over the century, san Antonio

(01:18):
grew into a vibrant metropolis, blending Texan and Mexican cultures
into something entirely of its own. The river Walk, lined
with bustling restaurants and twinkling lights, welcomes millions of visitors
each year. But beneath the warmth of its culture and
the pride of its history, san Antonio has seen its
share of darkness, and on one evening, in a quiet

(01:40):
neighborhood far from the tourist spots, something happened that would
leave even the most hardened detective shaken. A nine one
one call came in one summer evening, reporting an unresponsive
young boy. When he arrived at the hospital. It was
clear that this wasn't just a case of a child
falling ill. Something could be happening to this for a

(02:00):
very long time. Christi's Children's Hospital in San Antonio, Texas
was alive with its usual energy. On the evening of

(02:22):
August seventeenth, twenty twenty one, the halls were filled with
the steady rhythm of medical staff moving from room to room,
checking on young patients. The soft baping of monitors blended
with the occasional chatter of nurses at their stations. Parents
sat beside their children, some reading books, allowed others whispering reassurances.

(02:44):
The air carried the distinct scent of antiseptic, a mixture
of sterility and care. That evening, an ambulance arrived and
paramedics rushed through the emergency room doors with a stretcher.
It contained the small, lifeless body of a little boy.
The boy was limp and his skin was pale. He

(03:05):
was accompanied by a woman later identified as Miranda Casseris.
She spoke frantically, telling staff that her steps on four
year old Benjamin Servera had suddenly become on responsive at home.
She had called nine one one from the car and
the despatcher told her to stop and begin chest compressions.
Miranda did what she was asked, and the ambulance met

(03:27):
them on the road and sped to the hospital with
sirens blazing. The your staff immediately sprang into action. A
nerve swiftly took Benjamin and placed him onto a gurney.
A doctor leaned in, checking for any signs of consciousness,
while another nurse adjusted an oxygen mask over the child's
tiny face. His body was completely still. He was dressed

(03:51):
only in a disposable diaper, and it was soaked with urine,
an odd detail that didn't go unnoticed by the medical staff.
As they rote ushed Benjamin into a private examination room,
his condition became even more alarming. His small frame was
far too thin, his ribs pressing against his skin. His

(04:11):
eyes were sunken into his face. He weigges twenty eight pounds,
severely underweight for a boy his age. Bruises of varying
shades marked his body, some fresh, others older, fading into
yellow and green. The doctor exchanged a glance with the nurse.
Something was wrong. This wasn't just an unexplained medical emergency.

(04:35):
This appeared to be something far more sinister. One of
them quietly instructed another staff member to call the police.
Despite their best efforts, Benjamin's fragile body couldn't take any more.
His heart stopped, and within moments he was pronounced dead.
The hum of the hospital continued around them, but in

(04:56):
that small room, there was only silence. Detectives arrived at
Christa's Children's Hospital not too long after that nine one
one call was placed. The air was tense. Doctors and
nurses moved quietly around the emergency department, their gazes flickering

(05:20):
towards the room where a small boy had just been
pronounced dead. The detectives immediately made their way over to
the woman who brought Benjamin in, Miranda Casserius. They led
Miranda into a quiet room to talk. She looked tired,
but her face was lined with frustration rather than grief.
Miranda wasted no time in voicing her complaints. Benjamin wasn't

(05:43):
her child. He was the child of her boyfriend, Brandon Lee. Severa.
She told detectives that she had been the one left
to care for the children Benjamin, Benjamin's ten and four
year old brothers, her five year old son, and their
six month old baby. She said that Brandon was ready home.
He worked long hours, and when he wasn't working, he

(06:03):
was out with his friends. One of the detectives carefully
asked Miranda if she had been struggling with postpartum depression.
She shook her head no. She said she was just exhausted,
and she spoke about Benjamin. She described him as bad.
She said that he never listened, that he cried constantly,
and that he was difficult. Her tone was flat, detached,

(06:28):
far from the sorrow one might expect from a mother
figure who had just lost a child, and she made
a shocking claim. According to Miranda, Benjamin often eed his
own feces. She said that he would reach into his
diaper and consume it. She said she didn't understand why
he did it. Despite his behavior, she insisted that she

