Gomez to exchange vows in jail

EPHRATA — Maribel Gomez, who was convicted of killing her 2-year-old son Rafael "Raffy" Gomez, is getting married.

Jose Ramon Arechiga, 33, of Ephrata, Raffy's father, and Gomez applied for a marriage license Tuesday at the Grant County Courthouse, according to documents.

Gomez, 32, of Ephrata, remains in Grant County Jail until Tuesday or Thursday, when she is scheduled to be transported to Purdy Treatment Center, which is now Washington Corrections Center for Women, said Capt. Pete McMahon, with the Grant County Sheriff's Office.

McMahon said the jail is not involved with the couples wedding plans.

Jail-visitation marriages, are not a frequent occurrence in Ephrata, McMahon said.

Marriage ceremonies occur during regular jail visitation hours. The bride and groom, separated by a glass partition, exchange their vows via intercom telephones.

"It's not a very romantic affair," McMahon said today. "There's no honeymoon, no kissing, no rice throwing, no ring passing."

Gomez is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Grant County Superior Court and could receive a prison term of 20 to 26 years, the standard range.

She was convicted March 28 of homicide by abuse and first-degree manslaughter for Raffy's September 2003 death.

Gomez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, has five other children in foster care. Arechiga is the father of two of the children.

Gomez's defense lawyer, Bobby Moser of Moses Lake, plans to appeal her conviction.