When Those Who Should Protect Become the Monsters: Genny Roja's Tragic Life

Transcript

Jenny's Brief, Brutal Life

Speaker 1 0:00

Three-year-old Jenny Rojas spent only a short time on Earth , but during that short time she endured more than most adults in their lifetime . She was passed around three homes and didn't learn to properly communicate or use the potty . Sadly , she didn't get the chance to reach those routine childhood milestones before she slipped through the cracks into her early grave . Welcome to this episode of Human Wreckage . This episode we look at , the case of Jenny Rojas . Cases like this really break my heart . In this case we look at true human garbage , also known as Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez , and the evil they committed . Let's get into it , thank you

The Deadly Discovery

Speaker 1 1:10

. At around 9 pm on the 21st of July 1995 , veronica Gonzalez ran from her Chula Vista , california apartment with the lifeless body of her niece , jenny , in her arms . She took her to a neighbor's apartment who was a nurse , and asked her to perform CPR . The nurse tried to resuscitate Jenny , but it was already far too late . Jenny was dead . When asked what had happened , veronica and her husband , ivan Gonzalez , said that Jenny had drowned . However , jenny was riddled with burn marks and bruises and when questioned by the neighbor , ivan claimed that they didn't know how to control the water . The couple fell under an even darker cloud of suspicion when they asked the neighbor not to call police , saying that they would be blamed for Jenny's death . The neighbor , however , immediately called the police . Following the phone call , ivan ran back to the apartment and began to clean up . When police arrived at the scene , they described the apartment as filthy and roach-infested and said that the other children inside the apartment were covered with lice .

Speaker 1 2:09

At the time of her death , jenny had been living with her aunt and uncle in their apartment on Hilltop Drive due to the fact

Unimaginable Abuse Revealed

Speaker 1 2:15

that her parents had abused her . She had been removed from the abusive situation when she was just two years old and her birth mother , mary Rojas , lived in Corona with her six other children while her birth father was in prison for child molestation . He had pleaded guilty to sexually abusing Jenny's six-year-old half-sister . Jenny's aunt and uncle were on welfare and addicted to methamphetamine . Nevertheless , they offered to care for Jenny . When the young girl moved in , the two-bedroom apartment was already crowded with two adults and six other children . From the moment girl moved in , the two-bedroom apartment was already crowded with two adults and six other children .

Speaker 1 2:46

From the moment she moved in , jenny's fate was sealed and she suffered unimaginable abuse at the hands of those who she believed were there to care for her . Jenny was forced to sleep in a wooden box or behind a door on a blanket covered with blood and feces . Veronica would often hang Jenny in the closet by her hands to scare her , and she would burn her cheeks with a blow dryer . She would often be held under hot water , burning her so badly that most of her hair fell out . The remaining hair that didn't fall out was pulled out by Veronica . Jenny would also be frequently beaten and bound with handcuffs . In addition , jenny had been systematically starved . On the day she died , she was submerged in boiling hot water in the bathtub . The water had been so hot that Jenny's skin had peeled off her body . The couple waited for hours while Jenny slowly died before seeking assistance .

Speaker 1 3:36

The grim death of Jenny Rojas reverberated in the community and led to many people questioning how this could happen . Were there no checks in place ? As it turned out , there wasn't . After being abused by her birth parents , jenny was placed in her grandmother's custody in a guardian arrangement that did not require the supervision of a social worker . However , her grandmother decided to pass her off to Veronica and Ivan . San Diego County Child Protection officials announced that they only learned about Jenny when she died and her case was brought to the county's Child Fatality Committee . We were never jurisdictionally involved in any placement or supervision activities . We were never jurisdictionally involved in any placement or supervision activities . We've had no referral on the Rojas girl . There is no way anyone would know about it , said Ivory Johnson , head of San Diego County's

System Failures and Community Impact

Speaker 1 4:20

Children's Services Bureau .

Speaker 1 4:25

California law favors placing abused children with families so strongly that sometimes children can end up in even worse situations . Increased monitoring of families after placement costs money that lawmakers continually voted against spending , said the director of the Western Division of the Child Welfare League of America . We want it all , we just don't want to pay for it . Eileen Mayer's pastor , said this little girl paid with her life . Other than Jenny's family , few people even knew that she existed . In fact , the first time that most of her neighbors knew of her existence was when her lifeless body was carried outside by Veronica . One neighbor , alicia Montes , said that the apartments had a real community feel and most of the children played together outside , but those in the Gonzalez household didn't . Alicia told the San Diego Union Tribune that she had met some of the Gonzalez children when they came to her apartment and asked for milk and a light bulb . Another neighbor , mercy Sanchez , said it was common to see the Gonzalez children peering out the window .

Speaker 1 5:21

Following the arrest of Veronica and Ivan , prosecutors announced that they would be seeking the death penalty . It was the first time in county history that a couple faces a death sentence in a child abuse case . It was the first time in county history that a couple faces a death sentence in a child abuse case . Law enforcement officials said that the case was one of the worst that they had ever seen and during a court hearing detailing the evidence against the couple , some couldn't fight back tears .

Speaker 1 5:42

During the preliminary hearing , the courtroom was horrified by the testimony of Jenny's 8-year-old cousin , who quietly recounted that he and his five brothers and sisters were also abused inside the dingy apartment . He described how they two were hit with belts , a metal bar and a plastic bat . He confessed that Jenny's treatment was always far more brutal , but said that he wasn't sure why . He said that on occasion he and his siblings tried to sneak Jenny food but were beaten if caught . According to Jenny's cousin , he watched through the door as both of his parents took turns pouring boiling hot water over Jenny's head as she screamed in pain .

Speaker 1 6:19

Veronica and Ivan both turned on one another and blamed the other for Jenny's death . According to Veronica , she was a victim of spousal abuse and according to Ivan , he too was a victim of spousal abuse . Each one told the court that they were battered by the other and only partook in the abuse out of fear . However , these claims were contradicted by the testimony of their own son

Trial, Testimony, and Justice

Speaker 1 6:40

, who witnessed the murder . Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez were both found guilty and sentenced to death . They became the first married couple awaiting execution on California's death row for the same crime . Jenny was initially buried in an unmarked grave , but when the case was documented in the media , locals were so moved that they donated money for a headstone . That concludes this episode . Ivan and Veronica Gonzalez should go through the same awful experience that little Jenny did . Till next time , please take care of yourselves . Thank

Episode Conclusion

Speaker 1 7:34

you .