Part Two | The Executions Commence: Christopher Sepulvado

0:05 H a wall Street line, shackle change, Oh someome gird, it's calling my name. There is no mercy and it's been a tentery juice as the huge stream game Rango three, come. Here be by me to die inside these walls, inside the wild.

0:56 And went no girl as. I'm hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a podcast one d and forty two years in the making, the complete story of America's bloodiest prison. I'm Jim Chapman, and we are back with another episode in the Executions Commence series. Now, last week we brought you into the case of Jesse Hoffman. In this week, we're bringing you into the case of Christopher Sepulvido. Now, all of the stuff that we talk about on Bloody Angola can be hard to here, but this one is just an awful case.

2:04 And I'm just going to start off in September of nineteen ninety when Christopher Sepulvido started dating Yvonne Mercer. The two had met in September of nineteen ninety when Yvonne was working at Walmart as a cashier. This was in West Monroe, Louisiana, which is on the far northern part of the state of Louisiana, and Yvonne had been separated from her husband. At the time, she was a struggling mother right she had a four year old son, his name was Wesley, and she was seemingly just trying to get by in life, kind of starting over. And Christopher Sepulvido, he was really laying on the charm with Yvonne, and early on in the dating relationship, he appeared to be a great guy. She would tell family and friends that he treated her better than she had ever been treated in her entire life. And athough Oh, Christopher Sepulvido was much older than Yvonne. He was forty eight, she was twenty six at this time. He appeared to possess the stability she was looking for in a future husband and stepfather for her son, Wesley Allen Mercer, who went by Alan now. At that time, she was living with her parents after her separation, and I'm sure like most people at that age, she's looking for a way out of her parents' house. So in short order, just four months into the relationship, in January of nineteen ninety one, despite

3:38 her family's objections, she moves to Mansfield Louisiana to live with Christopher Sepulvido and his mother. What she didn't know was that Sepulvido he had a very disturbing past. And this is the day's before the Internet, y'all. There was no Facebook out there to research people or websites. Everything was really based on trust. You had to kind of rely on what people would tell you about who they were. He had been previously investigated twice before for abuse and neglect of a child from another family. DeSoto Sheriff Detective Tony Morris said that the abuse did not involve serious injuries or death and that Supulvido was never charged in the case. Even State Child Protective Services refused to release the date or identities of those involved, and the sheriff went on to say he was investigated several years ago on the allegation of child abuse, but no charges were ever brought against him. We found another investigation had been done with the same results. And of course all of this came out after the incident that I'm about to tell you about took place. So Supulvido was also previously arrested on a battery charge. A former girlfriend filed those charges against Supulvido, but they were later dropped. And the

5:09 point of all that is to paint a picture of this ain't a nice guy at all and he liked to beat on women. Just a horrible human being in my opinion. Now, once he managed to get Yvonne away from her family, his true colors started to show around her as well. It wasn't long before he began drinking heavily and physically abusing Yvonne. It got so bad, in fact, that on May tenth of nineteen ninety one, just five months after moving in with Supulvido, Yvonne left him and moved back to live with her parents. As is common with a lot of these abuse cases, Sepulvido managed to talk his way back into her life and sometime around early July, she moves back in with Sepulvido, but this time she leaves her son Alan back with her parents, and again, as is so common with abuse, the abuse started up again and Yvonne leaves Supulvido yet again, but returns again to Supulvido, this time taking Allan with her.

6:20 And it was at this time that this asshole begins abusing Alan instead of Yvonne, with the abuse gradually escalating to both physical and verbal abuse. It was also during this time that the couple had an infant son. So on March fifth of nineteen ninety two, Sepulvido marries Yvonne and the couple continues to live at Supolvido's mother's house with their children. Now here's the warning, it's about to get really bad and really descriptive. The day after the wedding, this is on March sixth of nineteen ninety two, Alan comes home from school and he had soiled his pants, so they punish him for this. Yvonne did not allow her son to have dinner that night, and she spanked him for this in Sepulvido, on that first time that Alan sold his pants, he ties a noose to a ceiling fan and threatens to hang Alan by the neck and even told Alan to count while standing on a chair with one foot. This is a six year old child.

