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CARDONA, Ana Maria (H/F)
DC # 162180
DOB: 11/26/61
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case #90-48092
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable David L. Tobin
Attorney, Trial: Lee Weissenborn –Special Public Defender
Attorney, Retrial: Edith Georgi –Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Lee Weissenborn– Special Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Maria Perez-Garcia – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 10/31/90
Date of Sentence: 04/01/92
Circumstances of Offense:
Ana Maria Cardona was convicted and sentenced to death forthe long-standing abuse and murder of her three-year-old son Lazaro Figueroa.
The body of a severely beaten unidentified child was foundabandoned in the Miami Beach area on 11/02/90. The boy was laterdetermined to be Lazaro Figueroa, the youngest childof Ana Marie Cardona. Cardona was subsequently arrested in St. Cloud,Florida in connection with the murder.
The circumstances surrounding the abuse and murder of Lazaro were revealed during Cardona’s trial: WhenCardona’s well-off, drug-dealing boyfriend was murdered,he left her a $100,000 estate, which she squandered in a matter ofmonths. Cardona had two children from him, the youngest being Lazaro. Cardona, penniless, left her children withfriends and family, and they were subsequently taken by the socialservices. Eventually, the children were returned to their mother, and duringthis time, Cardona became romantically involved with OliviaGonzalez-Mendoza. The two women hardly worked, and supported themselves,their children and their drug habits by shoplifting.
After the children were returned to her, Cardona began horrificand frequent abuse of Lazaro, as she blamed him forher fall from wealth. Lazaro was often tied tothe bed, locked in a closet, or left in the bathtub with extremely cold or hotwater. When his body was found, it was covered in bruises and bedsores,and the child weighed only 18 pounds.
On 10/31/90, Cardona split Lazaro’shead open with a baseball bat, and when the child would not stop screaming, shebeat him to death. Cardona and Gonzalez-Mendoza dumped the body in aMiami Beach neighborhood, fled to Orlando and were eventually apprehended inSt. Cloud.
Medical examiners testified that Lazarowas dying from the extreme abuse and neglect he suffered at the hands of hismother and her lover even before he was fatally beaten with the bat thatday. Lazaro had endured numerous tortures priorto his death, suffering brain damage due to untreated meningitis, anemia,malnutrition and spinal cord damage.
Additional Information:
Immigration and Naturalization Services in Miami have placeda detainer on Ana Maria Cardona.
Codefendant Information:
Olivia Gonzalez-Mendoza was convicted of Aggravated ChildAbuse and Second Degree Murder. Gonzalez-Mendoza was sentenced to 15years and 40 years, respectively, for her part in the murder of Lazaro Figueroa.
Trial Summary:
12/06/90 Defendant arrested.
01/11/91 Defendant indicted on:
Count I: First-Degree Murder
Count II: AggravatedChild Abuse
03/31/92 The jury found the defendant guilty on both counts.
03/31/92 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 8 to 4 majority, voted for the
deathpenalty.
04/01/92 The defendant was sentenced as followed:
Count I: First-DegreeMurder – Death
Count II: AggravatedChild Abuse – 15 years
07/09/10 Uponretrial, the jury again found the defendant guilty on both counts
10/14/10 Thejury recommended death by a vote of 7 to 5
10/14/10 Thedefendant was sentenced as followed:
Count I: First-DegreeMurder – Death
Count II: AggravatedChild Abuse – 15 years
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court - Direct Appeal
FSC #79,787
641 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 1994)
05/04/92 Appeal filed.
06/02/94 FSC affirmed the convictions and sentence of death.
08/31/94 Rehearing denied.
09/30/94 Mandate issued.
United States Supreme Court - Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC #94-7096
513 U.S. 1160
11/29/94 Petition filed.
02/21/95 Petition denied.
State Circuit Court - 3.850 Motion
CC #90-48092
04/24/97 Motion filed.
05/26/00 Motion denied.
Florida Supreme Court - 3.850 Appeal
FSC #SC00-1366
826 So.2d 968
06/26/00 Appeal filed.
07/11/02 FSC reversed Cardona’s conviction and sentence and remanded for a new
trialdue to a Brady violation[1].
09/11/02 Appellee’s Motion for Rehearing denied.
10/11/02 Mandate issued.
Florida Supreme Court - Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC #SC01-1056
826 So.2d 968
05/22/01 Petition filed.
07/11/02 FSC granted Cardona’s 3.850 Appeal, citing a Brady violation committed
bythe State. Cardona’s conviction and sentence were reversed and her
Habeas Petitionwas denied as moot.
Factors Contributing to the Delay in the Imposition ofthe Sentence:
Cardona’s Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence (3.850)took over three years to reach a denial. On 07/11/02, the Florida SupremeCourt granted Cardona’s 3.850 Appeal and remanded her case for a new trial.Cardona was released from the Florida Department of Corrections in 2002 and iscurrently incarcerated in the Women’s Annex in the Miami-Dade County Jail.
Case Information:
Cardona filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Courton 05/04/92. In that appeal, Cardona argued that a limited juryinstruction should have been given in conjunction with the evidence of abusepresented to the jury, and that the court erred in refusing to considernon-statutory mitigating evidence. Cardona also raised the issued that her co-defendantreceived a lesser sentence for her part in the murder. The FloridaSupreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of death on 06/02/94.
On 11/29/94, Cardona filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariin the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 02/21/95.
Next, on 03/24/97, Cardona filed a Motion to Vacate Judgmentand Sentence (3.850) in the State Circuit Court. When that motion wasdenied on 05/26/00, Cardona steadfastly filed an appeal of that decision in theFlorida Supreme Court on 06/26/00. On 07/11/02, the Florida Supreme Courtreversed Cardona’s conviction and sentence and remanded for a new trial citinga Brady violation committed by the State. The Florida Supreme Court foundthat the State withheld material criminal investigative reports of interviewswith Olivia Gonzales-Mendoza, the co-defendant, which contradicted hertestimony against Cardona at trial. By failing to disclose these reports,the State prevented the defense from impeaching Gonzales-Mendoza’s credibilityas the State’s key witness.
Cardona filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in theFlorida Supreme Court on 05/22/01. On 07/11/02, Cardona’s conviction andsentence were reversed when the Florida Supreme Court granted her 3.850 Appeal. As such, her Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was denied as moot.
On 07/09/10, Cardona was again found guilty on all counts.The jury recommended death by a vote of 7 to 5 and Cardona was sentenced todeath on 10/14/10.
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