March 13, 2025

Part Two | The Executions Commence: Christopher Sepulvado

Show Notes
Transcript

The “Executions Commence” series continues! Death warrants have been signed for several inmates in the State of Louisiana and in this episode of Bloody Angola Podcast, Jim Chapman breaks down the crimes and conviction of Christopher Sepulvado.

Timestamps
03:37 The Troubling Past of Sepulvado
06:19 The Abuse Escalates
09:25 The Tragic Death of Alan Mercer
12:46 Aftermath of the Tragedy
17:28 Trials and Tribulations
18:36 Yvonne's Sentencing and Reflections
20:09 Appeals and Delays
30:18 Changes in Execution Methods
33:38 The Unexpected End of Sepulvado

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H a wall Street line, shackle change, Oh someome gird,

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it's calling my name. There is no mercy and it's

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been a tentery juice as the huge stream game Rango three, come.

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Here be by me to die inside these walls, inside

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the wild.

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And went no girl as.

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I'm hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a

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podcast one d and forty two years in the making,

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the complete story of America's bloodiest prison. I'm Jim Chapman,

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and we are back with another episode in the Executions

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Commence series. Now, last week we brought you into the

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case of Jesse Hoffman. In this week, we're bringing you

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into the case of Christopher Sepulvido. Now, all of the

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stuff that we talk about on Bloody Angola can be

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hard to here, but this one is just an awful case.

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And I'm just going to start off in September of

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nineteen ninety when Christopher Sepulvido started dating Yvonne Mercer. The

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two had met in September of nineteen ninety when Yvonne

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was working at Walmart as a cashier. This was in

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West Monroe, Louisiana, which is on the far northern part

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of the state of Louisiana, and Yvonne had been separated

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from her husband. At the time, she was a struggling

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mother right she had a four year old son, his

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name was Wesley, and she was seemingly just trying to

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get by in life, kind of starting over. And Christopher Sepulvido,

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he was really laying on the charm with Yvonne, and

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early on in the dating relationship, he appeared to be

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a great guy. She would tell family and friends that

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he treated her better than she had ever been treated

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in her entire life. And athough Oh, Christopher Sepulvido was

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much older than Yvonne. He was forty eight, she was

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twenty six at this time. He appeared to possess the

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stability she was looking for in a future husband and

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stepfather for her son, Wesley Allen Mercer, who went by

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Alan now. At that time, she was living with her

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parents after her separation, and I'm sure like most people

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at that age, she's looking for a way out of

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her parents' house. So in short order, just four months

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into the relationship, in January of nineteen ninety one, despite

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her family's objections, she moves to Mansfield Louisiana to live

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with Christopher Sepulvido and his mother. What she didn't know

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was that Sepulvido he had a very disturbing past. And

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this is the day's before the Internet, y'all. There was

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no Facebook out there to research people or websites. Everything

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was really based on trust. You had to kind of

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rely on what people would tell you about who they were.

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He had been previously investigated twice before for abuse and

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neglect of a child from another family. DeSoto Sheriff Detective

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Tony Morris said that the abuse did not involve serious

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injuries or death and that Supulvido was never charged in

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the case. Even State Child Protective Services refused to release

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the date or identities of those involved, and the sheriff

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went on to say he was investigated several years ago

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on the allegation of child abuse, but no charges were

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ever brought against him. We found another investigation had been

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done with the same results. And of course all of

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this came out after the incident that I'm about to

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tell you about took place. So Supulvido was also previously

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arrested on a battery charge. A former girlfriend filed those

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charges against Supulvido, but they were later dropped. And the

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point of all that is to paint a picture of

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this ain't a nice guy at all and he liked

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to beat on women. Just a horrible human being in

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my opinion. Now, once he managed to get Yvonne away

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from her family, his true colors started to show around

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her as well. It wasn't long before he began drinking

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heavily and physically abusing Yvonne. It got so bad, in fact,

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that on May tenth of nineteen ninety one, just five

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months after moving in with Supulvido, Yvonne left him and

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moved back to live with her parents. As is common

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with a lot of these abuse cases, Sepulvido managed to

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talk his way back into her life and sometime around

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early July, she moves back in with Sepulvido, but this

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time she leaves her son Alan back with her parents,

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and again, as is so common with abuse, the abuse

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started up again and Yvonne leaves Supulvido yet again, but

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returns again to Supulvido, this time taking Allan with her.

