Two women, a grandmother and her former daughter in law, were convicted for a vicious attack on another woman when the pair hired some juveniles to throw acid on the victim, Esperanza Medina, in July 2008. Medina received chemical burns on 30% of her body; a large portion of the burns were on her face, and Medina is disfigured for the rest of her life.
Following a criminal investigation, Ofelia Garcia, age 60, and ex-daughter-in-law, Maria Olvera-Garcia were charged.
The attack was launched after a series of domestic events; the elder Garcia found that her common law husband (Mr. Alvarez) of 32-years, admitted to having several relationships with Medina during the couple’s turbulent common-law matrimony. When Mr. Alvarez quit the elder Garcia for good, he began a monogamous relationship with the victim (Medina). When his common-law wife confronted Alvarez, he admitted his affair. The 60-year old grandmother reacted in violent anger, trying at one point to hire a Private Detective in an effort to locate Medina. While the details have not been released, the private detective declined to take Garcia’s case.
Somehow, the two Garcia women located Medina after their efforts to solicit an investigator failed. Ofelia Garcia, afraid to attack Medina on her own, sought help from three local juveniles. Their orders were to beat Medina with a bat, steal her purse, and pour sulfuric acid on her. The attack took place in July 2008 as Medina left her home for work.
As more details were discovered regarding the case, the twisted relationship between Ofelia Garcia and Mr. Alvarez rose to the surface; the elder Garcia’s accomplice, her ex-daughter-in-law, had an affair with Mr. Alvarez at one point during the common-law marriage.
A third woman, Linda Dirzo, was also charged; she transported the juveniles to Medina’s home on that fateful July 2008 morning.
Olvera-Garcia, one-time daughter-in-law, confessed that Ofelia Garcia offered her between $5,000 and $6,000 to disfigure Medina’s face with a knife. When she refused, they both decided to recruit the teens.
Since the attack, both the three women, and the three teens, have been incarcerated while awaiting trial. Linda Dirzo, the driver who transported the teens to Medina’s home, died in jail in December 2009. Two of three teens plead guilty to aggravated battery charges. The third teen, a female that served as a lookout, received two years probation.
We applaud the Private Investigator who turned down Ofelia Garcia’s case; not only does it show an upright stance regarding the law, but it also reveals a good bit of common sense in the face of a criminal act that’s extremely rare.
