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Local woman's death highlights troubling cycling of violence
Fourteen-year-old Juan Salciedo's mother Sandra Hernandez was allegedly killed in July by a one-time boyfriend who had been violent with her in the past. One of Salciedo's lasting memories of his mother is her boisterous laugh. "It was so loud, everyone knew she was there," said Salciedo. Jorgen Gulliksen/Register | Buy photos
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CommentMaria Preciado misses her daughter Sandra.
On July 31, Sandra Isabel Hernandez, 31, was gunned down in her home on Dry Creek Road. Hours after the murder, Napa Police caught up with Onesimo Olmedo Garcia, 30, her one-time boyfriend, and charged him with the crime.
On July 31, Sandra Isabel Hernandez, 31, was gunned down in her home on Dry Creek Road. Hours after the murder, Napa Police caught up with Onesimo Olmedo Garcia, 30, her one-time boyfriend, and charged him with the crime.
Hernandez's death was a tragic punctuation mark at the end of a story of domestic violence, a story that is more common than people would like to believe.
In many respects, Hernandez' story is unique. But in others, it has the hallmarks of the cycle of domestic violence at its worst. A history of troubled relationships, bad blood between lovers, drugs or alcohol, and more than one incident of violence.
In many respects, Hernandez' story is unique. But in others, it has the hallmarks of the cycle of domestic violence at its worst. A history of troubled relationships, bad blood between lovers, drugs or alcohol, and more than one incident of violence.
Hundreds of women in Napa County face a domestic violence crises every year, but there are services that can help women get out of bad relationships. For 25 years the nonprofit Napa Emergency Women's Services, or NEWS, has been at the forefront of helping women leave abusive partners and get on with their lives.
"Last year at NEWS we had more than 800 calls to our (crisis) hotline, we housed more than 81 families in our shelter," said Tracy Lamb, executive director of NEWS. "I think it's probably a drop in the bucket of our numbers. It's very difficult for people to make a decision to leave the situation and make a change in their lives. A lot of that is because of the nature of the crime. A lot of people are trapped."
"Last year at NEWS we had more than 800 calls to our (crisis) hotline, we housed more than 81 families in our shelter," said Tracy Lamb, executive director of NEWS. "I think it's probably a drop in the bucket of our numbers. It's very difficult for people to make a decision to leave the situation and make a change in their lives. A lot of that is because of the nature of the crime. A lot of people are trapped."
To bring attention to the epidemic of domestic violence, NEWS is co-sponsoring a Family Violence Prevention Candlelight Vigil at Veteran's Memorial Park on Thursday at 6 p.m. An art exhibit planned for the same day at Napa Valley College entitled "Visualize the Impact" will bring further attention to the plight.
'A good girl'
"She was a good girl, she had good intentions," Maria Preciado said this week, sitting in her downtown Napa home, the living room covered with pictures of her late daughter, other family members and the Virgin of Guadalupe.
"She was very thoughtful and cared about people."
Preciado said her daughter had planned to study at Napa Valley College and dreamed of working at a school as a teacher's aide. Her dreams got derailed, however, by a combination of bad relationships and drug abuse. A rocky marriage that went south, with a man who Preciado said is serving time in a state prison on drug charges, paved the way for Hernandez's most violent relationship yet.
Hernandez met Garcia, the man accused of killing her, when they both worked at a local car wash, according to her family. Garcia wanted to date Hernandez, but Hernandez at first wouldn't give him the time of day.
She eventually gave in to Garcia's advances and the two started a 15-year-on-again-off-again relationship that was marred by conflict, family members said.
On Aug. 14, 2004, Garcia was arrested and charged with domestic violence, false imprisonment and violation of probation. Hernandez was the victim. Napa County court records showed that while the couple was not dating at the time, they nonetheless tried to get a hotel room, but failed because they didn't have the required identification.
Instead, they went to buy beer at a local liquor store and parked their car at the far south end of Riverside Drive. Hernandez said that Garcia wanted to have sex in the car. She refused and he got upset, according to court records.
"(We) got in an argument, I wanted to go home," Hernandez said, according to court transcripts. "I wanted him to just drop me off and he refused. He said that we would be leaving soon; to just wait for a few more minutes, so I did. And then he wanted to have sex right there in the car and I said 'No.' I didn't want to have sex in the car."
The argument escalated, as did Garcia's anger, when the two began talking about issues from the past, Hernandez said.
"I tried to get out of the car and that's when he shut the door," Hernandez said, according to the transcripts. "He, he had me down. I was trying to get out and he had me down. He was pulling me by the hair, the back of the head."
She called 911 on her cell phone and Garcia let her go. After talking to a 911 operator, Garcia drove them away and told Hernandez to get out of the car, according to court testimony.
"He started driving and said 'You want to get out? Then get out,'" she said.
Then Garcia stopped the car, got out, pulled Hernandez out of the vehicle and punched her in the mouth, according to court documents. Police caught up with Garcia at his home and took him into custody. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the incident, and was also put on probation. Preciado, Hernandez's mother, said that she believes that the time Garcia spent in jail enraged him enough to cause further damage to her daughter.
"I told her you have to leave that man, he's going to hurt you," she said. "She would tell me, 'I have left him, but he is the one who is following me.'"
Garcia was in control that day in the car, and that is a sign of potential trouble, according to the advocates at NEWS, Napa Emergency Women's Services. Mary Pisor, NEWS development coordinator, said a common denominator in domestic violence cases is control.
"You have a situation where most of the power is held by one ... person," Pisor said. "I think really ... it's power and control. Striking someone is a way to demean them. They are saying that they aren't important enough not to hit. That person can be intimidated and kept in fear. It also makes the batterer feel powerful. It gives the person who is battering a real sense of power. It's spiritually destroying (to the victim). It takes away the sense of self, their sense of independence. It disempowers them."