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And it was at this time that this asshole begins

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abusing Alan instead of Yvonne, with the abuse gradually escalating

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to both physical and verbal abuse. It was also during

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this time that the couple had an infant son. So

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on March fifth of nineteen ninety two, Sepulvido marries Yvonne

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and the couple continues to live at Supolvido's mother's house

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with their children. Now here's the warning, it's about to

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get really bad and really descriptive. The day after the wedding,

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this is on March sixth of nineteen ninety two, Alan

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comes home from school and he had soiled his pants,

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so they punish him for this. Yvonne did not allow

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her son to have dinner that night, and she spanked

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him for this in Sepulvido, on that first time that

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Alan sold his pants, he ties a noose to a

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ceiling fan and threatens to hang Alan by the neck

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and even told Alan to count while standing on a

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chair with one foot. This is a six year old child.

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Sepulvido then uses a belt to whip Alan and also

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shoved the boy's head into a toilet bowl. During the

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second and third time that Alan defecated in his pants,

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again a six year old boy. On March seventh, the

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next day, the abuse continued, Alan was starved for another day.

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After Sepulvido instructed his wife not to feed her son.

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Alan was hit by his mother and got his hair pulled,

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and the couple forced Alan to sleep on a small trunk. Then,

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on the morning of March eighth, Alan was kicked into

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the bathroom by Sepulvido, who threatened a scald him with

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hot water if he again defecated in his pants. That

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same morning, Alan was told to dress and clean up

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before going to church, but he hesitated, and when he hesitated,

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Sepulvido whacked Alan on the head with the handle of

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a screwdriver several times at full force, until the boy

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fell unconscious. Sepulvido also immersed him in a bathtub full

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of scalding hot water. After the assault and the scalding,

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Alan was allowed to eat, but he vomited, fell over,

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and lost consciousness right after. Three hours later, the couple

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rushes Alan to DeSoto General Hospital. Now, despite receiving medical treatment,

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Allan was pronounced dead shortly after two pm that afternoon.

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It was discovered he was deceased before he even arrived

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at the hospital. Now, Initially, neighbors grieved with the Sepulvidoes.

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A next door neighbor by the name of Dorothy Wright

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said that Yvonne Sepulvedo told her Alan accidentally fell in

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the bathtub and it had hot water while they were

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getting ready for church. She was told the boy tried

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to get out, but slipped back into the tub. Wright

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told news cameras she said the child was not breathing

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by the time they took him to the hospital. Neighbors

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also said the last time they saw Alan alive was Friday,

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two days before his death. Neighborhood children were told Saturday

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that Allan was being punished it could not go out

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and play, and neighbors describe the Supulvidas as a straightforward

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church going good people. After Allan's death, a neighbor said

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Christopher Supulvida was seen wearing a red T shirt that

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stated John three point sixteen on the front and Born

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Again on the back. Allan's paternal grandmother would only say

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the boy's death was probably the most tragic thing that

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has ever happened in our lives, and neither she nor

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her son would comment further. On March ninth of nineteen

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ninety two, in autopsy, was conducted by doctor George McCormick,

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and he found that the cause of death was due

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to failure of the heart and lungs caused by severe

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third degree burns covering fifty eight percent of Allan's body,

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and doctor McCormick also found multiple head wounds on Allen

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from those screwdrivers. Right the boy's body was covered in first,

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second and third degree burns. The total body surface area

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involved was more than eighty percent of this precious child's body. Disgusting. So,

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armed with this obvious information of abuse coming from the

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Corner police, on March eleventh of nineteen ninety two, they

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arrest Allan's mother, Yvonne and his stepfather, Christopher Supulvido, immediately

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following the funeral of Allen, and they both faced one

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count each of first degree murder. The couple's infant son

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at this point was placed in the custody of the state.

