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EDINBURG — The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in the case of a 62-year-old Harlingen man who was convicted in the stabbing of his ex-girlfriend in 2016.
Sigifredo Ramos Jr. was convicted of attempted capital murder and unlawful restraint last week for stabbing Diana De La Cerda on Sept. 25, 2016.
He was acquitted of capital murder for the fatal stabbing of Felipe Vega, De La Cerda’s 24-year-old son. He was also acquitted of three counts of aggravated sexual assault.
Tuesday ushered in the punishment phase of the trial with defense attorney Noe Robles and prosecutor Magdalena Hinojosa calling several witnesses to take the stand.
De La Cerda was the first to take the stand.
She described her son as non-confrontational. She said he loved animals, fishing and playing video games.
When asked why she woke up her son an hour or so before his shift at Walgreens began, De La Cerda stated she did so because Ramos was chasing her with a knife.
Robles objected multiple times to Hinojosa’s line of questioning and was overruled every time.
De La Cerda said her son would sometimes jump in bed with her to cuddle on his days off.
“I couldn’t ask for a better son,” De La Cerda said through tears. “He was always with me from the beginning.”
When asked when she found out he was dead, De La Cerda stated that she was informed at the hospital, but knew he was dead before arriving there because she saw him draw his last breath.
Hinojosa asked De La Cerda how she felt when she laid next to her dying son, both bleeding out, she responded with one word, “dead.”
De La Cerda asked and begged the jury not to give Sigifredo Ramos his freedom.
“He took my son,” De La Cerda said. “He doesn’t deserve to be out.”
Robles asked De La Cerda if she was ready to take responsibility for her son’s death as she was the one who woke him up to help her as Sigifredo Ramos chased her with a knife.
She rejected his question and stated that Felipe Vega wasn’t the one chasing her with the knife.
Felipe Vega’s sister, Criselda Crystal Vega, testified that she was living in California when she received a call from her younger brother stating that something had happened to him.
She attempted to call her mom, but was unsuccessful, so she called her dad who was uninformed regarding the situation.
Criselda Vega said she drove down the Rio Grande Valley and found her mom distraught in the hospital.
“She wouldn’t speak,” she said.
Felipe Vega’s sister described her brother as reliable, stating that when she had her daughter, he was always there to help her.
She said the last thing he sent her was an “I love you.”
Criselda Vega revealed that she moved back after the incident.
“Nothing’s ever been the same,” Criselda Vega told the jury.
Her mother now suffers from PTSD and is taking medication for it. De La Cerda said she feels safe when her back is facing a wall because she believes someone will come up from behind and stab her.
Sigifredo Ramos’ family also testified regarding the convict and stated he was a good man who had suffered enough.
His sister and mom both mentioned how Sigifredo’s father, son and younger sister had died while he was incarcerated along with other family members.
Sigifredo was unable to attend those funerals.
“I ask God you forgive him,” Sigifredo Ramos’ sister, Nora Ramos, said.
His mother, Maria Garcia Ramos, said that Sigifredo Ramos was the one who would take her to church or to the grocery store.
She profusely apologized for the incident, stating that she always prays for peace for everyone involved.
Sigifredo Ramos also took the stand.
He thanked the jury for their patience and stated he wanted to go home to take care of his mother, who uses a wheelchair, adding that jail is full of young men who have no respect for older people.
Sigifredo Ramos also testified that he had caught COVID in 2021 and almost died. He isolated for seven days and was put on oxygen.
He said he thought he was going to die.
He concluded his testimony by stating he would ask Felipe Vega’s family for forgiveness if he had the opportunity.
During closing arguments, Robles reminded the jury that they didn’t convict Sigifredo Ramos of capital murder.
He added that Sigifredo Ramos has done enough time in jail and has reflected on his actions.
“He is a rehabilitated person,” Robles said. “It’s all about forgiveness.”
Hinojosa, the prosecutor, disagreed and said seven years isn’t justice. She added that Sigifredo Ramos stabbed Felipe Vega in the heart and had sentenced De La Cerda and her family to a life sentence without her son.
Hinojosa said that Sigifredo Ramos has always denied killing Felipe Vega and that Sigifredo Ramos left him and De La Cerda to die when he left for Harlingen to see his family.
“[Felipe Vega] didn’t have a chance to leave,” Hinojosa said. “He died defending his mother.”
The jury had not returned a sentencing verdict by deadline.