(06:48):
had never hurt him. Detectives listened as she explained her
version of what had happened. She claimed that she disciplined
Benjamin the way any parent would with timeouts, by making
him sit on his She never struck him, she said,
never laid a hand on him. But the evidence in
front of them had told a different story. Benjamin's body

(07:09):
was covered in bruises and they were in various stages,
some fresh, some fading. His tiny frame bore injuries that
suggested prolonged mistreatment. When asked about these, Miranda had an explanation.
She said that Benjamin had inflicted those injuries on himself.
She described the four year old as a troubled child,

(07:31):
then that he often smacked himself in the face, hit
his own head, pit his fingernails and toe nails until
they bled. She claimed that she had told Brandon about
his behavior, but he only responded with anger, cursing at
her and dismissing her concerns. Then Miranda reached into her
pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She scrolled for

(07:51):
several moments before handing it to the detectives. A video
played on the screen. In it, Benjamin was striking himself
on the head. His voice was small and weak as
he begged for bread. Miranda said that before Benjamin died,
he had been shoving his fingers down his throat, forcing
himself to vomit. She claimed that he had thrown up

(08:13):
blood and mucus, and had assumed that it was from
scratching his throat too hard. Detectives exchanged a look. This
was only the beginning of their investigation, but one thing
was already clear. There was far more to Benjamin's story
than what Miranda was telling them. As detectives continued their investigation,

(08:45):
Benjamin's small body was transported to the Baxer County Medical
Examiner's office. It was here, under the right overheadlights of
the autopsy room that the trick extent of his suffering
would be revealed. Doctor Kimberly Molina, the chief medical Examiner,
conducted the autopsy. She found that Benjamin was markedly underweight.

(09:07):
His small frame had no body fat, none at all.
It was clear that he had been systematically deprived of
food over a long period of time. Doctor Molina estimated
that Benjamin had been starved for approximately four and a
half months. There were no underlying medical conditions, no hidden
illness that could explain his frail state or his untimely death.

(09:30):
His body had told a different story. Bruss covered him,
his arms, his legs, his torso, even the scalp in
the back of his head. They were old and new,
and despite what Miranda had claimed, these injuries weren't self inflicted.
The pathologists determined that it would have been impossible for
a child of Benjamin's size and condition to cause such

(09:52):
widespread damage to himself. None of these injuries had been
the cause of Benjamin's death. He hadn't died from blunt
forced trauma. He hadn't suffered a sudden, violent end. Instead,
Benjamin had slowly starved to death. With the autopsy results

(10:20):
confirming what detectives already suspected, attention turned to the place
where he had spent his final months. The investigation led
them to the family's apartment on Iserhar Road, located on
the northeast side of San Antonio. Benjamin had lived there
with his father, Brandon, his stepmother Miranda, and his three
half siblings. Armed with the search warrant, detectives made their

(10:43):
way inside. At first glance, the apartment seemed ordinary. The
living room was hi day, the kitchen clean. The master
bedroom was well kept. There were no immediate signs of neglect,
nothing that screamed abuse. But as they looked closer, small
details stood out. The refrigerator was locked, so it was
the pantry door and the kitchen cabinets. Every source of

(11:07):
food was secured. Then detectives came across the second bedroom.
The door had a lock on the outside, not to
keep intruders out, but to keep somebody in. When they
opened the door, the stench of urine hit them like
a wall. This was where the children had lived. Benjamin's
siblings had beds with duvets and pillows, but Benjamin was

(11:29):
forced to sleep on a bear urine soaked mattress. In
the corner. A camera was mounted on the wall with
its lens pointed directly at the mattress. There was another
camera positioned inside the closet. This wasn't just a bedroom,
it was a prison, and this was where Benjamin had
spent the last months of his short life. You know

(11:54):
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detectives process the scene at the apartment, they're mind drifted

(13:46):
back to the hospital the video that Miranda had shown
them of Benjamin hitting himself and begging for food. If
she had recorded that moment, was it possible that there
were more videos, more evidence of what had happened behind
those doors. They obtained to search warrant for Miranda's cell phone.
What they found was the stuff of nightmares. One video,

(14:10):
recorded on the very day of Benjamin's death, showed the
four year old sitting in the back of Miranda's car.
He was unsecured, his frail body shaking. His voice, which
was weak but desperate, filled the recording. I want some bread.

