Living in Peru » News » U.S. murder trial against Peruvian nanny begins on Monday

« back to home

Latest News in Peru / Archive

Law and Order | 25 September, 2006 [ 11:30 ]

U.S. murder trial against Peruvian nanny begins on Monday

(LIP-wb) -- A long anticipated murder trial begins today in a courtroom in Northern Texas, USA.
Peruvian nanny Ada Betty Cuadros Fernandez (29) is facing capital murder charges in the death of infant Kyle Lazarchik, a 14-month old baby who was under her care at the time.

Murder suspect. Peruvian nanny Ada Cuadros

Peruvian nanny Ada Cuadros with two of the babies she took care of

Since her arrest in McKinney, Collin County, on October 14, 2005, she has remained in a cell at a maximum security prison 60 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Dallas. Last Friday, the jury selection process for the trial, presided by Judge Carlos Sandoval, concluded. If they find Cuadros Fernandez guilty she could be sentenced to either life imprisonment or she could face the death penalty.

The defendant's mother, Luz Fernandez, complained that the Peruvian Government has shown little interest in the case. She arrived in Dallas last November under a humanitarian visa.

“During his electoral campaign, President Alan Garcia promised us to look into the case and check if he could help our daughter, but as of today nobody has called to see how things go”, Mrs. Fernandez said.

Eduardo Rivoldi Nicolini, Consul General of Peru in Houston informed that the only thing he can do is to make sure that Ada Cuadros' trial is fair and just. “The Peruvian government only gets involved in very extreme circumstances. But this case does not fulfill that criteria”, Rivoldi pointed out.

For monetary reasons, Cuadros could not hire her own legal representation. The court has appointed defense counsel for her; criminal attorney Laurie Ewing.

In interview with Peruvian newspaper "La Republica", Ms. Ewing said she is confident in defending her client from the accusations that weigh on her. Although she didn't want to go into greater details of the process, Ewing said that one of the main priorities in her defense strategy will be to convince the jury of Cuadros' past behavior.
"It will be crucial to demonstrate that she never hurt anybody”, she said, adding that she may call her biological parents as witnesses and also the victim's parents “who trusted Cuadros' with the care of their other two children”.

During the early stages of the case, the Peruvian Association in Dallas-Fort Worth arranged that Rikki M. Rutchik took over as her legal representative, but when it was determined that the nanny would could face the death penalty, the family lawyer was lacking proper credentials which the law demands in such a case.

The prosecution on the other hand will have to show Cuadros' culpability and irresponsibility. They say that Cuadros made two different confessions during her police interrogation which lasted more than 12 hours shortly after her arrest. According to Leigh Hornsby, spokesperson of Collin County's district attorney's office, hard evidence will show Cuadros' guilt and he expects a sentence "probably within a week and not months" as some speculated.

Hornsby advanced that the prosecution's will call Kathy Hudson and Ida Wei as their first witnesses, the two officials from McKinney's police department who arrested Cuadros last year after she called 911, stating that the little boy threw up blood and food he had just eaten, and began convulsing. Kyle Lazarchik was taken in a helicopter from Mc Kinney to a Dallas hospital but died minutes later of a severe brain injury.

Mrs. Luz Fernandez shows a photo of her daughter.

In her first statement, Cuadros claimed that the baby hit his head on a door frame and later in a second statement she said that she had slipped and fallen while carrying the baby the previous day.

According to chief police investigator Randy Roland, negligence exists on her part after she failed to notify the parents after the first incident. “That could have probably saved the boy's life".

Roland could also be called as a witness, since he was in charge of the house search and interrogations. “The forensic report indicates that the boy suffered severe and traumatic damages to the brain similar to a blunt force trauma, causing hematomas and swelling”, Roland assured in telephone interview. “In Texas, the death of a minor of six years or younger becomes automatically a capital punishment case because at that age no one is able to defend themselves”, he added and stressed: “We (the police) say that she murdered that boy”.

Roland has been one of the main accusers of Cuadros. For him, “the nanny is guilty and she will have to pay according to the law”.

Gina Esquerre, a cousin of Cuadros and the first person who could speak with the defendant three days after her arrest, said that the police pressured her.
“She me told everything and it was so horrifying that it's not worth the trouble to repeat it. The only thing I can say in her defense is that it was an accident. She is very affected by it. Of the three kids she took care of, Kyle was the one she loved most", Esquerre explained.

