Corey Mitchell will be signing copies and discussing Pure Murder at the Barnes & Noble at Northwoods in San Antonio, Texas, this Saturday, August 9, at 2:00 p.m.
This past Monday, my fellow In Cold Blogger Andy Kahan called me at 8:18 am. He was incensed about an article that appeared above-the-fold front page of The Houston Chronicle written by Allan Turner. (In the hardcopy version the story was titled In case that shook city, controversial execution nears, A1, 8/4/08. Online it has been changed to Houston girls' killer set to die Tuesday despite U.N. order.)
Kahan believed Turner made several misstatements in regard to the murder case of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena and the impending execution of killer Jose Medellin (pictured left) and asked me to craft a reply. After reading my letter, Kahan asked if he could sign off on it as well. I, of course, agreed and sent it off to the Chronicle, as well as The Dallas Morning News, The Austin American-Statesman, and The San Antonio Express-News.
Within an hour-and-a-half I received a response from Veronica Bucio Turner, the Letters and Assistant Op-ed Editor for the Chronicle. She stated, "We are interested in publishing your letter." For whatever reason, my letter was not published in Tuesday's morning paper, nor in any of the other Texas cities' newspapers.
Below is the letter I sent to the Chronicle (and additional Texas newspapers):
To the editors of the Houston Chronicle:
As the author of the recently released book, Pure Murder, about the murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, I was surprised to read the wealth of incorrect information in this morning’s above-the-fold front-page article by Allan Turner (In case that shook city, controversial execution nears, A1).
Turner’s article decidedly favors the position of Jose “Joe” (the name he preferred to be called and also what he later tattooed on his body) Medellin and his claim that he was denied access to the Mexican consulate by the Houston Police Department. Turner wrote, “Medellin insists he told both Houston police and Harris County officers that he is a Mexican citizen,” upon his arrest. To prepare for writing Pure Murder, I pored through thousands of pages of court documents including motions, court proceedings, and confessions from all six defendants in this case. I never once came across any documentation that Medellin ever made such a claim.
Turner also failed to mention in his article, as has the entirety of the news media in regard to its coverage of the murders of Pena and Ertman, that Joe Medellin’s parents, Maria Felipa Medellin and Venancio Medellin Armendariz, Sr., legally migrated to the United States and filed the proper paperwork to become naturalized citizens. Joe’s parents then sent for their young boy to come to Houston, however, they simply failed to file the proper paperwork on his behalf.
At the time he participated in the rapes and murders of Elizabeth and Jennifer, Joe Medellin had already spent more than half of his life in the United States. He benefited from the Houston Independent School District’s educational system and was considered an outstanding student at Holden Elementary where he excelled in science and math. He participated in several science fairs, which he often won, and was rewarded with such uniquely American and Texan rewards as a trip to NASA and the San Jacinto Museum and Battleship. Joe would later receive a Texas government sanctioned driver’s license. He would also be a guest of the Harris County sheriff’s department and Houston police department as a young criminal before his involvement in the murders. (Joe Medellin never once proclaimed that he was a Mexican citizen after any of his many previous arrests. It wasn’t until it became convenient for him, years after his murder conviction, did he claim to be a “Mexican National.”). He spoke perfectly fluent English, he worked amongst other American citizens earning U.S. dollars for his efforts, and he even expressed in interest in joining the United States military.
Turner’s article also stated that Medellin “grew up in poverty amid drug abuse and an unstable home environment.” The reality, however, is quite different. Medellin’s family was actually very loving toward their son and his younger brother, Venancio “Yuni”, Jr. From interviews and deposition testimony I learned that Medellin’s family was indeed very stable. I wrote, “The Medellins also made sure their children knew the difference between right and wrong. They were taught to be respectful of others and to treat people kindly. Though the family was not wealthy with material possessions, they shared a wealth of love and support that would keep them going forward during the most difficult times.” To claim that the Medellin home was “unstable” is a disservice to parents who did everything in their power to raise their boys to be the best they could.
If the public wants to know the truth about Joe Medellin’s claims that he requested consulate representation or that he was a deprived and neglected child, please read my book, Pure Murder, for the real story. If the public wants to know the truth of what Joe Medellin is capable of, head down to the Harris County courthouse and request to view the crime scene photos of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. If you are able to recover from the grim sight of the maggot-infested and halfway devoured naked bodies of Jennifer and Elizabeth, read Joe’s confession or his younger brother Yuni’s confession. Learn how Medellin abducted Elizabeth, how he engaged in a gang rape of the virginal Jennifer, and understand why he chose to pull that shoestring around Elizabeth's petite throat until he choked the life out of her, how he stomped on Elizabeth’s face nearly decapitating her, how he later bragged about having “the blood of a virgin” on his underwear, to his total lack of remorse in the courtroom during his trial and to a Catholic priest years later, to his inability to blame himself for his crime and to excuse it as making an “adolescent choice.”
