Everyone Knew
A family headed toward tragedy—while Santa Fe watched
By: Corey Pein 07/08/2009
She was 14, he was 18. They met at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, where she was a camp counselor and he just hung around. It beat staying home.
Amanda Ewers and Marino K Leyba Jr., better known as Reno, dated for two years. Actually, they were infatuated. She was pretty, fair and impressionable; he was handsome and intense.
“His energy was in working for his dad, me and music. He was always trying to make music,” Ewers, now 19 and living in North Carolina, recalls.
But the relationship had bigger problems than their age difference. “He was one of those guys,” Ewers says. “I wasn’t allowed to wear anything but sweatpants and big T-shirts when I wasn’t with him.”
They broke up, Ewers says, after she learned Reno had slept with her best friend. According to a restraining order Ewers’ father filed on her behalf, Reno barraged Ewers with calls and text messages. Once she awoke to find handprints on her bedroom window. Twice he threatened suicide. The first time, she called his parents. The second time, she called police.
Two weeks after the breakup, in January 2006, their relationship flamed out where it began, at the Chavez Center.
Reno found Ewers there. He told her he’d obtained a .22-caliber handgun. If the cell phone was his first weapon, this was his second.
“I am not going to go to jail,” Reno said, according to the restraining order application. “If the police come after me I am going to blast at them. I will die before I go to jail.”
Ewers fled. Despite the no-contact order, Reno continued to call. “It was not a good breakup,” Ewers says.
An understatement, sure. But it could have been worse: Reno’s next serious relationship ended in blood on May 22, 2009.
That’s when police say Reno killed his girlfriend, Sarah Marie Lovato, her unborn child, Isaac, and her father, Bennie Ray Lovato, Sr. Police assume Reno shot the family with a gun he carried working for his father’s state-licensed security company.
Ewers was not surprised to learn Reno stood accused of such a horrific crime. Perhaps no one else should have been surprised, either. The story of Reno and Sarah is one of families destroying themselves while their community, looking on, does nothing.
Leyba family members refused to comment for this story, and SFR could not reach Sarah Lovato’s immediate family. SFR reconstructed their story using a stack of police reports, court records and other documents available to anyone who cares to look—which only underscores how much happened in the open.
Dozens of cops, lawyers, judges, social workers, teachers, friends and family knew Reno was a troubled kid from a home where terrifying things happened as predictably as birthdays. They knew, from experience, that abuse follows families like a shadow. They knew Reno had a gun.
Granted, hindsight is 20/20, but Reno’s threats to Amanda weren’t the first warning. The Lovatos’ murder was heralded by more red flags than the Beijing Olympics.
Carol Horwitz, the city’s domestic and sexual violence liaison, agrees.
“All the neighbors knew, family members knew, community members knew,” Horwitz says. “If neighbors had called and said, ‘I heard screaming and fighting,’ and law enforcement had intervened, and they’d done a lethality assessment: She was pregnant; he didn’t want her to be; she had broken up with him and he had access to weapons. If she’d gone to the shelter, she’d still be alive and have had the baby. There were lots of missed opportunities to intervene.”
Police say Marino Leyba Jr., aka “Reno,” murdered his pregnant girlfriend, Sarah Lovato, her unborn child and her father, Bennie Lovato Sr.
Which leads Horwitz to an inevitable, depressing conclusion: “Our community has not stood up against domestic violence yet,” she says. “It’s still acceptable. It’s still normal and natural and commonsense—that’s the way people treat each other.”
Santa Fe’s already endemic family violence problem appears to have surged with the economic downturn. “It was just one of the busiest years, from July to June, that we’ve got recorded,” Sherry Taylor, executive director of the Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families, says.
Seventeen days after the Lovatos’ murders, a pregnant woman was severely beaten. Across town the same day, a man threw boiling water over his ex. And late last month, investigators identified four corpses in a car dredged from Cochiti Lake as a father and sons, missing since 2001; police think he may have drowned them to spite their mother.
Detective Tony Trujillo, who is investigating the Lovatos’ murders, calls it a “textbook” domestic violence case. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t any police intervention [when] it could’ve been prevented,” Trujillo says. “It’s a pattern—a cycle, they call it…There is a history between mom and dad, also.”
Comments (20)
Marc, if you'd like to list some of those sources here, I'm sure that would be helpful.
City DV Liason Carol Horwitz says people should call 911 if they witness family violence.