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So police take Supulvedo in for questioning and he admits

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to the police that he had assaulted Allan, but he

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denies that he intentionally immersed him in water. He claimed

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that Allan accidentally fell into the bathtub and that was

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how he got scalded by hot water. On March seventeenth

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of nineteen ninety two, Sepulvido and his wife the again

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indicted on first degree murder charges, and both were facing

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the death penalty at the worst, life in prison at

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the best. Yvon was escorted in shackles to testify before

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the specially convened grand jury, and Supulvido did not appear

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before the grand jury, so she was testifying against him.

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It sounds like to me, the district attorney, Don Perquettes said,

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we will likely seek the death penalty against one of

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the defendants and possibly the other. The evidence is that

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the child died as a result of the actions of

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the two defendants indicted. Burkett would not say at this

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time whether either defendant agreed to testify against the others

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in exchange for a lesser charge, but I can guarantee

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you that the mother in this case did. And on

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March twenty fourth of nineteen ninety two, during their arraignment,

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both Sepulvedo and his wife pleaded not guilty to the

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charges of first degree murder no surprise, they had nothing

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to lose there, and a trial date gets set. That

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trial date was for June one of nineteen ninety two.

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Now surprisingly to me, on April fourth of nineteen ninety two,

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Yvonne is freed on a fifty thousand dollars bond, but

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Supulvido he remains in the descetto Paris jail now throughout

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the next year. As it's common in first degree murder cases,

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the trial date gets moved several times. You see this

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on just about every murder case in the world. It

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never ends up being that first date that you hear.

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But finally, on April twelfth of nineteen ninety three, jury

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selection begins and the Sepulvido trial starts. So the jury

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hears the testimony of thirteen year old Larry Michelle of Monroe,

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who was another one of Supulvido's step sons. He said

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Supolvido had beaten him many times when he lived with Christopher.

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A next girlfriend of Sepulvido's by the name of Gail Hughes.

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She told Jerry he had beaten her more times than

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she could count, including hitting her over the head with

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a two by four. This guy's history of hitting on

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the weaker than him physically is ridiculous, disgusting. On April seventeenth,

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of nineteen ninety three at Decetto, Paris, jury finds Sepulvido

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guilty of first degree murder after delivering for just thirty

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three minutes. And that is no fucking surprise to me.

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The guilty verdict was given despite testimony by a defense

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witness who said Alan's burns were not consistent with child abuse.

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Of course this is a defense witness, right, They're not

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going to air on the side of the prosecution. The

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doctor was a burn expert for Batner's General Medical Center. Instead,

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Alan's injuries had characteristics of an unconscious child being placed

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in hot water. Well, I would say that that is

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child abuse. One of the strangest statements I've ever read.

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Earlier in the trial cornered doctor George McCormick, he tested

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for the prosecution and said the child's injuries did not

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appear accidental. And on April nineteenth of nineteen ninety three,

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just two days later, the jury recommends the death penalty

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for Sepulvido. It took the jury less than a half

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hour to decide on the death penalty, so their minds

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were made up. And I would imagine that most people

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sitting on the jury during this trial. Hearing all of

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this abuse and all of the shit that this guy

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did prior to killing this poor baby, would have probably

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thought the same way. He became the first person in

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almost twenty years in Descetto Parish to get the death penalty.

