Melissa Lucio is the first woman of an American Hispanic descent who was sentenced to death in Texas. After the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, the court charged her with capital murder. Upon examination, Mariah was found to be in a fetal condition, with various stages of bruising and injuries to her head and contusions to her kidneys, lungs, and spinal cord. According to prosecutors, the injuries inflicted on Mariah were the result of physical abuse, while Lucio’s lawyer says the daughter was injured because she fell down the stairs two days before her death.
Melissa Lucio Early Life
Melissa Lucio was born on July 18, 1968 in Lubbock, Texas. Although the official documents state that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. Lucio’s father died when Lucio was an infant, and her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley when Lucio was almost 3 to 4 years old. Lucios’ life wasn’t as easy and smooth as other children’s. According to Lucio, she was once sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend.
At the time of the abuse she was only 6 years old and could not do anything, but the conditions remained the same for at least two years. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and gave birth to five children with her husband, who constantly abused Lucio throughout their relationship. She said she was constantly sexually abused by her first husband, who later left and separated with her five children.
Death of Mariah Alvarez
According to an interrogation with Lucio about the death of their then-youngest child, Mariah fell down a flight of stairs in February 2007 while the family was moving. The daughter, who was still a small child at the time, had to be examined by a doctor for a disability and was unstable when walking.
Two days later, Mariah went to sleep and didn’t wake up. On the other hand, Lucio said she was pressured into giving false information about the allegations. Melissa Lucio, who maintained her innocence for nearly 14 years, was immediately interrogated and alleged nearly 100 times until she was manipulated by police officers into taking responsibility for Mariah’s injury.
Ms Lucio was taken in for questioning and was interrogated for almost five hours while she was pregnant and going through the shock of losing her young child, Mariah. Research says Mariah was physically abused, and people like Ms. Lucio often agree to conditions they never condemned while under tremendous pressure from the majority of people.
The state of Texas has scheduled the execution in the Melissa Lucio case for April 27. On April 15, Ms Lucio’s lawyer filed a habeas petition, appealing to her client to seek a stay of her execution, arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and wrongly arrested or misunderstood become.
Melissa Lucio Biography | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Melissa Elizabeth Lucio |
| Date of birth | July 18, 1968 |
| Age (as of 2022) | 53 years |
| Place of birth | Lubbock, Texas, USA |
| nationality | American |
| profession | building superintendent |
| religion | Christianity |
| sun sign | Cancer |
Physical Statistics | |
| Height | in feet inches – 5′ 6” – in centimeters – 168 cm |
| Weight | in kilograms – 72kg – in pounds – 158 pounds |
| shoe size | 8 (USA) |
| hair colour | Black |
| eye color | dark brown |
| body type | Average |
Melissa Lucio Family | |
| Father | – |
| mother | Esperanza Trevino |
| sister | – |
| Brothers | – |
Qualification/Education | |
| school | – |
| University | – |
Relationship status | |
| Marital status | Married |
| Who is Melissa Lucio’s husband? | Robert Alvarez |
| children | Two |
Death sentence
Lucio was previously sentenced to death in 2008 and was pregnant with twins at the time of her incarceration, which she had to put up for adoption as she was unable to support the babies’ feeding in prison. Later, after receiving many letters, punishments, executions and defense statements from Lucio’s lawyer, Lucio was still being interrogated for the murder of her then youngest child of a total of 12 children born to her due to two marriages.
On April 25, 2022, the Texas court granted a stay of execution and directed the Cameron County 138th Circuit Court to review Lucio’s case with new evidence of her innocence regarding the death of her daughter Mariah. Even after none of her children accepted their mother’s physical abuse from Lucio, the police and pathologists continued to claim that Mariah’s death was not a result of the fall from the stairs.
Melissa Lucio Personal Life
Melissa Lucio’s private life remained a mystery for many years until her daughter died and she was sentenced to prison. She was sexually abused at the age of 6 by one of her family members (her mother’s boyfriend). She was abused throughout her childhood and adolescence.
At the age of 16 she became a child bride but once again had to face an abusive marriage. Her husband continued to abuse her physically, emotionally and sexually, even giving birth to 5 children at the age of 5 and abandoning the whole family, leaving Lucio and her children behind. Lucio later had nine more children with her next husband, who was also found to be abusive towards her.
Her second partner continued to rape her and threatened her with death. According to the reports, she has undergone a continuous and repetitive “highly abnormal” level of vulnerability.
Adaptation of her story
In 2020, a documentary about the case history of Melissa Lucio was directed by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa. The film screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and later won Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. Similarly, movie personalities have produced Melissa Lucio’s story in either documentaries, shorts, or movies, but no one could deny the fact that she would be sentenced to death.