(14:31):
He clasped his hands together as he begged, repeating the
play over and over. From the driver's seat, Miranda's voice
could be heard, no chill out. This recording was taken
just three hours before Benjamin was pronounced dead. That was
only the beginning. In another video, Benjamin could be seen
striking himself on the head, his small hands smacking his

(14:54):
face as he rocked back and forth. He was trembling,
still begging for ba, bread and water. Again, Miranda's voice
could be heard. In another, he was being four save
bread crumbs off the bathroom floor without using his hands.
And then there was a video that was even more disturbing.

(15:15):
Benjamin was being made to drink hand sanitizer. The camera
captured his reaction, his tiny frame shaking his hands frantically
waving in front of his mouth through sobs, he begged
for water, crying as the alcohol burned his throat. Once more,
Miranda's voice could be heard. In another video, Benjamin was

(15:36):
punching himself in the face in the back side of
a car, and yet another he begged for food, but

(15:59):
in this video he was begging his father Brandon for food. Yeah,

(16:20):
detectives scroll through the photos stored on the device. There
were images of Benjamin with swollen, bruised eyes, his small
face barely recognizable. There was a haunting collection of images
that were taken over time, showing the slow, steady deterioration
of Benjamin's body, his arms growing thinner, his ribs becoming

(16:41):
more pronounced, his eyes, which were once bright, fading into
vacant exhaustion. The horrors weren't just limited to Miranda's cell phone.
After searching the family's apartment, detective sees the hard drives
from the security cameras that were mounted inside. Like the
videos on Mora the cell phone, the footage captured something

(17:02):
truly horrific. In one recording, Benjamin could be seen trying
to climb up to get the locks off the refrigerator
and pantry. In another, he was trying to find a
way round the steel gate in the bedroom. He cried
in his bedroom with the door closed, begging for water
and milk. Another clip captured and picking out an empty

(17:33):
bag of snacks from the trash can. In another, Brandon
could be heard threatening Benjamin if he kept crying for
more bread. One clip that was recorded just four days
before Benjamin died, Miranda could be seen speaking on the
phone with his father Brandon. Her voice was sharp, frustrated
as she complained, I can't take it anymore. He starts

(17:54):
yelling and screaming and throwing himself because he wants bread.
She sounded more annoyed than concerned, and Benjamin, the starving
child in the locked bedroom, was still begging for something
to eat. One final recording captured something truly horrific. It
was Benjamin in his locked bedroom at night, wailing. This

(18:31):
was just the night before he died. The evidence collected
thus far showed that Benjamin had lived a horrific life
and had died in agonizing death when Miranda Casseris appeared
to be the ringleader, Detectives couldn't ignore Brandon Severa's role

(18:54):
in all of this. He was absent from most videos
and photographs, yet the conditions in which his son had
lived and died were impossible to overlook. He must have known.
The investigation pressed forward, detectives turned to Benjamin's siblings. What
they revealed was even more disturbing. His ten year old

(19:15):
brother described the routine cruelty that Benjamin injured. Miranda, he said,
would force hand sanitizer and hot sauce down Benjamin's throat,
watching as he gagged in gas for relief. But that
wasn't the worst of it. The boy described a twisted
game that Miranda played, one she called flip flop. In
this so called game, she would throw Benjamin into the

(19:37):
air and then simply let him fall. He would hit
the ground hard, crying in pain. But Miranda never confronted him,
And then there was the nasty water. The ten year
old explained that Miranda would scoop urine from the toilet
into a cup and force Benjamin to drink it. Detectives
listened in horror as he recounted another incident, one that

(19:58):
had taken place at the park. Miranda and her sister
had taken the children out for the day. While playing,
the siblings stepped in dirt and flowers. When they arrived home,
Miranda took their soiled shoes and rubbed them on a
slice of bread. Then she made Benjamin eat it. He
didn't hesitate. He was so hungry that he swallowed it

(20:19):
down without question. His brother continued describing the punishments that
Miranda would inflict. She would hit Benjamin with the belt
or smack him on the bottom, but sometimes she missed,
and sometimes she struck him on the lower back. As