7:46 Sepulvido then uses a belt to whip Alan and also shoved the boy's head into a toilet bowl. During the second and third time that Alan defecated in his pants, again a six year old boy. On March seventh, the next day, the abuse continued, Alan was starved for another day. After Sepulvido instructed his wife not to feed her son. Alan was hit by his mother and got his hair pulled, and the couple forced Alan to sleep on a small trunk. Then, on the morning of March eighth, Alan was kicked into the bathroom by Sepulvido, who threatened a scald him with hot water if he again defecated in his pants. That same morning, Alan was told to dress and clean up before going to church, but he hesitated, and when he hesitated, Sepulvido whacked Alan on the head with the handle of a screwdriver several times at full force, until the boy fell unconscious. Sepulvido also immersed him in a bathtub full of scalding hot water. After the assault and the scalding, Alan was allowed to eat, but he vomited, fell over, and lost consciousness right after. Three hours later, the couple

9:21 rushes Alan to DeSoto General Hospital. Now, despite receiving medical treatment, Allan was pronounced dead shortly after two pm that afternoon. It was discovered he was deceased before he even arrived at the hospital. Now, Initially, neighbors grieved with the Sepulvidoes. A next door neighbor by the name of Dorothy Wright said that Yvonne Sepulvedo told her Alan accidentally fell in the bathtub and it had hot water while they were getting ready for church. She was told the boy tried to get out, but slipped back into the tub. Wright told news cameras she said the child was not breathing by the time they took him to the hospital. Neighbors also said the last time they saw Alan alive was Friday, two days before his death. Neighborhood children were told Saturday that Allan was being punished it could not go out and play, and neighbors describe the Supulvidas as a straightforward church going good people. After Allan's death, a neighbor said Christopher Supulvida was seen wearing a red T shirt that stated John three point sixteen on the front and Born Again on the back. Allan's paternal grandmother would only say the boy's death was probably the most tragic thing that has ever happened in our lives, and neither she nor her son would comment further. On March ninth of nineteen

10:54 ninety two, in autopsy, was conducted by doctor George McCormick, and he found that the cause of death was due to failure of the heart and lungs caused by severe third degree burns covering fifty eight percent of Allan's body, and doctor McCormick also found multiple head wounds on Allen from those screwdrivers. Right the boy's body was covered in first, second and third degree burns. The total body surface area involved was more than eighty percent of this precious child's body. Disgusting. So, armed with this obvious information of abuse coming from the Corner police, on March eleventh of nineteen ninety two, they arrest Allan's mother, Yvonne and his stepfather, Christopher Supulvido, immediately following the funeral of Allen, and they both faced one count each of first degree murder. The couple's infant son at this point was placed in the custody of the state.

12:03 So police take Supulvedo in for questioning and he admits to the police that he had assaulted Allan, but he denies that he intentionally immersed him in water. He claimed that Allan accidentally fell into the bathtub and that was how he got scalded by hot water. On March seventeenth of nineteen ninety two, Sepulvido and his wife the again indicted on first degree murder charges, and both were facing the death penalty at the worst, life in prison at the best. Yvon was escorted in shackles to testify before the specially convened grand jury, and Supulvido did not appear before the grand jury, so she was testifying against him.

12:49 It sounds like to me, the district attorney, Don Perquettes said, we will likely seek the death penalty against one of the defendants and possibly the other. The evidence is that the child died as a result of the actions of the two defendants indicted. Burkett would not say at this time whether either defendant agreed to testify against the others in exchange for a lesser charge, but I can guarantee you that the mother in this case did. And on March twenty fourth of nineteen ninety two, during their arraignment, both Sepulvedo and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges of first degree murder no surprise, they had nothing to lose there, and a trial date gets set. That trial date was for June one of nineteen ninety two.

13:38 Now surprisingly to me, on April fourth of nineteen ninety two, Yvonne is freed on a fifty thousand dollars bond, but Supulvido he remains in the descetto Paris jail now throughout the next year. As it's common in first degree murder cases, the trial date gets moved several times. You see this on just about every murder case in the world. It never ends up being that first date that you hear. But finally, on April twelfth of nineteen ninety three, jury selection begins and the Sepulvido trial starts. So the jury hears the testimony of thirteen year old Larry Michelle of Monroe, who was another one of Supulvido's step sons. He said Supolvido had beaten him many times when he lived with Christopher.

14:40 A next girlfriend of Sepulvido's by the name of Gail Hughes. She told Jerry he had beaten her more times than she could count, including hitting her over the head with a two by four. This guy's history of hitting on the weaker than him physically is ridiculous, disgusting. On April seventeenth, of nineteen ninety three at Decetto, Paris, jury finds Sepulvido guilty of first degree murder after delivering for just thirty three minutes. And that is no fucking surprise to me. The guilty verdict was given despite testimony by a defense witness who said Alan's burns were not consistent with child abuse.

