A Texas death row inmate was deemed “actually innocent” by a judge who recommended her capital murder conviction be overturned as new evidence affirmed her daughter died from an accidental fall.
Melissa Lucio, a mother of 14 living in Brownsville, Texas, was arrested and charged in 2007 for the murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah Alvarez who had turned purple and unresponsive at home.
Since her conviction in 2008 on capital murder, Lucio – with the help of a majority of the Texas legislature and reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian – maintained her innocence claiming her daughter had fallen down a flight of stairs and said prosecutors relied on false testimony and flawed evidence.
Cameron County District 138 Court Judge Arturo Nelson found that Lucio is “actually innocent” and did not kill her daughter,” according to court documents obtained by KPRC.
Additional evidence, that had been withheld by prosecutors during Lucio’s trial, was submitted and used to convince Nelson of her innocence.
“In light of the new evidence, there is such clear and convincing evidence of innocence that no rational juror would have convicted (Lucio).” Nelson wrote.
Prosecutors alleged at the time that little Mariah had numerous signs of trauma and bruising that covered her body when paramedics unsuccessfully attempted to revive the toddler on Feb. 17, 2007, court records viewed by The Post showed.
Among the bodily wounds were scratches and a bite mark.
Medical Examiner Dr. Norma Jean Farley testified that Mariah died as a result of head trauma, as the toddler’s injuries “could only have been caused by intentional physical abuse exerted within 24 hours of her death.”
Farley’s testimony ruled out any possibility that the toddler’s injuries were the result of an accidental fall.
Texas Ranger Victor Escalon, who had interrogated Lucio the night of her daughter’s death, determined the mother’s guilt based on her demeanor.
“Escalon testifying that (Lucio) was not making eye contact with the investigator and had her head down and, accordingly: right there and then, knew she did something. And she was ashamed of what she did, and she had hard time admitting what had occurred.”
During her interrogation, Lucio admitted that her daughter’s “condition” had deteriorated in the two days between her fall and her death, including becoming heavily congested and lethargic, with vomiting and lockjaw as two noticeable symptoms.
Lucio and her husband, Robert Alvarez, never sought medical care for their daughter but repeatedly denied causing her death.
After being shown a photo of her dead daughter, Lucio told investigators she had slapped, pinched and bitten Mariah and agreed to be responsible for her death, but never admitted to causing it, court documents revealed.
Child Protective Services took custody of eight of Lucio’s children, with at least one telling police he witnessed Mariah’s fall.
Nelson found the jury had determined a verdict based on the false testimony by Farley and the incorrect testimony from Escalon.
Lucio’s case caught the attention of Kardashian in 2022, when ten of her children penned a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles pleading for them to drop their mother’s death sentence.
“We ask you to spare the life of our mother, Melissa Lucio. We ask you for closure. We ask for peace,” the letter said.
Kardashian called the letter “heartbreaking” and said there were “many unresolved questions surrounding this case and the evidence that was used.”
“This is one of the many reasons why I am against the death penalty – and why I pray her children’s wish is granted and their mother’s life is spared,” she wrote in a post to Facebook.
The case moves to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals which will rule whether to accept Nelson’s recommendation to overrule Lucio’s murder conviction and death sentence.
If Lucio remains on death row, she would be the first Latina put to death by Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.
She has been held at the Patrick O’Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