(20:41):
detectives pieced together the final months of Benjamin's life, they
made a chilling discovery. The family was already on the
police's radar. A month before Benjamin died, a relative of
Brandon had made a desperate call to police and asked
for a welfare check. They told the officers that Benjamin
was covered in bruises, that he was starving, and that

(21:01):
he needed help. The call was assigned to Officer Oliver Perez.
He arrived at the apartment, stepping inside to find Brandon
in the kitchen. As he spoke with him, a small
figure appeared from the shadows. It was Benjamin. His face
was swollen, his eyes were blackened, and there was bruising
on his head, torso in arms. He also had a

(21:24):
gauze on his right ear. He walked towards the officer
and quietly asked for animal crackers. The officer noted that
he was thin abnormally, so his ribs were visible. Officer
Perez took out his phone and snapped a few photographs.
Benjamin stood in front of him, smiling for the camera.

(21:45):
He turned his head from side to side, posing like
this was something normal. Then he flexed his arms. When
asked about the bruises, Miranda had an answer ready. She
told the officer that Benjamin had been hurting himself. She
said he would bang his head on the grand and walls,
that she was going to take him to a doctor.

(22:06):
She said, he pokes his eyes and he pokes his ear.
Brandon then added he has behavioral issues. He gets up
at night and goes into the kitchen and eats. The
officer looked around the apartment. The refrigerator was stocked with
foot He noticed the locks on the fridge and pantry doors,

(22:26):
but according to his report, none of them were locked
at the time. Emergency medics were called to check on Benjamin,
and his vitals came back as normal. They asked Benjamin
what had happened to his eyes, like Miranda said, He
said that he poked them. Prez was told to call

(22:48):
CPS to look into the situation further and fill out
a report. He was told that it would lead to
an investigation at a later date, but just one month later,
Benjamin was dead. For months, detectives worked tirelessly to piece

(23:16):
together the horrific details of Benjamin's final days. By February,
they had enough evidence to act arrest warrants were issued.
Benjamin's father, Brandon Lee Severa, was taken into custody in
charge with injury to a child with intent to cause
serious bodily injury. His stepmother, Miranda Casseris, was arrested on
the same charge. Despite the gruesome nature of Benjamin's suffering.

(23:40):
Both were released on bond. The decision was made to
try them separately, with Miranda's trials scheduled. First jury selection
began in April of twenty twenty four, and by the
ninth the panel was seated the trial was ready to begin.
During opening statements, the prosecution wasted no time in putting
forward weard gruesome evidence. The jury was shown the haunting

(24:03):
videos of Benjamin, including the one taken just hours before
he died, sitting in the back of Miranda's car, His voice,
frail and desperate, echoed through the courtroom. I want some bread.
The room was silent other than for a few gasps
of horror. Then prosecutor Michael Villereil stepped forward.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Some children's monsters will vetinin, So Benjamin for that. A
monster lived in the room next door, and he called
her mom.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
He didn't sugarcoat the case. The trial, he explained, was
about the cold, painful, stillow starvation of a child. He
warned the jurors that what they were about to say
over the coming days would be disturbing. Photos and videos
documenting Benjamin's physical decline over five months. The evidence, he said,

(24:54):
would lead no doubt as to what had happened, the
prosecutor stepped down. Defense at hern Anthony Cantrell said that
he was waiving his opening statements to the beginning of
their case. Later. The testimony then began. The first witness
was Detective Lawrence sALS. He methodically walked the jury through
the dozens of photographs and videos recovered from Miranda's cell

(25:16):
phone and the security cameras inside the apartment. The images
were devastating. Over just four months, Benjamin had visibly deteriorated.
His arms had become skeletal, his face had hollowed out,
his skin stretched too tightly over his bones. Next on
the stand was doctor James Lukefer, a pediatrician and child

(25:39):
abuse expert. He had reviewed Benjamin's growth charts before his
fourth birthday. Benjamin had been a healthy child, his health
and weight tracking normally. Then something changed. Doctor Lukefarr explained
that pretty abruptly after his fourth birthday, Benjamin's weight began
to decline. There was no medical reason for this, no

