Chapter 7 - The Trial of the CruzesSix months later, the high-profile criminal trial of State of Texas v. Mateo Cruz and Elena Cruz began at the central courthouse.
The courtroom was packed to maximum capacity. National news networks broadcasted the trial live to millions of viewers across the country.
Mateo sat at the defense desk wearing a dull grey prison suit. Over the last seven months behind bars, he had aged significantly—his face gaunt, his dark hair graying at the temples, his once-intimidating posture replaced by a permanent, panicked slump. Elena sat beside him, her hands trembling violently, her eyes fixed on the floorboards.
When I was called to the witness stand, a hush fell over the entire room.
I walked down the center aisle holding my head high, wearing a tailored green dress, my steps confident and steady.
The lead prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Marcus Vance, walked me through every single detail of those terrifying mornings.
“Mrs. Cruz—or rather, Ms. Santos,” Attorney Vance corrected gently. “Can you tell the jury who tied you to that porch pillar?”
“My ex-husband, Mateo Cruz, tied my hands every morning,” I testified clearly, my voice echoing off the high stone walls. “And his mother, Elena, held the sharpening stone, telling him where to hit me so the marks wouldn't show.”
“And what were they trying to accomplish?” Vance pressed.
“They wanted to force me into a miscarriage because I had given birth to two daughters,” I stated calmly, looking directly into the eyes of the twelve jurors. “And when they realized I was carrying a son, they continued the abuse to kill me so they could collect a half-million-dollar life insurance policy.”
The prosecutor then played the full forty-minute audio recording from the final morning.
The horrifying sounds of the ropes tightening, Mateo’s cruel yelling, Elena’s cold instructions, and my final, heart-wrenching screams filled the courtroom.
Three jurors wept openly. The jury foreman clenched his fists, glaring at the defense table with absolute disgust.
Mateo’s defense lawyer attempted a brief cross-examination, suggesting Mateo was under immense stress and acted without premeditated malice.
I looked the defense lawyer dead in the eye.
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“He didn't act under stress, sir,” I answered firmly. “He systematically bought an insurance policy, hid phones, tied his pregnant wife to a wooden post, and killed his own unborn son for money. He is a cold-blooded murderer.”
The defense lawyer sat down, completely unable to break my testimony.
