Explosive Testimony: Naiya's Mother Feared Isidro Delacruz Would Kill Her

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Tanya Bermea took the witness stand in the capital murder trial of Isidro Delacruz telling jurors she ran from her home because she knew something bad was going to happen when Delacruz broke in through the bathroom window.

The 37-year-old shook uncontrollably as she nervously answered questions from District Attorney Allison Palmer.  Bermea testified that she and Delacruz weren’t getting along that evening and he had confronted her in the street earlier when she went looking for him.  Bermea told jurors she didn’t meet Delacruz at the A.J. Mart on North St. at Garfield that evening because she was at a barbecue party at her parents house.

Delacruz got mad and accused Bermea of being with someone else according to Facebook messages entered into evidence Monday.  Bermea testified that she had to get her daughter home and in bed because Naiya had school the next day.

Bermea told jurors she began getting phone calls and texts from a phone number she didn’t recognize.  On Monday, Jeremiah Ramos testified that Delacruz used his cell phone from the Parrot’s Head Tavern to call and text.  Bermea said she was so afraid of Delacruz that she was attempting to use a piece of wood to block the bathroom window by holding it down so he couldn’t open it.  She couldn’t make the makeshift lock work, according to her testimony.

As we reported Monday, Facebook messages from Delacruz to Bermea became increasingly argumentative and violent as he began drinking later in the evening on Aug. 31, 2014.  

Tanya Bermea said she was afraid.  She was shaking and her voice trembled as she answered questions from the witness stand.  Some jurors winced in painful empathy watching her testify.

Bermea told the jury that at around 2 a.m. she heard a thud or a thump on the back wall of her home and then saw Delacruz break out the window and begin climbing through it into her house.  She ran out of her bedroom fearing for her life. She said she locked the door between her bedroom and Naiya’s bedroom behind her and ran out of the house.

Bermea sobbed as she testified that she could hear his footsteps behind her.  

Prosecutors then introduced a surveillance video from SNG Satellite, a business nearby her home located on the corner of Garfield and North Streets.  The video of that night shows Tanya Bermea walking fast down the street talking on her cell phone. She said she had called her mom and asked her to come pick her up.  The video then shows Isidro Delacruz a short time later running down North St. Crime scene investigators found drops of Delacruz’s blood in the street by SNG.   

Bermea testified that she ran because she was afraid Delacruz would do something bad to her, but she never thought he’d hurt Naiya.  Using video evidence and testimony, prosecutors argue that Delacruz cut Naiya’s throat and then threw the butcher knife across the street before following Tanya down North St. past SNG.  

The video then shows Jesusita Bermea drive slowly by the house then turn onto Garfield St. and drive up by McCarley Plumbing where she picked up Tanya.  Then the video shows Delacruz running back to the house. After Delacruz was back in the house, the video shows Tanya and her mother drive back to the house.  

Tanya testified that when they arrived, the door was shut and her mother tried to open it, but it was locked.  Then, Bermea says Delacruz opened the door and hit and shoved her mother and then attacked her in the front yard.  Just about that time, the first police officer arrived.

Tanya Bermea was then going to be cross-examined by Delacruz's defense attorney Rob Cowie.  Cowie asked her if she needed a break and a relieved Bermea said yes.  Court recessed for about 15 minutes while she regained her composure.

Under cross examination, Bermea testified that she had been drinking that day and had used marijuana in the past.  She told jurors Delacruz was going to give her some money before they began arguing, but then he told her he wasn’t going to give her any money because he didn’t want her spending it on marijuana.

Cowie asked Bermea why she didn’t call 911 when Delacruz broke into her house that night.  She testified that she didn’t because Delacruz’s mother complained that the last time she called 911 on Delacruz he went to jail and he shouldn’t have.

Cowie kept asking why Bermea didn’t call 911 each time she made a decision that night.  He said she called her mother, she called Delacruz’s mother, but she never called 911. Bermea kept responding over and over, “I don’t remember!” and, “I never thought he would do anything to her just me!”

Next on the witness stand Tuesday was Tommy Williams, who is a Reserve Deputy Intelligence Officer for the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office.  Williams is in charge of all the recordings of inmate phone calls and visits at the Tom Green County Jail. He provided recordings of two phone calls and one jail visit to Delacruz.  

The phone calls and video of the interview were heavily redacted because of the defense attorney's objections.  

In the phone calls, Isidro Delacruz is recorded saying, “I’m sorry for everything that happened and all the pain I’ve caused to everyone.  I wish I could have just taken my dad’s advice just to leave her alone.”

The final witness of the day was San Angelo Police Department Crime Scene Technician Deanna Garcia.  She testified for hours about collecting clothing from Naiya Villegas and Tanya Bermea and Jesusita Bermea at Shannon Medical Center.  She also photographed their injuries and took statements from both Tanya and her mother Jesusita.

Garcia then testified that she went to San Angelo Community Medical Center and photographed and collected clothing from Isidro Delacruz.  She also testified that she prepared Naiya’s body for autopsy. Garcia said she wrapped the girl’s hands in paper bags to preserve evidence and placed the 5-year-old in a body bag.  

District Attorney Allison Palmer spent hours going through crime scene photographs and DNA results from the clothing Garcia collected.  They went through each blood stain that was processed by the Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Lubbock.

Garcia testified about the different types of blood spatter evidence.  She testified that most of the blood spots outside the house belonged to Isidro Delacruz except for a few drops on the front porch and the blood on the rock found in the middle of the street in front of the house.  Tanya Bermea testified earlier that she collected rocks and there were rocks by her front door. Garcia testified that there were a few drops of blood on the front porch that belonged to Naiya and the blood on the rock also belonged to Naiya.  

Palmer passed the witness at 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.  District Judge Ben Woodward said that it was thundering and raining outside and he would give the jury a short break then the defense could cross examine Deanna Garcia.  

Defense attorney Cowie resumed testimony by going over photo after photo questioning Garcia about the blood spots, whose blood it was and what kind of blood spatter it was.  Judge Woodward ended testimony at 6:30 p.m.

The jury will resume hearing testimony at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning when the defense is expected to finish its cross examination of Garcia.  Garcia is the final witness for the prosecution, so the DA is expected to rest the State's case. After that, Defense attorneys Will Boyles and Rob Cowie will then present their defense.  Judge Woodward and the teams of attorneys have agreed to continue testimony Wednesday and Thursday and take Good Friday off then continue the proceedings on Monday.