Tuesday’s potential punishment of Joe Medellin should not boil down to an issue of his immigrant status but rather the willing actions and misdeeds of a young man who spent more than half his life in the United States, who benefited from the services this country has to offer, and believed himself to be an American citizen.
Tuesday’s punishment should instead be viewed in light of the victims who literally had their lives stomped out of them by Joe Medellin. It should be viewed as a brutal, cold-blooded killing of two American citizens by another American citizen. It should not be an issue of paperwork.
Sincerely,
Corey Mitchell
Author of Pure Murder
Andy Kahan
City of Houston Mayor’s Crime Victims Office
As the author of the recently released book, Pure Murder, about the murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, I was surprised to read the wealth of incorrect information in this morning’s above-the-fold front-page article by Allan Turner (In case that shook city, controversial execution nears, A1).
Turner’s article decidedly favors the position of Jose “Joe” (the name he preferred to be called and also what he later tattooed on his body) Medellin and his claim that he was denied access to the Mexican consulate by the Houston Police Department. Turner wrote, “Medellin insists he told both Houston police and Harris County officers that he is a Mexican citizen,” upon his arrest. To prepare for writing Pure Murder, I pored through thousands of pages of court documents including motions, court proceedings, and confessions from all six defendants in this case. I never once came across any documentation that Medellin ever made such a claim.
Turner also failed to mention in his article, as has the entirety of the news media in regard to its coverage of the murders of Pena and Ertman, that Joe Medellin’s parents, Maria Felipa Medellin and Venancio Medellin Armendariz, Sr., legally migrated to the United States and filed the proper paperwork to become naturalized citizens. Joe’s parents then sent for their young boy to come to Houston, however, they simply failed to file the proper paperwork on his behalf.
At the time he participated in the rapes and murders of Elizabeth and Jennifer, Joe Medellin had already spent more than half of his life in the United States. He benefited from the Houston Independent School District’s educational system and was considered an outstanding student at Holden Elementary where he excelled in science and math. He participated in several science fairs, which he often won, and was rewarded with such uniquely American and Texan rewards as a trip to NASA and the San Jacinto Museum and Battleship. Joe would later receive a Texas government sanctioned driver’s license. He would also be a guest of the Harris County sheriff’s department and Houston police department as a young criminal before his involvement in the murders. (Joe Medellin never once proclaimed that he was a Mexican citizen after any of his many previous arrests. It wasn’t until it became convenient for him, years after his murder conviction, did he claim to be a “Mexican National.”). He spoke perfectly fluent English, he worked amongst other American citizens earning U.S. dollars for his efforts, and he even expressed in interest in joining the United States military.
Turner’s article also stated that Medellin “grew up in poverty amid drug abuse and an unstable home environment.” The reality, however, is quite different. Medellin’s family was actually very loving toward their son and his younger brother, Venancio “Yuni”, Jr. From interviews and deposition testimony I learned that Medellin’s family was indeed very stable. I wrote, “The Medellins also made sure their children knew the difference between right and wrong. They were taught to be respectful of others and to treat people kindly. Though the family was not wealthy with material possessions, they shared a wealth of love and support that would keep them going forward during the most difficult times.” To claim that the Medellin home was “unstable” is a disservice to parents who did everything in their power to raise their boys to be the best they could.
If the public wants to know the truth about Joe Medellin’s claims that he requested consulate representation or that he was a deprived and neglected child, please read my book, Pure Murder, for the real story. If the public wants to know the truth of what Joe Medellin is capable of, head down to the Harris County courthouse and request to view the crime scene photos of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. If you are able to recover from the grim sight of the maggot-infested and halfway devoured naked bodies of Jennifer and Elizabeth, read Joe’s confession or his younger brother Yuni’s confession. Learn how Medellin abducted Elizabeth, how he engaged in a gang rape of the virginal Jennifer, and understand why he chose to pull that shoestring around Elizabeth's petite throat until he choked the life out of her, how he stomped on Elizabeth’s face nearly decapitating her, how he later bragged about having “the blood of a virgin” on his underwear, to his total lack of remorse in the courtroom during his trial and to a Catholic priest years later, to his inability to blame himself for his crime and to excuse it as making an “adolescent choice.”
Tuesday’s potential punishment of Joe Medellin should not boil down to an issue of his immigrant status but rather the willing actions and misdeeds of a young man who spent more than half his life in the United States, who benefited from the services this country has to offer, and believed himself to be an American citizen.
Tuesday’s punishment should instead be viewed in light of the victims who literally had their lives stomped out of them by Joe Medellin. It should be viewed as a brutal, cold-blooded killing of two American citizens by another American citizen. It should not be an issue of paperwork.
Sincerely,
Corey Mitchell
Author of Pure Murder
Andy Kahan
City of Houston Mayor’s Crime Victims Office
Comments for this post