15:28 Of course this is a defense witness, right, They're not going to air on the side of the prosecution. The doctor was a burn expert for Batner's General Medical Center. Instead, Alan's injuries had characteristics of an unconscious child being placed in hot water. Well, I would say that that is child abuse. One of the strangest statements I've ever read. Earlier in the trial cornered doctor George McCormick, he tested for the prosecution and said the child's injuries did not appear accidental. And on April nineteenth of nineteen ninety three, just two days later, the jury recommends the death penalty for Sepulvido. It took the jury less than a half hour to decide on the death penalty, so their minds were made up. And I would imagine that most people sitting on the jury during this trial. Hearing all of this abuse and all of the shit that this guy did prior to killing this poor baby, would have probably thought the same way. He became the first person in almost twenty years in Descetto Parish to get the death penalty.

16:46 And its ironic that the last person sentenced to death in Decetto Parish was Supolvido's cousin, Clayton Supovido. This was in nineteen seventy six. He was convicted of shooting a man in the head. That sentence later got converted to life in prison. But the apple obviously not falling far from the tree. There the da Don Burquette said, sentenced this animal to death. He deserves it. So it's off to bloody Angla for this guy. And a few months later, on July twenty eighth of nineteen ninety three, Yvonne's trial starts and Yvonne's trial was declared a mistrial. Initially, I know it's shocking. Defense attorney James Calbwell asked for a mistrial when a psychiatrist who was to be an expert witness for the defense suddenly gets critically ill and was hospitalized in Monroe. The judge granted that and granted a start of a new trial. It ends up occurring on December sixth of nineteen ninety three. This was Yvonne's second trial.

17:58 She pleaded not get by reason of insanity. Yvonne calmly told the jury how she whipped son Allan and deprived him of food for two days before his death. Yvonne said that she punished her son for soiling his pants by whipping him with a belt and hitting him in the face. She argued that she was a batter wife who was temporarily insane and was not aware of what she was doing. Yvonne was ultimately convicted of a lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced to twenty one years in prison, not enough in my opinion, and when it was all sudden done. Yvonne just served seven and a half years of that sentence before she was released in two thousand and two and has remarried since. In twenty thirteen, she actually accepted an interview, and in that interview, she said that she was saddened by her son's death and felt partly responsible for not ending her toxic relationship with Supulvido, Although she said she never killed her son and was not as evil as what people believed her to be, and I'll leave that up to you. So, Christopher, he's doing what those sentenced to death do, right, and that's issue a massive amount of appeals. In twenty thirteen, after exhausting nearly all his appeals, a death warrant is issued

19:31 for Supulvido and he gets an execution date scheduled, and that was scheduled to take place on February thirteenth of twenty thirteen. And on January twenty eighth of twenty thirteen, the Louisiana Supreme Court they deny a stay of execution to Sepulvido. In the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, they appeal to then Governor Bobby Jendall to stay the scheduled execution. Subsequently, the District Judge, James Joseph Brady, he delays that execution pending more information on the state's lethal injection protocol. On February seventh of twenty thirteen, Supovido's second appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals gets dismissed. And you remember that interview I referenced just a few minutes ago with Yvonne well, I'm gonna go ahead. I'm gonna play you that interview because it references also these mass of appeals, et cetera with Christopher. So here's that clip.

20:38 Justice delayed at our Clitec's convicted childkiller remains on death row. I never recall Christopoldo showing any remorse than anything. Christapovodo has been too long where he's been too long. Finally, I just said, as he did, I had nothing to do with the death of my son. He was scheduled to die tonight for the brutal murder of his six year old stepson. We uncover new. Details about his date with death. A DeSoto parish man remains on death row now after a judge delayed his execution, which was scheduled for tonight. It was delayed because the state Department of Corrections had not given Christopher S. Pavldo enough information about the drug.

21:21 That was going to be used to kill him. We have team. Coverage tonight, new information tonight, An attorney for the Department of Corrections tells Casele News twelve. An appeal of the delay of. That execution is expected to be heard tomorrow before the Fifth Circuit Court of appeals in New Orleans. We begin our team coverage tonight with a trip back to the scene of the crime, where our community is still coping twenty years after tragedy. Nothing can crush the heart of a kindergarten teacher more. Every morning when he came to school, he hugged people that he's home. Then hearing that one of your students passed away was. Stated and shocked.

