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Testimony by Logan Tamayo, the cousin of Jesse Harrison Jr., showed he was trying to retract statements he made to investigators days after the 13-year-old boy’s death on Jan. 23, 2021.
Thursday was the third day of the trial in the 197th state District Court of Ruben Gonzalez Cordoba, 39, who is charged with murder and several charges of whipping, beating, starvation and other types of abuse that authorities say led to the death of the boy.
Tamayo’s testimony and testimony from one of Harrison’s sister’s earlier in the trial show that Gonzalez Cordoba was actually the boyfriend of Antonia Villarreal Gonzalez, 56, rather than Harrison’s mother, 33-year-old Sabrina Loredo.
Villarreal Gonzalez and Loredo are facing the same charges. All three suspects have pleaded not guilty.
The three adults and Loredo’s children all lived in the same Sebastian home.
A video of Tamayo’s interview with Willacy County investigators, Texas Rangers and others showed him cooperating and telling authorities how he felt guilt that he had not taken the signs of distress more seriously, realizing he should have acted before the abuse that he had seen ended in tragedy.
But in the courtroom, he emphasized his drug use at the time and answered most questions with “I don’t remember.” He also said he was homeless at one point at the time.
He showed the court a bottle of pills he said were for attention deficit disorder.
A prosecutor convinced Judge Adolfo Cordova that Tamayo be considered a hostile witness and to be held during the lunch hour as prosecutors believed he was ready to flee.
On cross examination, defense attorney Nat Perez asked Tamayo if he believed some of Harrison’s scratches and bruises were from rough housing with his brother rather than from being whipped with a belt by his grandparents.
Tamayo said that was possible.
Perez asked if his video statement was probably “what we call, chisme, down here,” since not much solid information was available in days following the boy’s death.
Tamayo said that was correct.
Earlier in the trial, Harrison’s sister referred to Gonzalez Cordoba and Villarreal Gonzalez a grandpa and grandma and said they did most of the whipping of Harrison, but that Villarreal Gonzalez did most of the mothering and that once in awhile his mother, Loredo, fed him, but only when Villarreal Gonzalez was gone.
Villarreal Gonzalez also helped him with his Zoom lessons.
Testimony continues Friday.