(26:02):
underlying condition. The only explanation was starvation. But the defense
fought back. Attorney Anthony Cantrell attempted to discredit the testimony.
He pointed out that Miranda had co operated filly with
the detectives, even handing over her cell phone, the very
device that contained the incriminating evidence. He also argued that

(26:24):
Miranda had taken Benjamin to a doctor at one point.
According to Cantrell, she believed that Benjamin had behavioral issues,
possibly autism. She had been trying, he claimed, to prove
that its struggles weren't normal, But the prosecution had a
different theory. Miranda wasn't looking for help, she was looking
for an excuse, and no excuse could explain what had

(26:47):
happened to Benjamin. After days of expert testimony and forensic evidence,
it was time for the jury to hear from somebody
who had lived inside that apartment, somebody who had witnessed
Benjamin's suffering first hand. Benjamin's twelve year old brother, identified
only as BC, was led to the witness stand. He
clutched the stuffed toy tightly in his hands, his small

(27:10):
frame barely filling the seat. The courtroom held its breath.
State District Judge Christina Escalouna had allowed Basie's guardian, a
great aunt, to sit where he could see her, a
small comfort in a room that was heavy with tension,
Beceie refused to look towards his stepmother Miranda. She, on
the other hand, stared at him, her expression dark. At

(27:35):
times she appeared angry, other times bored. But Bessie kept
his eyes down, his voice barely above a whisper. As
he started to tell his story. He described the punishments
that Miranda inflicted on his brother.

Speaker 3 (27:50):
She will usually force Benji to open his mouth by
grabbing and his mouth in China open him and as
you will usually cry because air herds and his hands
iditating and teaste bad.

Speaker 2 (28:01):
He spoke about the hand sanitizer, the hot sauce, and
the cups of urine she forced him to drink.

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Was there hand sanitizer in the home, Insande? Yes? What
was he used for?

Speaker 3 (28:12):
It was used for Miranda to punish.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
He explained how Miranda would throw Benjamin into the air,
letting him fall to the ground crying. How she would
make him drink toilet water whenever she was mad, whenever
Benjamin did something bad.

Speaker 3 (28:28):
She'll get by when where he's post or he does
something on accident.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
Bausie told the jury that Benjamin was always hungry. He
had tried to get food, but the pantry was always locked,
the fridge was locked, the cabinets were locked. The only
thing that was ever left out was bread. He testified,
Miranda wouldn't feed Banji. She would feed him when my
dad was there, or he would bring food. The courtroom

(28:55):
was silent as the little boy spoke. Then he admitted
something harp. He had been too scared to help his
little brother. He said he had tried once to give
Benjamin food, but Miranda snatched it from him and threw
it in the trash. Now it was the defense attorney's turn.
Anthony Cantrell stepped forward. He asked be Sie whether he

(29:17):
had ever seen his brother throw himself on to the
floor or bang his head like Miranda had claimed. He
responded and said he saw his brother bang his head
against the wall once, but said that Miranda had told
him to do it. The defense attorney then asked be
See why he never told his father what was happening
to Benjamin. He replied, I was terrified of Miranda. The

(29:40):
defense attorney suggested that Beaceie would say whatever was necessary
to protect his father. Beaceie replied yes, then added that
he would tell the truth to save of his father.
He then quietly added, my dad is my only piece left.
Without him, it's like I don't even have a dad.

(30:06):
The prosecution had presented their case in stark brutal detail.
Doctor Kimberly Molina, the pathologist who performed Benjamin's autopsy, took
to the stand. She said that Benjamin hadn't died quickly,
he had been starved systematically over a period of four
and a half months. But Miranda's defense attorney Cantrell wasn't

(30:29):
ready to concede. He tried to put holes in her findings.
He suggested that Benjamin might have had Type one diabetes.
He pointed to his high glucose levels at the time
of his death, to his successive thirst, his hunger, his
weight loss. Doctor Molina didn't waiver, however. She told the
jury the glucose testing had been conducted and that Benjamin

(30:51):
didn't have diabetes. His death wasn't the result of an
undiagnosed medical condition. She said that he was starved to death,
plain and simple. When doctor Molina stepped on, the prosecution
rested their case. Now it was the defense's turn. Cantrell
stood before the jury and made his argument. He stated,