22:03 In no way this could have happened. To this child. March eighth, nineteen ninety two, words spread quickly in the small town of Mansfield of six year old Alan Mercer's death. Diane Deese was in church, and then you begin to wonder, was there something I missed? Was there something going on that I should have noticed. The little boy was rushed from his home on Church Street to DeSoto Hospital. His stepfather, Christopher S. Palvido, carried him inside, and doctor Jeffrey Evans was there. Obviously had been burned badly because the flash was coming off of him. Sub Palvedo told investigators it was an accident.

22:45 The boy slipped into a tub of hot water. He was already dead, but we can tell that now how long he had been dead, Probably less than two hours. I would say it was obvious that something terrible had happened to the child. I was one shock. Lieutenants Tony Jo Morris and Judson Reeves were called to investigate. They interviewed Christopher. Sapalvido and the boy's mom, Yvonne, and then gathered evidence at the home. Along with witness accounts. They found out that Christopher Sapalvido abused and tortured little Alan Mercer after the boy soiled his pants at school. And he was had a fear of Chris. I mean, it was a horror.

23:28 There were beatings and threats to hang the little boy. And that's not all they didn't They didn't feed him private night, they didn't feed him Saturday at all. Investigators say Yvonne and Christopher Sapalvido even made the boy sleep in his soiled clothes both nights on this trunk right in front of his bed. What happened next at this home was even more heinous. Investigators say Christopher Sapalvido grabbed the handle of a screwdriver and struck Alan Mercer numerous times over the head and till he was unconscious. That was in his bedroom. Then he lifted the body, brought it over to the. Bathroom and lowered it into a tub filled with scalding water.

24:09 I immediately looked at the water heater as to what the pharmostat was on the water heater and what was that? If I remember correctly, it was two hundred and ten degrees. Evidence showed Christopher Sepalvido made up his story. Then the story didn't make sense. The severe burns were mostly on the boy's back. Now his hands and toes were spared, which is consistent with immersing the person. A horrifying end to a young life. There are only memories now kept alive all these years later by a single. File, and the painful thought of what could have been. When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, and he will never get to grow up, and he will never get to be a doctor.

24:58 For her part, Yvonn Mercer Sepalvido served seven years of a twenty one year sentence from manslaughter. Investigators and the jury that convicted her say that she was far from innocent and the murder of her son twenty years ago. But as we continue our team coverage, Dominique, she tells you that she is innocent. She does pad and actually, for the first time, Selen Mercer's mom is telling her side of the story to KSLA News twelve. She agreed to sit down with me. Now remarried, Yvonne Jones lives quietly just outside of Monroe. She helps out at a local beauty salon there and she's written a book. Tonight, in an exclusive interview, I go one on one with Yvonne Jones, who says she has not the monster investigators made her out to.

25:41 Be very precious angel I went into a state of shop. I had nothing to do with the death. Of my son. See, it was my life. It is still difficult for Yvonne Jones to talk about the day her six year old son, Alan Mercer was dipped into a tub full of skull water. Her ex husband, Christopher Sapalvedo, was convicted. Of first degree murder and sentenced to death. Then you're arrested, Yeah, yeah. I'm arrested, and Yvonne said, detectives told her it's not what she did, but what she didn't do. You know, It's like you were there, you should have stopped it.

26:21 She was originally charged with first degree murder, followed by a mistrial and a second trial, she faced manslaughter. All I need was what my daddy had told me, honey, all I. Can dare to tell you, just tell the truth. And the truth said you free. In the end, she was sentenced to twenty one years in prison. She did seven and a half years before she was released. That was eleven years ago. Now, Yvonne has written a book, A Time to Heal, The Struggles of a Battered Woman. Part of the book, she talks about her life with Christopher Sapalvedo and how she felt like a prisoner in. Her own home. She also talks about fearing the man she fell in love with. Some people would think that you are playing victim.

27:04 I do consider myself to be a victim. Every battered woman is a victim. Even though she feels like a victim, she also feels partly responsible for not getting out of a toxic relationship sooner. And now she's hoping these pages will guide battered spouses into making the right decision. And they're going to be able to see that how God took me from a place of brokenness, a place of being battered, in a place of mental anguish and destitute and totally messed up to a miracle, because in my eyes, I'm a walking miracle. To read an excerpt from Yvonne Jones' book of Time to Heal The Struggles of a Battered Woman, We have linked it to.