Ada Cuadros arrived in Dallas two years ago after she obtained a visa in a government lottery in January 2004. Before she started working as a nanny she was a waitress in a local restaurant. She gave notice to the boy's parents that she was planning to return to Peru. She had a one-way airline ticket for Oct. 29, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. She had moved out, but the family asked her to return for two more nights while the couple interviewed candidates for the nanny job, according to the affidavit.

(Source: text and photos "La Republica" - link - )

- related articles -

- Peruvian nanny found guilty in Texas; receives life sentence (LIP, Sept. 25, 2006)
- Former nanny found guilty in death of McKinney toddler (by Dallas Morning News)

tags : Peru USA Texas McKinney CollinCounty law justice Ada Cuadros Fernandez nanny

| | | |

Lastest news

15 Comments

# Micah Cantley says :
26 September, 2006 [ 12:43 ]

This is certainly a tragic event for all parties. From the story the event sounds accidental, rather than an intentional act. However, as all of us know, when we move to another country we are required to behave according to the laws of the land, rather than what we know.

There is no handbook that teaches us how to respond in these situations. She likely kept the accident secret either for fear of reprisal of because there was no visible or noticeable damage. That is unfortunate, but certainly not murder...of course, that's just my opinion from a distance.

Being a Texas boy, however, I am certain there are people looking for someone to pay...they may have found her...

# Wolfy says :
26 September, 2006 [ 20:16 ]

- Trial update - Day 1:

Prosecutor Greg Davis said in his opening statement that infant Kyle Lazarchik was murdered by Cuadros' blows to the head and not because of an accident as it appeared in police reports.

"What she did is called murder", Davis said, adding that Cuadros changed her version on five different occasions and did not alarm the parents of the supposed fall. "Because it never happened", Davis said. "The boy died because of intentional blows by Cuadros".

Court appointed defense lawyer Laurie Ewing stated that her client "didn't do anything to deliberately hurt the child". She explained that the previous day the nanny had left the baby one a kitchen counter, from which he fell while she was cooking and that she didn't mention it to the parents out of fear. "It was a tragic accident", Ewing said.

"This is not going to be easy, to the contrary. What you are going to see and hear will be more than tragic. Perhaps she didn't make the most intelligent decision, but I will demonstrate that Cuadros is a good person and that she loved the children", Ewing told the jury.

Renee Lazarchik, Kyle's mother, testified as one of the first witnesses. She told the court how she hired Cuadros in 2004 after seeing in her the ideal candidate for the position. "She spoke English well, she said that her parents were doctors and that she desired to spend extensive time in the United States. That was one of our search requirements. She was glad, sweet, natural and the children liked her. We considered her a member of the family", she said.

# Micah Cantley says :
27 September, 2006 [ 08:01 ]

Falling while holding an infant and placing an infant on the counter then allowing them to fall are two different animals, in my book anyway.

The first I can forgive as "an accident", while the second is nothing less than negligence, and something much more than a "bad decision" to be sure.

It remains unfortunate, and while the parents are ultimately responsible for whom they place in charge of their children, if this account is true I am afraid young Ada is responsible (guilty) as well, not of murder mind you, but certainly of prosecutable negligence.

# Wolfy says :
27 September, 2006 [ 08:16 ]

I agree, certainly according to U.S law standards and if this is what really happened.
Not murder because there wasn't any intend obviously. We'll see. I am sure the prosecution must have more up its sleeve.

# Ursula says :
27 September, 2006 [ 13:43 ]

I agree with you guys. This is nothing more than a tragic accident. People need to hear the entire story and take in all the facts before judging. She is a caring lady. The only thing she did "wrong" was not tell the parents about the fall, that's all. Also, there are people saying she changed her story... this is not true. She answered the questions as they were being asked, she told the whole thing bit by bit - it there were severa events, not several stories; there is a difference!

# Wolfy says :
27 September, 2006 [ 22:31 ]

Day 2:
The jury listened to audio recordings of Cuadros' interrogation before she was arrested.
According to the tapes, Cuadros said repeatedly that she never hurt the boy and “would never do it�?. She declared that on the previous day, October 13, one of the twins, Kyle, fell from the kitchen counter to the floor.

Defense counsel Angela Tucker (obviously she has more than one lawyer) questioned the interrogation tactics by detectives who “used insults and shouts and repeatedly told the defendant that she would get the death penalty if she did not collaborate�?.

