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Thread: Cathy Lynn Sarinana - California Death Row

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    Cathy Lynn Sarinana - California Death Row


    Conrad Morales


    Ricky Morales


    Cathy Lynn Sarinana


    Summary of Offense:

    Raul Ricardo Sarinana and his estranged wife, Cathy Lynn, repeatedly abused and ultimately killed their 11-year-old nephew, Ricky Morales, leaving him to die alone in a closet on Christmas Day 2005. They had been convicted in March 2009 of first-degree murder and torture in Ricky's death, with the two separate juries -- one for each defendant -- hearing evidence also recommending that the pair be executed. Raul Sarinana kicked the child to death after the boy threw up a meal his aunt had made on Christmas Day 2005. Months earlier, Raul Sarinana allegedly killed Ricky's 14-year-old brother, Conrad, in a Randle, Washington mobile home, where the Sarinanas lived with their two small children and nephews prior to relocating to Corona. The Morales brothers went to live with the Raul and Cathy after their mother was briefly jailed in an assault case in Los Angeles County and their father was deported.

    Cathy Sarinana was sentenced to death in Riverside County on June 26, 2009.

    Raul Sarinana was sentenced to death in Riverside County on July 2, 2009. For more on him, see: http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/...rnia-Death-Row

  2. #2
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    February 2, 2009

    Raul & Cathy Sarinana Sentenced to Death in 2005 Cali Murder of Nephew

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Opening statements got under way Monday in the trial of a Corona couple accused of murdering their 11-year-old nephew.

    Ricky Morales was found dead in a closet in the couple's home on Dec. 26, 2005.

    Raul Sarinana faces murder and torture charges. His wife Cathy is also charged with murder and child endangerment.

    According to court documents, the Sarinanas called 911 to report Ricky's death and told investigators that he had been disciplined after refusing to eat his breakfast.

    An autopsy showed the boy died from massive internal injuries. Riverside County deputy medical examiner Dr. Mark Fajardo also found "multiple external traumatic injuries," according to a pretrial brief filed by the prosecution.

    "Scars on Ricky's body (were) consistent with being whipped with an electrical cord or similar instrument," the brief states. "Ricky's scrotum was damaged with a penetrating laceration, and his scrotal sac was severely damaged... There were multiple scars to Ricky's scalp, primarily centered on the back of his head.

    "Finally, there were multiple circular injuries consistent with cigarette burns located throughout Ricky's body that were determined to be at least several weeks, if not several months, old."

    According to the brief, Raul Sarinana told police that on Christmas Day 2005, Ricky was not eating, which his aunt viewed as an insult. Raul Sarinana told investigators he ordered his nephew to clean the bathroom, and when the boy appeared to be going too slow, Sarinana kicked him, court papers state.

    Raul Sarinana told police he threw the boy in a bedroom closet as a disciplinary measure, and when the child appeared to be trying to get out, he kicked him again, according to the brief.

    The Sarinanas apparently returned to the closet hours later to find their nephew dead.

    The day after Ricky's body was found, investigators discovered his older brother's body encased in concrete outside the home. Investigators say 13-year-old Conrad Morales was killed in Washington several months earlier. The couple is being charged for Conrad's murder in Washington.

    The judge is allowing a journal kept by Conrad to be used as evidence in the trial. The district attorney says the journal will paint a picture of what home life was like while the kids lived with their aunt and uncle. It reportedly details frustration from the older brother, explaining problems he apparently had with wetting his bed, as well as questions about his own sexuality.

    Separate juries will hear evidence for each defendant. As opening statements go forward, the two 12 person juries will have to decide whether there is enough evidence to show that Raul and Cathy Sarinana tortured and murdered their nephew.

    The prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the Sarinanas. In opening statements, the DA said there was prolonged, repeated abuse, which killed the 11-year-old.

    The defense says Raul Sarinanas was going through a lot of problems and was on medication, and in no way meant for the child to die.

    Source

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    February 6, 2009

    Corona couple's murder trial on hold

    The trial of two Corona residents charged with the Christmas Day 2005 death of their nephew has been put on hold because of other commitments by the defense attorneys, a district attorney's spokesman said.

    The trial of Raul Ricardo Sarinana, 41, and Cathy Lynn Sarinana, 32, is scheduled to resume Feb. 23, said spokesman John Hall.

    Raul Sarinana is charged with murder and a torture enhancement in the death of Ricky Morales, 11, who investigators say died in a closet while others in the house had a holiday dinner. Cathy Sarinana is charged with murder and child endangerment.

    Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty against both, also say they believe the Sarinanas killed Ricky's brother, Conrad Morales, 13, in August 2005 in Washington state.

    Defense attorney Victor Marshall, who is representing Raul Sarinana, has said that his client admitted to fatally injuring Ricky but that it was unintentional.

    He said Raul Sarinana was experiencing stress at the time because his wife was suffering with cancer and because of family issues, and that he had anger issues that were being addressed through medication.

    Attorney Patrick A. Rosetti, who represents Cathy Sarinana, has said his client is also a victim in the case because of her husband's anger and that she was physically and mentally abused.

    Source

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    March 26, 2009

    Jurors found Raul and Cathy Sarinana guilty of torturing and murdering their 11-year-old nephew, Ricky Morales, who died in a closet on Christmas Day 2005 while the family enjoyed a holiday meal.

    Verdicts for the two juries -- one for each defendant -- were announced this afternoon after a trial that lasted nearly four weeks.