The local battered families' shelter has a website, here:
www.esperanzashelter.org
And their crisis line is (800) 473-5220.
Esperanza also has programs designed for abusers—and you don't have to wait until a judge sentences you to counseling to get involved. Call (505) 474-5536.
Finally—and I wasn't able to work this in to print, for space—Esperanza is seeking younger people to serve on its board. They want to expand their reach into the schools, and hopefully prevent more situations like those depicted in this story. To put your name in the hat, get ahold of Sherry Taylor at that 474-5536 number.
To The Editor. Thank you for acknowledging my response to your article. The phrase "wake-up call" is appropriate when you are discussing Marino K. Leyba and his personal relationships with females. I will stand by what I said before. Your story is sensationalistic and was written with the sole intent to inflame the public and sell papers. I feel tremendous compassion for the Leyba and Lovato families. You are looking at "extended victims" in this case. Did any of you think of this before you went the route of a tabloid rag? Did you try and find out if - for example - any family members (Leyba or Lovato) attend church? Did you try and find out if the daughter, Angel, has ever had charges for filing false claims of molestation against NON-family members? No human is perfect. No human should be excused from abusing another human. However, "freedom of the press" should not give you the right to drag everyone in a family through the mud - just because you can. I pray, for each and every person that they NEVER experience something this unspeakable. Leyba and Lovato have extended family. Do you honestly think what you printed will not affect them? If so, you are incredibly foolish or naive. Which is it?
Marc and Renee, thank you for sharing your stories and comments and, Marc, for the suggestion of creating a resource list here, which is a great one that we will follow up on. LiberteAPensador, I'm sorry you find the story sensationalistic, because nothing could be farther from its intention. Marc's term "wake-up call," is appropriate.
I read - then re-read your article about Marino K. Leyba and his family. I have traveled - extensively. I am a voracious reader. I cannot cite the last time I read such irresponsible "reporting." Perhaps you uncovered some detail others have missed - your "story" appears to put the entire Leyba family on trial. Were all members of the Leyba family present in the Lovato house the night of the crime? If NOT - you are no better than the National Enquirer and other tabloid rags. How awful, in your quest for sensationalism, you decided you had the right to try and destroy an entire family and their business. I realize the newspaper industry is dying. However, this is no excuse to try to destroy every single member of a family to sell papers. You see, this is the problem in America today. Too many people feel they have the inalienable "right" to plaster everything about a person to the public at large. I do not give two holy hoots about what you dug out of court records. I read the accusations made by Angel and Loretta Leyba. Your "story" implies all of the alleged charges are true. Obviously you FAILED to provide a responsible report by digging deeper. The TRUTH always sets you free. You are obviously still chained to innuendo and sensationalsim. The "real" story (and police reports) indicate the ONLY member of the Leyba family involved in this horrific crime is Marino K. Leyba. So, print whatever you feel will sell papers about this story involving Lovato. IF he is guilty (still innocent until proven guilty in America) then write about the FACTS. Your "reporter" surmissed A LOT. My profession requires huge amounts of investigative work. I would be fired if I turned in trash like this. You see, maybe someone else dug a lot deeper than your reporter did. Make Marino K. Leyba "man up" - if you feel the need. DO NOT attempt to destroy an entire family and call it journalism. You and everyone who supports this type of writing should be ashamed. It is not anyone's business about Angel & Loretta Leyba being in mental institutions. The part about the alleged "rape" of Loretta on December 31, 2008 did not require the graphic language. What does any of this have to do with the Leyba/Lovator case? I will tell you - absolutely NOTHING. You wanted to sensationalize the story - nothing more - nothing less. You cannot be sued for printing "facts." You should be ashamed for not substantiating things you attempted to pass off as "facts." Most people in the general public do not "research" every story they read. Many do not know how and others are too lazy to care. They rely on "reporters" to do their "researach" and "thinking" for them. I do not happen to be one of those people. I am not saying Marino K. Leyba is innocent. I am saying you should never have attacked the entire family. If they refused to comment on your "story" then I doubt they wanted to be part of a paper version of reality TV.