Tucker also complained that during the almost 7 hours of interrogation, "there were moments at which the defendant and the detective did not understand each other because of the language and nobody offered the nanny the possibility of an interpreter".

Matthew Cox, director of Pediatrics at the children's hospital where Kyle was admitted, testified that he arrived with severe blows to the the skull and diverse hematomas on his arms.

The medical examiner who took the autopsy and the detective who coordinated the investigations from October 16, 2005, a day after she was arrested, also testified.

# Ursula says :
29 September, 2006 [ 13:20 ]

It's a sad day today... Ada has been convicted of capital murder. I feel this is very unfair, as Ada is a very sweet girl that loved those kids. Life in prison? this is not fair, it was an accident!
It is a sad day today.....=(

# Wolfy says :
29 September, 2006 [ 13:44 ]

yes, Ursula. You were faster than me.

A unanimous jury condemned Ada Cuadros to life in prison today.

Cuadros listened to her sentence bathed in tears, while her mother shouted in the courtroom: “We will get you out. You are innocent�?. Security had to remove her from the courtroom.

The baby victim's mother, Renee Lazarchik, said to Cuadros: “Your you are a murderer, and nothing else�?.

Wheeping family members showed photos and videos of Kyle in rememberance.

Mike Lazarchik, Kyle's father, went over to Ada's parents and said: “I am sure that you are good people and that you don't believe your daughter did something like this. But your daughter killed my baby. The evidence showed it�?.

He added: "Today you will go through what we went through since we lost our son�?.

# Mario says :
5 October, 2006 [ 08:43 ]

I pretty much agreed with what's been said here by you all. Although I don’t know much about this case, it sounds as if the only crime that this lady committed was being negligent and careless. I don’t think she killed the boy and nor do I think she had the intention of killing him as well. However, the whole environment was already set for a guilty verdict regardless of the truth.

# Greg says :
11 October, 2006 [ 16:21 ]

I followed this case closely. You are missing the facts of the evidence. The baby was hit many times on the head, about six to ten blows. Even if her stories were true, she doesn't account for all of the injuries.

Also, the prosecution presented the kitchen cabinet door as the murder weapon. It had been broken by being hit so hard, it had finishing nails that matched many sets of bruises on the baby's head, and the nanny's DNA was found on the tape that was holding together the broken cabinet (she was covering up what she did).

The medical and physical evidence was overwhelming against her. The sad truth is that no matter how nice you may think someone is, you never know what someone is capable of.

# Not effected by ethnicity says :
7 November, 2006 [ 18:38 ]

Everyone here wants to believe that white America is charging this poor innocent immigrant girl with murder. That's a lie. Why don't you forget about her ethnicity and focus on the facts I think Greg reiterated so well. She's a murderer, plain and simple.

My question to you "Wolfy" how many other times was she bathed in tears? When she saw the horrific photos of the autopsy? No. Was it during the slideshow of pictures of the baby? No, and actually she didn't even look at the pictures. The only reason she wept in that courtroom was because of her fate not because she was innocent. She is a monster.

She has you fooled like everyone else in believing she is innocent. Evidence doesn't lie, people do. This is a tragic event for both families because of the actions taken by the nanny. Instead of walking away from the baby that she supposedly loved so much, she took her anger and rage out on him, killing him almost instantly on the first blow. But it didn't stop there as I'm sure you saw the autopsy photo, she continued beating his head over and over. That doesn't sound like love to me.

This was not negligence, this was intentional.

# Seagull says :
8 November, 2006 [ 15:13 ]

I dont know who is right or not... i just know there is a God and He knows everything and under His eye we will be judge.

# Narvae Him says :
25 April, 2007 [ 12:25 ]

  Justice for All - Worldwide:

     No matter where in the vast earth we live, we believe in the justice granted to every human in his/her defense. The defended in this case Ada Cuadro Fernadez was accused in the most unfair trial because she was not allowed an interpreter for her defense at all times. We do not know how good or how poor her English may be, but we know that her maiden language is Spanish. Therefore, she must defend herself from such strong accusation in the language that she feels most comfortable. She was interrogated without really knowing what her rights were. Again, she was unable to understand proficient English; as a result, we believe her rights were violated.

Here we must deal with the international ethics between countries because no North American citizen would like to be treated in an unfair trial outside his or her country. Unless, United States prohibits its people from traveling internationally, North American people will continue to go on vacations, retirements, and travel over seas. For Example: Kenneth Lee Boyd a convicted murder was executed in Singapore for smuggling heroin into the country. We know about this case because it was world news. Some people in the United States were against the decision of Singapore’s laws. However, this man was a serial offender of murder and traffic of drugs.