27:50 Our website at kaysline dot com. Alan Mercer's paternal grandparents say they are tired of waiting. While in Monroe, I stopped by the home of Sonny and Mattie Mercer. Their son was married to Yvonne Jones and was Allan's father. We looked over newspaper clippings from twenty years ago and pictures from when Alan spent time with his grandparents. Now, they say justice needs to be served. There's always consequences to mistakes we make, or crimes we command or whatever. So I think he needs to suffer those I. Think it should have happened a long time ago. He's been on death row too long. Yeah, he reman guy.

28:32 I think it's Some of his other wives of Ermit trial say it how bad he worse to them. The Mercers were approached about watching the execution, but say they have no interest in witnessing Christopher Supalvedo was execution. Back to what's next for Christopher So Palvido and the delay of his execution. I spoke to DeSoto Paris District Attorney Richard Johnson, who has this to say quote, I am disappointed that the execution was delayed. However, I have faith that although slow is sure. Then on September sixth of twenty thirteen, the execution gets rescheduled to be carried out, and so he gets another execution date of November fifth of twenty thirteen. However, the Supreme Court vacates the execution date three weeks later, allowing Supulvido time to continue his appeal. Can you imagine all the money that this costs, all the time you can see the red tape is just insane with this. On October first of twenty thirteen, the Louisiana Supreme Court vacates Supaulve's November fifth execution date. In October fifteenth of twenty thirteen, they turned down Supulvido's final appeal. So then we get into twenty fourteen January seventh, and for the third time in over a year, Supulvido's execute date gets set, this time for March seventh of twenty fourteen. So it's going

30:05 to happen, right, not so fast. During the time he's awaiting to be executed, the whole system crashes in the state of Louisiana over the lethal injection protocol. So there's a lot of legal ease that occurs all the way until twenty twenty four. And in twenty twenty four, as I've told you in the past, Jeff Landry becomes governor the State of Louisiana. He makes it his business to get to the bottom of these death penalty issues and start rolling out death penalty cases again. It was part of his platform, And in March of twenty twenty four, he signs a bill to allow the state to adopt both nitrogen gas inhalation and the electric chair. Is all ternative execution methods aside from lethal injection. He's just gonna go to a whole new deal. In February of twenty twenty five, the Attorney General, Liz Murrell announces that the state will resumed the executions and they're going to use nitrogen hypoxia as the method. And of course I told you in the last episode about Alabama and the fact that they had executed four prisoners between January twenty twenty four and February of twenty twenty five. Using this method, Christopher Sepulvido and two other condemned inmates, rapist killer Jesse

31:37 Hoffman who I've told you about last week and the Cheneyville slasher Larry Roy, were among the first death row prisoners Louisiana authorities sought to execute first. So on February twelfth of twenty twenty five, Judge Amy McCartney signs the death warrant for Supulvedo and she schedules his death sentence to be carried out on March seventeenth of twenty twenty five. Now, Supulvido at this time is eighty one years old, and he was the oldest out of all fifty seven death row inmates held in Louisiana. And of course his lawyers respond to this, and they argue that the wheelchair bound client was of advanced age, suffered from multiple serious medical ailments, and grew remorseful over his stepson's murder, and thus judicial mercy and compassion should be exercised in this case. But in the biggest twist of all to this case, just weeks before his scheduled execution, on February twenty second of twenty twenty five, Christopher Sepulvido dies of natural causes. So Palvado apparently had long been unwell. He was combined to a wheelchair. He suffered from a variety of chronic conditions

33:08 and illnesses, including obstructive pulmonary disease, a blocked artery to his brain, and gang green that led to him becoming septic in his leg. Days before his execution warrant was signed, doctors had recommended he enter hospice care, which occurred. He was hospitalized in New Orleans and after about a week he returned to Bloody Angola and died in the prison infirmary. And if you feel sorry for Christopher, consider that six year old boy that he beat and burned to death.

33:51 That's what I would say. Consider the victim just an evil human being in my opinion. And there you have it. Check out the Patreon for commercial free early releases. And next week I'm going to bring you that story of the Cheneyville Slasher as we continue this Executions commenced series. And until next time, I'm Jim Chapman for Bloody and goa a podcast to one hundred and forty two years in making the complete story of America's bloodiest present. Peace a wall.

34:49 Street line, Shackle, Chaine. It's calling my name. There is no mercy and this being a tentery juice as the hustream game Rangle three, I'm here, bef here to die inside these walls, inside the wild. And when the girls, I know it's oldbody angle, obody angle.

36:00 You do bring