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And its ironic that the last person sentenced to death

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in Decetto Parish was Supolvido's cousin, Clayton Supovido. This was

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in nineteen seventy six. He was convicted of shooting a

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man in the head. That sentence later got converted to

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life in prison. But the apple obviously not falling far

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from the tree. There the da Don Burquette said, sentenced

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this animal to death. He deserves it. So it's off

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to bloody Angla for this guy. And a few months later,

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on July twenty eighth of nineteen ninety three, Yvonne's trial

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starts and Yvonne's trial was declared a mistrial. Initially, I

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know it's shocking. Defense attorney James Calbwell asked for a

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mistrial when a psychiatrist who was to be an expert

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witness for the defense suddenly gets critically ill and was

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hospitalized in Monroe. The judge granted that and granted a

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start of a new trial. It ends up occurring on

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December sixth of nineteen ninety three. This was Yvonne's second trial.

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She pleaded not get by reason of insanity. Yvonne calmly

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told the jury how she whipped son Allan and deprived

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him of food for two days before his death. Yvonne

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said that she punished her son for soiling his pants

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by whipping him with a belt and hitting him in

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the face. She argued that she was a batter wife

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who was temporarily insane and was not aware of what

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she was doing. Yvonne was ultimately convicted of a lesser

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charge of manslaughter and sentenced to twenty one years in prison,

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not enough in my opinion, and when it was all

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sudden done. Yvonne just served seven and a half years

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of that sentence before she was released in two thousand

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and two and has remarried since. In twenty thirteen, she

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actually accepted an interview, and in that interview, she said

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that she was saddened by her son's death and felt

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partly responsible for not ending her toxic relationship with Supulvido,

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Although she said she never killed her son and was

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not as evil as what people believed her to be,

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and I'll leave that up to you. So, Christopher, he's

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doing what those sentenced to death do, right, and that's

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issue a massive amount of appeals. In twenty thirteen, after

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exhausting nearly all his appeals, a death warrant is issued

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for Supulvido and he gets an execution date scheduled, and

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that was scheduled to take place on February thirteenth of

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twenty thirteen. And on January twenty eighth of twenty thirteen,

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the Louisiana Supreme Court they deny a stay of execution

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to Sepulvido. In the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, they

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appeal to then Governor Bobby Jendall to stay the scheduled execution. Subsequently,

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the District Judge, James Joseph Brady, he delays that execution

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pending more information on the state's lethal injection protocol. On

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February seventh of twenty thirteen, Supovido's second appeal to the

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Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals gets dismissed. And you remember

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that interview I referenced just a few minutes ago with

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Yvonne well, I'm gonna go ahead. I'm gonna play you

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that interview because it references also these mass of appeals,

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et cetera with Christopher. So here's that clip.

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Justice delayed at our Clitec's convicted childkiller remains on death row.

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I never recall Christopoldo showing any remorse than anything.

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Christapovodo has been too long where he's been too long. Finally,

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I just said, as he did, I had nothing to

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do with the death of my son.

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He was scheduled to die tonight for the brutal murder

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of his six year old stepson.

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We uncover new.

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Details about his date with death. A DeSoto parish man

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remains on death row now after a judge delayed his execution,

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which was scheduled for tonight.

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It was delayed because the state Department of Corrections had

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not given Christopher S. Pavldo enough information about the drug.

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That was going to be used to kill him. We

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have team.

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Coverage tonight, new information tonight, An attorney for the Department

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of Corrections tells Casele News twelve.

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An appeal of the delay of.

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That execution is expected to be heard tomorrow before the

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Fifth Circuit Court of appeals in New Orleans. We begin

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our team coverage tonight with a trip back to the

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scene of the crime, where our community is still coping

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twenty years after tragedy. Nothing can crush the heart of

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a kindergarten teacher more.

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Every morning when he came to school, he hugged people

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that he's home.

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Then hearing that one of your students passed away was.

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Stated and shocked.

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In no way this could have happened.

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To this child.

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March eighth, nineteen ninety two, words spread quickly in the

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small town of Mansfield of six year old Alan Mercer's death.

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Diane Deese was in church, and then you begin to wonder,

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was there something I missed?

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Was there something going on that I should have noticed.

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The little boy was rushed from his home on Church

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Street to DeSoto Hospital.

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His stepfather, Christopher S.

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Palvido, carried him inside, and doctor Jeffrey Evans was there.