What does the court fount about the past of the accused? Ada Cuadro Fernadez had never offended anyone. She has a clean past before this accident happened. She does not have a history of drug abuse or other major offences to the public health. Can the court come up with a single terrible or minor offence before this accident happened in her life?

   If the court does not find flows on her past, the court should deeply investigate her reason for wanting to kill an infant. Why didn’t she act on spite earlier during other opportunities; undisputable, there is a possibility that she did care for all three children. Why were these parents confident of Ada’s love for their own children? Why there were no signs of previous physical or mental abuse. Definitely, Ada Cuadro Fernadez has been misrepresented by the poor judgment of some people.

     We also question the full competence of some of the doctors who were the first to directly accused Ada Cuadro Fernadez of murderer. If all possible would be wise to find other doctors opinions to check on other possibilities. For Example: we know of the case of a seven year old boy who was playing in our neighborhood while his parents were inside their home and suddenly the boy basted his head open against “Slow, Children at ” street sign. The boy busted his head open against a three inch post that holds the sign and made of some type of iron (the cut was a similar cut from the one we watch on TV of deceased infant boy). Our neighbor’s boy was only seven years of age when his accident happened. He was able to resist such impact.

    A one year old child does not have the scalp completely form at such a young age. Doctors should be aware of the tenderness found on the cranium of an infant. Doctors should also be aware that any cranial trauma can be fatal for any human. A child does not have to take a big fall (OF multistory buildings like doctor's testified) to create a cranial injury. We don’t believe the doctor’s superficial theory because a child that fall as high as the doctors’ affirmed would not only cut an infant head but his whole body would be wounded. In addition if there was violence done to any child, we should see bruises and other type of force should be visible on the child body. The infant death would have been an instant one. Additional example: when our only son was nine month old, mom was left along to take care of our infant while dad was at work. In a single instance, mom when to the kitchen to prepare our family supper and in matter of seconds our son felt form his crib (Luckily, he fell like a cat on a soft carpet and was not hurt). If people’s life was so perfect, and we were not expose to accidents “little or big” children would not have accidents even under the supervision of their own parents.

    If we had to judge someone, we would questions the primary people responsible for the wellbeing of a child. The parents should make better judgment of the people that care for their children. The parents should have people train for the difficult job of child care. Parents should not give full responsibility of their children to a caregiver.
    Ada Cuadro Fernadez was not a parent herself. How much could she know about parenting and caring for a child when she was not a mother herself? How much should a “Nanny” know to avoid a tragedy like the one Ada Cuadro Fernadez is facing today? What can we do about those teenagers babysitters? Should we prohibit incompetent people? When even, first time mother’s can only relay on our motherly instinct for the care of our infants.

     As parents, we would check our child and notice of anything wrong doing with our child whether physical or mentally as soon as our son come home from school. Why these parents did not bother to checked or revised their children as soon as they were home from work? Could be possible that they did not have any reason to not trusted in Ada Cuadro Fernadez? If the children parents did not find previous signs of physical or mental abuse and trusted Ada, why would Ada treated the couple children any different later?

The art of child care is not an easy task. We are watching over one single child, but it would event be worst to watch over three or more children (three infants and still prepared supper for the children parents). We feel an act of imprudence by the infant’s parents to used Ada as a babysitter for three children and as a house keeper at the same time. We feel sorry for Ada that out of life necessities she was place under the worst situation. We would not wish what Ada may be going through, not even to our worst enemy.

     On the other hand, we must understand the family of that poor infant boy. We are parents just like they are, and we would not want that experienced what they did upon us. However, we must say that children are exposed to accidents at all ages and in all places. As well as in the hands of their parents or their care givers, and we are not going to form unfounded accusation to institutions or individuals. Especially if we were not at the scene of the accident, we must not judge or create a plot of what we believe it could have happened. “When our son was four year old, he cut his tongue badly (His tongue had the deepest hole). My husband was called at his job and immediately, he rushed to the pre-school where our son was attending.” Parents do not like for their children to have small or big accidents. Accidents are all equal sizes in any parent’s eyes.