A mother's pain
Preciado knew that her daughter made bad choices, but she said she wouldn't listen to advice.
"I told her I would support her, 'You don't have to turn to the streets,'" she said.
After her daughter was abused by Garcia, Preciado wanted to confront him, but she would never get the chance. Three months ago, Garcia visited Hernandez in her home on Dry Creek Road. Late in the afternoon, shots rang out, and Garcia left. He got in his car and plowed through a fence as he left the scene.
Later that day, officers trailed him to a home in Fairfield.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the investigation, but court records show that when officers contacted Garcia at his Fairfield residence they found blood on his shirt that they believed to be Hernandez's. Garcia was also drunk at the time of his arrest, making him in violation of probation.
Today, Garcia is sitting in Napa County Department of Corrections awaiting an Oct. 28 preliminary hearing for the murder.
For Preciado, no amount of jail time will bring her daughter back.
"I can't look at him," she said. "I'm filled with anger. I can't forgive him. I just want him to stay in jail and to not hurt anyone again. I still can't accept it. I visit her grave and I still feel like her death is a lie."
Anyone who is in a domestic violence situation or knows of someone who is in one can call 255-6397 for assistance.
'A good girl'
"She was a good girl, she had good intentions," Maria Preciado said this week, sitting in her downtown Napa home, the living room covered with pictures of her late daughter, other family members and the Virgin of Guadalupe.
"She was very thoughtful and cared about people."
Preciado said her daughter had planned to study at Napa Valley College and dreamed of working at a school as a teacher's aide. Her dreams got derailed, however, by a combination of bad relationships and drug abuse. A rocky marriage that went south, with a man who Preciado said is serving time in a state prison on drug charges, paved the way for Hernandez's most violent relationship yet.
Hernandez met Garcia, the man accused of killing her, when they both worked at a local car wash, according to her family. Garcia wanted to date Hernandez, but Hernandez at first wouldn't give him the time of day.
She eventually gave in to Garcia's advances and the two started a 15-year-on-again-off-again relationship that was marred by conflict, family members said.
On Aug. 14, 2004, Garcia was arrested and charged with domestic violence, false imprisonment and violation of probation. Hernandez was the victim. Napa County court records showed that while the couple was not dating at the time, they nonetheless tried to get a hotel room, but failed because they didn't have the required identification.
Instead, they went to buy beer at a local liquor store and parked their car at the far south end of Riverside Drive. Hernandez said that Garcia wanted to have sex in the car. She refused and he got upset, according to court records.
"(We) got in an argument, I wanted to go home," Hernandez said, according to court transcripts. "I wanted him to just drop me off and he refused. He said that we would be leaving soon; to just wait for a few more minutes, so I did. And then he wanted to have sex right there in the car and I said 'No.' I didn't want to have sex in the car."
The argument escalated, as did Garcia's anger, when the two began talking about issues from the past, Hernandez said.
"I tried to get out of the car and that's when he shut the door," Hernandez said, according to the transcripts. "He, he had me down. I was trying to get out and he had me down. He was pulling me by the hair, the back of the head."
She called 911 on her cell phone and Garcia let her go. After talking to a 911 operator, Garcia drove them away and told Hernandez to get out of the car, according to court testimony.
"He started driving and said 'You want to get out? Then get out,'" she said.
Then Garcia stopped the car, got out, pulled Hernandez out of the vehicle and punched her in the mouth, according to court documents. Police caught up with Garcia at his home and took him into custody. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the incident, and was also put on probation. Preciado, Hernandez's mother, said that she believes that the time Garcia spent in jail enraged him enough to cause further damage to her daughter.
"I told her you have to leave that man, he's going to hurt you," she said. "She would tell me, 'I have left him, but he is the one who is following me.'"
Garcia was in control that day in the car, and that is a sign of potential trouble, according to the advocates at NEWS, Napa Emergency Women's Services. Mary Pisor, NEWS development coordinator, said a common denominator in domestic violence cases is control.
"You have a situation where most of the power is held by one ... person," Pisor said. "I think really ... it's power and control. Striking someone is a way to demean them. They are saying that they aren't important enough not to hit. That person can be intimidated and kept in fear. It also makes the batterer feel powerful. It gives the person who is battering a real sense of power. It's spiritually destroying (to the victim). It takes away the sense of self, their sense of independence. It disempowers them."
A mother's pain
Preciado knew that her daughter made bad choices, but she said she wouldn't listen to advice.
"I told her I would support her, 'You don't have to turn to the streets,'" she said.
After her daughter was abused by Garcia, Preciado wanted to confront him, but she would never get the chance. Three months ago, Garcia visited Hernandez in her home on Dry Creek Road. Late in the afternoon, shots rang out, and Garcia left. He got in his car and plowed through a fence as he left the scene.
Later that day, officers trailed him to a home in Fairfield.
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the investigation, but court records show that when officers contacted Garcia at his Fairfield residence they found blood on his shirt that they believed to be Hernandez's. Garcia was also drunk at the time of his arrest, making him in violation of probation.
Today, Garcia is sitting in Napa County Department of Corrections awaiting an Oct. 28 preliminary hearing for the murder.
For Preciado, no amount of jail time will bring her daughter back.
"I can't look at him," she said. "I'm filled with anger. I can't forgive him. I just want him to stay in jail and to not hurt anyone again. I still can't accept it. I visit her grave and I still feel like her death is a lie."
Anyone who is in a domestic violence situation or knows of someone who is in one can call 255-6397 for assistance.
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