Trial next week could free Oregon man jailed for 900 days; he isn’t the defendant
A man held nearly 900 days as a material witness to a murder will finally be called to the witness stand when his son goes on trial next week.
Benito Vasquez-Hernandez, 59, has been detained “897 days and counting,” the Oregonian reported in a March 12 article. He may be the longest-held material witness in Oregon and the nation, the newspaper says. Prosecutors argue he needed to stay behind bars because his testimony is essential and he would probably flee if released.
Vasquez-Hernandez’s son, Eloy Vasquez-Santiago, is charged with fatally stabbing a co-worker in August 2012. Vasquez-Santiago told police he stabbed the woman while on a date because she insulted him. He gave only vague answers when asked where the body could be found.
The newspaper explored details of the case in a lengthy story.
Vasquez-Hernandez and another son of Vasquez-Hernandez’s, Moises Vasquez-Santiago, gave detectives information that implicated Eloy in the slaying before his arrest. Vasquez-Hernandez told detectives he saw blood in Eloy’s van. Moises Vasquez-Santiago said Eloy had confessed he committed the slaying, and said his father had seen Eloy hide a knife.
Vasquez-Hernandez and Moises Vasquez-Santiago were initially arrested on hindering-prosecution charges, though the charges were later dropped without explanation. When Eloy Vasquez-Santiago turned himself in, he urged police to free his brother and father. But a detective indicated there would be no quick release, the newspaper says.
“I can’t let go of your family until I find the body, until I find the truth from you–all of the details,” the detective said. “Because they’re all witnesses that can tell me what you said to them.”
Moises Vasquez-Santiago was held 727 days in jail before his release last September. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia and said he likely suffered his first psychotic break in jail. He watched television even when it was turned off and walked an imaginary dog.
Moises Vasquez-Santiago gained his release after giving a rambling video deposition in which he said once again that his brother had admitted the slaying.
When Benito Vasquez-Hernandez appeared for the video deposition, he repeatedly said he didn’t do anything and asked why he was in jail. According to the newspaper account, Vasquez-Hernandez “repeated himself so often, the judge grew frustrated and eventually yelled, ‘Get him out of here.’ His testimony hadn’t even started.”
Hat tip to the Marshall Project.