(31:13):
Miranda Casseres is no monster. She loved these children. She
never withhealth food. She was a caring mother and stepmother.
He told the jury that Miranda had taken Benjamin to
doctors at least seven times since she moved in with Brandon.
To back up their claims, the defense called in their
own experts, first doctor William Anderson, a forensic pathologist, then

(31:36):
doctor Daniel Geepard, a pediatric expert. Both of them challenged
doctor Molina's conclusions. I don't think he necessarily starved to death,
key Harp said, it's more likely that something other than
starvation caused his demise. The defense said that Benjamin was
simply a skinny child. His weight, although shocking, wasn't that

(32:00):
uncommon for kids in the fifth percentile, he said. Doctor
Anderson claimed that Benjamin lacked one key symptom of starvation,
a fatty liver. He also pointed out that Benjamin had
brain swelling, but no cause had been determined. They argued
that more tests should have been conducted that starvation wasn't
the only explanation. Then the defense shifted tactics. They brought

(32:25):
in Miranda's family, first her mother Alice and then her
sister April. They painted a picture of Miranda as a
devoted and overwhelmed mother. They painted her not as an abuser,
but a victim. Alice insisted she loved those kids. She
was the one running that house, not Brandon. She was
traded like a slave. Her sister, April, described Miranda as

(32:49):
a caring parent who played with the children, cooked and cleaned.
She was simply doing her best, she said. Finally, the
defense called doctor Joanne Murphy, a clinical psychologist. She suggested
that Benjamin may have been on the autism spectrum, that
his behavior, his cries, his self harm, that the profile

(33:10):
of an autistic child. But under questioning, she admitted something
critical she had never actually reviewed Benjamin's medical records. Her
assessment was based only on photographs and interviews. The judge
ruled that her testimony would be limited, and after that
the defense rested their case. Both sides made their final

(33:32):
plea to the jury. Defense Cantrell argued that the prosecution
had tunnel vision, that they had ignored possible underlying medical issues.
The Benjamin's death was a tragedy but not a crime,
but the prosecution far back. Prosecutor Thomas Demiko reminded the
jury of the facts. The locks on the fridge, the

(33:53):
locks on the pantry, the locks on the children's bedroom door.
He then told them to remember Miranda's own words to police,
the videos, the photographs, the evidence. Then Prosecutor Philip Rail
drove the final meal in the coffin. You got to
meet the monster that Benji lived with, he said. The

(34:13):
jury then left to deliberate. They were gone for less
than an hour. The tension in the courtroom was palpable.
As they returned, they found Miranda Casseus guilty of injury
to a child causing serious bodily injury. She showed no emotion.
She didn't flinch, She just stared ahead. That's same jury

(34:42):
now needed to determine Miranda's sentence. Her defense attorney was
hoping that they would show her leniency. He wanted the
jury to sentence her approbation, not prison. He said that
she loved being a mother before telling the jury she
knew something was wrong she set up the doctor appointments.
He said that Miranda loved children and was a very decent,

(35:05):
quiet person. He then revealed that she had a tattoo
of Benjamin's birthday and his death date on her arm.
He then called Miranda to the witness stand. She was emotional,
wiping away tears as she described growing up in Pleasanton.
She said that she had been raved when she was
younger and had turned to self harm, and she moved

(35:26):
in with Brandon. She said that her little boy had
a great relationship with his new stepbrothers. Speaking about Benjamin,
she said, I love taking care of him. According to Miranda,
she started taking videos and photographs of Benjamin to show
Brandon his behavior. She also wanted to show child protective services.

(35:47):
She denied that she had abused Benjamin or starved him,
telling the jury, I didn't starve him, I didn't force
hand sanitizer. I never forced him to eat salsa. According
to Mirandah, she was under complete control of Brandon. She
accused him of spanking, hitting, and dragging Benjamin through the
house whenever he soiled his diapers. A text message was

(36:10):
then read aloud that Miranda had sent to her mother.
In the message, she had written, I don't know how
long I can take this this fucking kid. My son
can't sleep because of this little five year old that
everyone thinks is so perfect. I'm done. This kid needs
a good one. She denied that she had sent the
text message repeatedly, before saying that the words had come

(36:32):
from Brandon, who dictated what she typed.