    The Corona couple now faces the penalty phase of their trials. Prosecutors are seeking death sentences.

    The Sarinanas also may face trial in Washington, where police say they killed Ricky's brother Conrad Morales, 13. Conrad's body was found encased in concrete in a trash can at the Sarinanas' Corona home.

    Raul Sarinana told police he kicked Ricky to discipline him for not cleaning a bathroom fast enough but did not mean to kill the boy. Cathy Sarinana's attorney said his client was a victim of Raul's abuse and did not help torture or kill Ricky.

    Investigators found Ricky's body covered with bruises, abrasions and marks that looked like cigarette burns and scars from an electrical cord. A pathologist testified that some injuries were days or even weeks old.

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    April 9, 2009

    Defense attorneys this week portrayed Raul and Cathy Sarinana, convicted in March of murdering their 11-year-old nephew, as people with enough problems in their pasts and enough value to the world that they should be spared the death penalty.

    Ricky Morales died in a closet in the Sarinanas' Corona home on Christmas Day 2005. The penalty phase of their trial began April 1 and is expected to wrap up early next week. Two juries -- one for each defendant -- will recommend either death or life in prison without parole.

    Deputy District Attorney John Aki has argued that Raul and Cathy Sarinana deserve a death sentence because they cruelly tortured and killed Ricky as well as his brother, Conrad Morales, 13, whose remains were found encased in concrete in a trash can in the Sarinanas' carport.

    The couple could face trial in Washington state, where authorities believe Conrad was killed.

    This week, jurors heard about Raul Sarinana's troubled upbringing. His sister Bertha Cevallos said their parents beat him with a belt for discipline, and some of the family treated him like he wasn't good enough.

    Other witnesses, including a sheriff's deputy who escorted Raul to and from the court, described the man as someone who cooked meals for an elderly neighbor, and as a pleasant, nonconfrontational man with an artistic bent. Several drawings attributed to him were shown to jurors.

    Cathy Sarinana's attorney called on Billie Jo Espitia, the mother of Cathy's best teenage friend, who testified that Cathy was loving, funny and like another daughter to her.

    Jurors were told Cathy has turned her life around in prison. Two women who run a prison ministry said she has been attending services for six months or more and they believe she studies the Bible on her own.

    "I think she was sincere" in committing her life to Jesus, Teresa Villegas-Fowler said. "I've seen the changes in Cathy."

    But one expected witness was not called. Attorney Patrick Rossetti, representing Cathy Sarinana, opted at the last minute not to offer testimony from a psychiatrist who has evaluated her. So far no expert witness has discussed Cathy's mental state, although Rossetti has argued she was abused by Raul Sarinana and has battered woman syndrome.

    Raul Sarinana's attorneys' strategy at this stage of the trial included not only showing their client's merits, but subtly shifting blame to the other defendant.

    Richard Swanson asked several witnesses close to Raul Sarinana whether they had ever seen him smoke, a reference to the prosecution's charge that cigarette burns were among the torture inflicted on the boys. Earlier testimony showed Cathy Sarinana was the smoker in the household.

    After a forensic pathologist told jurors last week about the condition of Conrad's body, Swanson asked a surprise question about Ricky: Could some of his injuries -- including broken ribs that ultimately punctured a lung -- have been caused by something heavy, such as a large person sitting on him?

    Mark Fajardo, the pathologist, agreed that was possible. Though Swanson never mentioned Cathy Sarinana, who told police in a 2005 interview that she weighed nearly 500 pounds, several jurors glanced her way.

    Just as Aki last week asked the murdered boys' sisters what their loss meant, Rossetti sought to show that Cathy Sarinana will be mourned if she is put to death. In answer to cross-examination by Aki, Espitia offered her opinion.

    "I just don't think that killing her is going to bring anything back," Espitia told Aki. "I don't think it's going to change anything."

    Source

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    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    April 22, 2009

    Two Riverside County juries today recommended death for Raul Ricardo Sarinana and his wife, Cathy Lynn Sarinana, who were convicted in March of torturing and killing their 11-year-old nephew.

    Ricky Morales, one of two nephews who died while in the Sarinanas' care, was found dead in a closet at the Corona couple's home the day after Christmas in 2005.

    Authorities say Ricky's brother, Conrad Morales, 13, was killed in Randle, Wash., several months before the Sarinanas moved back to California. His body was found in a concrete-filled trash can in the carport at the family's Corona duplex.

    Separate juries for Cathy Sarinana, 32, and Raul Sarinana, 42, reached sentencing decisions Monday and Tuesday, respectively, but the judge sealed them so they could be made public at the same time.

    Authorities in Lewis County, Wash., where Conrad died, were awaiting the outcome of the Riverside County case before deciding whether to prosecute the Sarinanas for the older boy's death.

    Judge Paul E. Zellerbach has the final say in sentencing the couple. He may follow a jury's recommendation of death or impose life in prison without parole instead.

    During the trial, defense attorneys argued that Raul had anger problems and did not mean to kill Ricky, and that Cathy was a victim of Raul's abuse and lived in fear of him.

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  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Counsel was appointed to represent Sarinana on direct appeal on December 24, 2013.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...doc_no=S174709

  8. #8
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    On February 1, 2018, Sarinana filed her initial brief on direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...pRICAgCg%3D%3D

  9. #9
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    On the 26th of October 2018, the prosecution filed its response.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....pRICAgCg%3D%3D

  10. #10
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Sarinana's direct appeal has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since October 28, 2019.

    https://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca....pRICAgCg%3D%3D

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