These stories need to be told. My daughter was only fourteen when she became involved with a an upperclassman at her high school. He was 17 at the time they started dating and I was uncomfortable with the way he seemed to consume ALL of her time and energy. He was always very respectful when he came to visit but I knew they fought alot at school. I stay on top of any absences she has, any e-mails and any activity on her social networking site. I used the nmcourts.com site and found that he had more than a few lising under his name and age. He had been found guilty of robbery and had pending domestic violence charges. I told my daughter that was no longer allowed to see him and she was very upset with me. She was mad but at the same time seemed relieved. I told her she was ending this relationship and it was MY decision. The following 3 months were a nightmare. He sent text messages, e-mails, gifts, and midnight calls. She still had to attend school and he would follow her and just stare at her. She didn't tell her teachers ( I asked her why and she said she was embarrassed, she felt that everyone would tease her for tattling on someone who was just staring at her). He turned 18 during this time. He had his mother call and ask why we wouldn't allow our daughter to date her son anymore. I told her my concerns and she admitted that even she (his mother) was afraid of him.
Our daughter became a prisoner in her own home. His messages became threatening. He started sending girls to fight with our daughter.
I kept a notebook of every call, copies of every e-mail, I wrote times and dates of when things happened. Even after he cornerd her (in a classroom) and destroyed her property, the school felt there was not a problem.
My husband called the police and although this guy had not done anything he could be arrested for, the deputy gave the instructions on how to apply for a restraining order. We filed for the protective order and waited until our hearing. Our daughter was not allowed to attend the court hearing but wanted to send a letter to the judge to tell her how this guy had made her life a nightmare. We were granted the order and it will remain in force until our daughter turns 18.
My daughter has carried this court order in her purse for nearly 2 years. She watches for him and has instructions on what to do if he or one of his cronies approaches her.
I never thought I would have to teach my daughter how to protect herself in a DV situation. She bases any relaionship she has with a boy on this unfortunate experience. I know she is smarter for it, and she watches out for her friends, but I still am sad that she had to experience it.
The signs are almost always the same, no matter race, age or level of violence.
Please watch your kids. If you suspect DV confront it and don't stop the process. These bullies just move on to the next victim.
Your current piece, "Everyone Knew," is highly disturbing and underscores the importance of our community becoming better educated and informed regarding domestic violence, substance abuse, and child abuse and neglect.
I hope this story serves as yet another wake-up call for our community regarding the ever-present social issues which beg for attention and persons availing themselves to existing social services. Education, awareness and prevention begins at home and in the schools. It would be pertient and also responsible journalism for the SFR to now also do a follow-up article on available social services, including: counseling and intervention programs, law enforcement's role, the judicial system's responsibilities, and every community member's role and responsibility to report domestic violence and child abuse to the proper authorities. Please also publish relevant State and community-funded programs and services. Don't stop now, there's more to the equation than simply shocking the public with frightening headlines.
Sincerely, Marc Perry
I realize that these events and the names were all public record, but that's generally true for sexual assaults. They stay out of the public eye only because there's a general media consensus not to publish them. I don't think your only other option was to not mention them. With Angel, you could say that the father was accused of molesting "a family member," which would make it clear that this was a dysfunctional and abusive family without pinpointing who exactly the victim was. With Loretta's case, I also think you could have used the phrase "family member" while still giving details about the nature of the incident, and explaining that it took place in an apartment complex guarded by Marino's company. I know it involves some obfuscation, but when you're giving out information that could follow a victim for the rest of her life, I think that it's worth it to try and balance privacy with your story.
Hi Lauren,
Thank you for your comment. You raise a very good point. As a general rule, yes, newspapers tend (as a matter of policy, anyway) to keep victims' names out of the paper, particularly in the case of sexual assault.
However, the various abuses written about in this story, all of which are part of a very public record and contained in documents, would make little sense if presented without identifying the people who were impacted, because it is a story about a history of abuse among a specific group of people—non-identification would make little sense in this context, leaving the only other option to be leaving out any mention of certain abuses, which I think would then cover up documented crimes that are relevant.
Thank you for your comment.
Julia
Isn't there some kind of journalistic rule against disclosing the names of rape victims? I know it's relevant to your story, and I appreciate that you're looking into a sensitive topic that is too often ignored, but I don't think that necessarily justifies outing two women as sexual assault victims.
Liberte, I get the sense that you have a personal connection to the people about whom this story was written and I can understand your desire to defend them if you feel they have been unfairly represented. But I think you are reading shame into a story that is told pretty dispassionately using the facts that have been recorded for years in the courts. The story does not pass judgment on the family; if anything, it judges the system that failed to intervene earlier when it knew how many problems there were and knew that cyclical family violence often explodes.
Anyway, I don't expect to convince you of anything, because it seems you have a vested interest in the topic, but I appreciate the conversation.