Speaker 1 (36:35):
You will not be a responsibility.

Speaker 3 (36:40):
I never caused those injuries.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
Again, you're not taking responsibility or indian his injuries.

Speaker 3 (36:46):
Bread, Yes, because I never hit him.

Speaker 1 (36:49):
Who causes injuries to Benji Dad? This is from the
gay incident too, now devout.

Speaker 2 (37:00):
During prosecutor Dmiko's closing arguments, he played a video of Benjamin.
He was sitting in the dark crying, I won't bread.
Miranda could be heard saying he won't get bread and
then he needed to lie down. He then sarcastically said
to the jury, starvation will continue until the moral improves.
Why I was raised. If a child is hungry, you

(37:22):
feed them. During defense attorney Cantrell's closing arguments, he stated,
you made your mind up. Somebody had to pay. Do
I fault you? No, but I know it's hard. He
then urged the jury to sentence Miranda to ten years
or less, which would allow her to apply for propation.
Miranda Casseris could have been sentenced to life in prison.

(37:45):
The jury, however, sentenced her to twenty five years. As
Miranda was sent to begin her sentence. The trial for
Benjamin's father, Brandon Severa, began. During the opening statements, heartbreaking

(38:07):
photographs of Benjamin were shown to the jury. His small,
frail body was hooked up to machines in the hospital.
He was covered in bruises. Prosecutor Michael Villarel stood before
the jury and told them that Brandon had withheld food
and water from his son and had failed to seek
proper medical care for him. He stated, day in and

(38:28):
day out, Benji is begging for food while mister Severa
does absolutely nothing. According to Brandon's defense attorney Jody Sawyer,
Benjamin didn't actually starve to death. She said that she
was going to be disputing the pathologist's findings. She said
to the jury, what we want to know is what
everyone else wants to know. Why Benji died. It has

(38:51):
not been resolved by what the medical examiner tells you.
She said that Benjamin had been born premature and his
parents were told that he would have health problems. She
also said that he had been seen by more than
ten medical professionals in the lead up to his death.
The testimony got under way, and it was much the
same as the testimony at Miranda's trial. This time, however,

(39:13):
officer Oliver Peaz testified as well. He had been the
officer to conduct the earlier welfare check on Benjamin. He
had visible injuries live Bruisian on his eyes, bruising on
his tor zone, kain.

Speaker 3 (39:28):
Of being able to see his vows.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
He said he regretted not doing more during and after,
and that he should have questioned Benjamin alone. He testified,
I believe I could have done more. I wish I
could have done more. During the trial, doctor Malina doubled
Dawn on her ruling that Benjamin had starved to death.
She testified, in reviewing this case, I read numerous articles

(39:52):
on my training and experience on starvation. I relied on
my education and experience. She showed Benjamin's growth chart and
pointed out that he had no growth within the last
ten months of his life. She stated, when looking at
adults and assessing starvation, we can look at just weight loss,
but when looking at children, it's not just about weight loss,

(40:14):
but failure to grow. When Benjamin died, he had little
to no body fat and his intestinal track had no
food in it. She said that there were signs he
was malnourished, including that he had macrositic anemia and that
he had no thymus gland, which can disappear in a
child if they are under extreme stress. Defense attorney Sawyer

(40:36):
said during cross examination that no doctors who saw Benjamin
before his death reported that he had a vitamin deficiency.
She also questioned the pathologist on why she didn't rule
out suffocation and rhythmia as a cause of death. She
replied that there was no evidence to show that Benjamin
had died from either, but said she also couldn't dispute it.

(40:58):
After she stepped on the prosecution called Brandon's sister, Candice
Syrene Sanchez to the stand. She had been the one
to call the police for the welfare check a month
before Benjamin died. Candence had taken care of Benjamin for
about six months back in twenty and twenty. She told
the jury that Benjamin had been living with his biological mother,

(41:19):
but in twenty nineteen he'd began living with his father.
She recalled how he was aiding and growing normally. Back then.
She hadn't seen Benjamin in months, but shortly before he died,
Brandon had told her that Benjamin was hurting himself. He
told her that his son was putting things in his ears,
hitting his head against the wall, and biting his fingernails.