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Obviously had been burned badly because the flash was coming

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off of him.

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Sub Palvedo told investigators it was an accident.

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The boy slipped into a tub of hot water.

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He was already dead, but we can tell that now

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how long he had been dead, Probably less than two hours.

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I would say it was obvious that something terrible had

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happened to the child. I was one shock.

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Lieutenants Tony Jo Morris and Judson Reeves were called to investigate.

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They interviewed Christopher.

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Sapalvido and the boy's mom, Yvonne, and then gathered evidence

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at the home.

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Along with witness accounts.

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They found out that Christopher Sapalvido abused and tortured little

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Alan Mercer after the boy soiled his pants at school.

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And he was had a fear of Chris. I mean,

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it was a horror.

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There were beatings and threats to hang the little boy.

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And that's not all they didn't They didn't feed him

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private night, they didn't feed him Saturday at all.

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Investigators say Yvonne and Christopher Sapalvido even made the boy

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sleep in his soiled clothes both nights on this trunk

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right in front of his bed. What happened next at

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this home was even more heinous. Investigators say Christopher Sapalvido

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grabbed the handle of a screwdriver and struck Alan Mercer

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numerous times over the head and till he was unconscious.

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That was in his bedroom. Then he lifted the body,

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brought it over to the.

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Bathroom and lowered it into a tub filled with scalding water.

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I immediately looked at the water heater as to what

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the pharmostat was on the water heater and what was that?

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If I remember correctly, it was two hundred and ten degrees.

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Evidence showed Christopher Sepalvido made up his story.

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Then the story didn't make sense.

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The severe burns were mostly on the boy's back.

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Now his hands and toes were spared, which is consistent

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with immersing the person.

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A horrifying end to a young life.

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There are only memories now kept alive all these years

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later by a single.

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File, and the painful thought of what could have been.

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When I grow up, I want to be a doctor,

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and he will never get to grow up, and he

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will never get to be a doctor.

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For her part, Yvonn Mercer Sepalvido served seven years of

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a twenty one year sentence from manslaughter. Investigators and the

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jury that convicted her say that she was far from

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innocent and the murder of her son twenty years ago.

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But as we continue our team coverage, Dominique, she tells

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you that she is innocent.

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She does pad and actually, for the first time, Selen

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Mercer's mom is telling her side of the story to

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KSLA News twelve.

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She agreed to sit down with me.

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Now remarried, Yvonne Jones lives quietly just outside of Monroe.

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She helps out at a local beauty salon there and

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she's written a book. Tonight, in an exclusive interview, I

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go one on one with Yvonne Jones, who says she

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has not the monster investigators made her out to.

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Be very precious angel I went into a state of shop.

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I had nothing to do with the death.

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Of my son.

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See, it was my life.

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It is still difficult for Yvonne Jones to talk about

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the day her six year old son, Alan Mercer was

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dipped into a tub full of skull water. Her ex husband,

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Christopher Sapalvedo, was convicted.

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Of first degree murder and sentenced to death. Then you're arrested, Yeah, yeah.

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I'm arrested, and Yvonne said, detectives told her it's not

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what she did, but what she didn't do.

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You know, It's like you were there, you should have

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stopped it.

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She was originally charged with first degree murder, followed by

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a mistrial and a second trial, she faced manslaughter.

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All I need was what my daddy had told me, honey,

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all I.

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Can dare to tell you, just tell the truth.

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And the truth said you free.

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In the end, she was sentenced to twenty one years

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in prison. She did seven and a half years before

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she was released. That was eleven years ago. Now, Yvonne

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has written a book, A Time to Heal, The Struggles

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of a Battered Woman. Part of the book, she talks

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about her life with Christopher Sapalvedo and how she felt

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like a prisoner in.

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Her own home. She also talks about fearing the man

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she fell in love with. Some people would think that

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you are playing victim.

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I do consider myself to be a victim. Every battered

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woman is a victim.

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Even though she feels like a victim, she also feels

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