  Ada Cuadro Fernandez fallowed all the fist-aid procedures to safe the infant’s life. She called 911, she begged for help over the phone. What else could a 27 year old woman that spoke improper English had done when face in such situation? (Notice: Parent’s did not instructed her well enough on what to do if a difficult situation happened). Now, she is being put on unjustified trial for not knowing how to safe a child’s life and punished for not knowing enough English (Notice: if her English would have been a little better, the paramedics could have arrived on time to safe the child's life). Again, knowing English would be a solution that parent's child could have prevented. Now, we know why knowing English in an English speaking country is not a luxury but a necessity.

     On the other hand, doctors must direct the responsibility of an infant death to someone others than themselves. We do not have any respect for those doctors and those officials who created a sinister fictional plot to incriminate Ada Cuadro Fernandez without a fair investigation. Ada verdict was formed as soon as the doctor’s decided that she was a child offender and a forensic plot was created. Notice, this child offender does not have any history of child offences, and the children parents had always complemented her for her good job (even in a the mom's own hand writings). In addition to Ada Cuadro Fernandez’s grief, she did not receive a fair trial and was place out of the way for the peace of mind of the poor infant’s family.

     We believe in the constitution of United State and “Under the laws of the constitution of United Stated, every person is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law,” These official’s base a case and a verdict under the most wicked biased foundations. Event a blind person would sense the simplify persecution of Ada Cuadro Fernandez.
   We must clarify that we do not support any type of child abuse. Under no justify circumstances; a person must not hurt a child’s well being.
    We believe in our system of justice, we believe that a fair trial should be given, and we believe that Ada Cuadro Fernandez‘s rights have being violated. Ada Cuadro Fernadez deserves a fair trial without any bias misrepresentation. She should not be treated as serial killer without hard prove. If necessary technological tools like “lie detectors” should be used. We must give foundations to our serious accusations. Before this accident happened, Ada had the life of any productive citizen, and thanks to these serious accusations her life will never be the same ( Fact a child died while on her care was hard enough for her). As far as we know, we could be convicting an innocent person whom we know got trap into the most evil plots ever known. This is a public matter that can ruin the reputation of Texas’s laws and credibility because there are gaps in this trial.

PS: We hope that this extensive letter would contribute to a new fair trial for Ada Cuadro Fernandez with appropriate translators, lie detectors, and objective lawyers. Please, we should all follow the golden rule. Authorities should not abuse of their powers to do wrong doings.

May God grant Ada Cuadro Fernadez a Layer with a heart of gold that will defend her like she deserve. God may find the truth though a good conscious new trial. God may pay back with gives of health and happiness to those kind people who seek the truth of all matters. The truth must come in the open through fairness and not through human fabrications.

# maritza gregorich says :
3 July, 2008 [ 10:48 ]

i do not thing she did it on purpose it probably was a mistake she looks like she loved those children that is so sad i will pray for her

# Rosie A says :
8 September, 2009 [ 22:41 ]

I am not from Texas, so I just found out about this case recently. I hope for the truth to unveil and if she is indeed innocent, that God hears her prayes and that justice be given on a 2nd trail. I will pray so that God can give her the patience that she needs and the strength to keep going. I pray for her family as it must be hard for them to see their daughter behind bars. I also pray for Kyle's family. What happened was very hard to cope with, but I pray that they are to forgive and to realize that God is the only one capable of rightful judgement.

Add your comment

News Sections (Archive)

Last 5 news articles

Last comments

In Chile's beefed up military presence worries Peru
perucho4ever says :
20 November, 2009 15:59:52
As I was saying these goverments are killing us,integration? no way jose,you and I know that integra ...
In Peru: Drunken drivers will go to jail
Splaktar says :
20 November, 2009 15:46:43
0.5 ? grams per liter? that's crazy drunk!"Unless a person has developed a high toler ...
In Peru: Drunken drivers will go to jail
Terri says :
20 November, 2009 15:41:32
Peru ought to learn to enforce existing rules of the road. The current admistration must be su ...
In Peru ranks 75th in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perception Index
Splaktar says :
20 November, 2009 15:40:33
I've heard similar stories from people who have visited or are from Venezuela. I'm sur ...
In Car Prices Decrease as Taxes are Eliminated in Peru
Lionheart Central Florida says :
20 November, 2009 15:14:22
I am also a american married with peruana. We want to bring our car toPeru with our stuff. App ...

See all comments

News web syndication [RSS]
what is "web syndication" ?

Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Latest News in Peru / Archive

U.S. murder trial against Peruvian nanny begins on Monday

News Sections (Archive)

Last 5 news articles

Last comments