(41:41):
She testified, my reaction was something was wrong. It put
me in Mama bear mode. I was concerned. Her brother
also told her that Benjamin was aiding a lot and
always trying to find food. She questioned why if he
was being fed, was he always hungry? The prosecution and
also entered text messages into evidence. There were ones from

(42:04):
the twelfth of August between Brandon and Miranda. In the messages,
Brandon told Miranda that Benjamin had been begging for bread
all day. He said that he had given some, but
he wanted more. Miranda replied and told Brandon to give
him more bread. Brandon then responded, he don't need to
eat dinner. The tragic videos of Benjamin were once more

(42:27):
plied for the jury. One that was captured just days
before he died. Benjamin nervously asked his father for something
to eat. He had his hands folded in front of
him and his clothes hung off his frail body. He begged.

(42:48):
He asked for some bread, water, or milk, before crying,
I want some bread. As the video is played, in
the courtroom, many members of the jury had to look away. Brandon,

(43:10):
on the other hand, remained expressionless. In another video, Brandon
closed Benjamin in his bedroom and told him to shut
the fuck up.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
I want to pause for a second. There appears to
be somebody at the beginning of the video, right, yes,
do you recognize that voice? Fish? Who's the defendant?

Speaker 3 (43:42):
And what do you hear him say?

Speaker 1 (43:43):
Shut the fuck up? Who is this individual?

Speaker 2 (43:48):
During the trial, the defense team tried to show that
Benjamin hadn't been starved. They called on doctor Daniel Gepard,
the r physician who treated Benjamin the day he died.
He said he didn't believe the Benjamin looked cake from
a clinical perspective. That's a medical term referring to an
extreme loss of fat and muzzle mass. This contradicted what

(44:08):
the pathologist had testified unreported. It also contradicted photographs of
Benjamin looking completely malnourished, with his bones protruding from his
frail body. The doctor testified it seems like there were
people that were trying to go to conclusions that didn't
feel correct. I think it would have been unfair for
Banji to have his parents punished for something they didn't do.

(44:32):
After that, the trial came to a close. During closing arguments,
prosecutor Villareil stated, the system up until his death failed
Benji a month before his death. This child should not
have stayed with this defendant who was starving him. The
signs were there. He reminded the jury of the evidence,
the recordings, and asked why cameras had been set up

(44:54):
in the kitchen to watch Benjamin to make sure that
he wasn't stealing food. Once more, Brandon's defensed him contented
that Benjamin hadn't starved to death, that an underlying medical
condition had killed him. She stated, I'm not saying that
Brandon is a perfect parent, but what I'm saying is
the state has brought you no evidence that he was

(45:15):
a cruel parent, or that he was a parent that
intended in any way to deprive his child everything he needed.
The jury deliberated for almost seven hours before returning with
a verdict. The courtroom slowly filled up and then fell
to a hushed silence as the verdict was announced.

Speaker 1 (45:34):
Will the jury find the defendant Brandon saveda not guilty
of the offensive injury to a child as charged in
the indictment signed by the presiding juror.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
He had found Brandon severa not guilty on all of
the charges against him. As the verdict was announced, Brandon sobbed.
He was allowed to return home a free man, while
Benjamin remained in the groun. It was an unexpected outcome
outside of court. District Attorney Joe Gonzalez stated, I want

(46:08):
to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic loss of Benjamin.
Our hearts go out to the family, as well as
those members of law enforcement, the Bexar County District Attorney,
victim advocates, prosecutors, investigators, and all who worked to see
that Benjamin's death was not in vain and that this
community will not forget his tragically untimely loss. Well, Bestie's

(46:53):
That is it for this episode of Morbidology. As always,
thank you so much for listening, and I'd like to
say a massive thank you to my new supporter up
on Patreon, Paladin. The link for Patreon is in the
show notes if you'd like to join, and you can
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are absolutely no obligations. You can cancel your subscription at
any point if you didn't know. Morbidology is also nie

(47:15):
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Remember to check us out at morbidology dot com for
more information about this episode and to read some true
crime articles. Until next time, take care of yourselves, stay safe,
and have an amazing week.