Gomez receives maximum sentence

EPHRATA — Maribel Gomez was sentenced Monday to more than 26 years in prison for abusing her son, Rafael "Raffy" Gomez, to death.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz gave Gomez, who had no prior criminal history, the maximum 320-month sentence. Antosz found her guilty of homicide by abuse and first-degree manslaughter on March 28.

The judge heard the case from the bench after the 32-year-old Gomez waived her right to a jury trial.

She was also sentenced to 6 one-half to 8-1/2 years in prison on the manslaughter charge to run concurrently with the homicide sentence.

Gomez, a Mexico citizen who was living in Ephrata, was convicted of the September 2003, death of 25-month-old Raffy. The boy lived injury-free for 14 months in foster care. While he lived with Gomez, Raffy suffered what Antosz called "a constellation of injuries," including two broken legs, four skull fractures, numerous deep bruises and cigarette-like burns to his hand.

"It's not clear why this defendant committed these crimes," Antosz said.

Gomez's acts could've been a product of her anger or frustration, the judge said.

Gomez took the stand in her own defense, claiming Raffy threw himself backward during a tantrum over food, causing him to choke on some noodles. Defense witness Dr. Janice Ophoven, a pediatric forensic pathologist form Minnesota, said medical evidence supported Gomez's explanation for Raffy's death.

Prosecutors called numerous medical experts, all concluding Raffy died of blunt-force trauma to the head. Doctors said Raffy was repeatedly abused and the final, deadly blow to his head, while in Gomez's care, was no accident.

Before handing down the sentence, Antosz allowed a slide-show presentation of pictures and videos made by Denise Griffith, Raffy's foster mother from Royal City.

Griffith read a statement to the court, saying she "walked away from God for quite some time," after Raffy's death. Griffith now believes she was blessed to love Raffy and receive his love in return.

She's forgiven Gomez for the "horrible" injuries Raffy suffered, but asked for the maximum sentence.

"To forgive is not to forget," Griffith said. "Punishment is brought about to create change and to help us grow and learn from mistakes. This isn't about vengeance, it's about helping to make sure this crime is less likely to occur again."

Gomez, on the advice of her Moses Lake-based defense lawyer Bobby Moser, declined to speak before learning her fate.

Grant County deputy prosecutor Carolyn Fair called Raffy's death "one of the worst cases in the history of our office."

Fair asked Antosz to impose the maximum sentence.

"There are no mitigating factors," Fair told Antosz. "We have several aggravating factors."

The case involved a young, vulnerable child and a mother who's shown no remorse, Fair said.

"Rafael Gomez was a target child for Maribel Gomez," Fair said. "Raffy bore the brunt of Gomez's anger … (Gomez) has cried for herself, your honor, not for the death of her child."

Antosz said Gomez displayed arrogance on the witness stand. Gomez blamed others for what happened to Raffy. And she accepted none of the blame herself, Antosz said.

Moser, who plans to appeal the conviction, instructed Gomez to control her emotion during trial.

"Most of (Gomez's lack of emotion) was due to me, keeping my client where I needed her to be," Moser told Antosz. "I can't provide a defense with my client falling apart next to me."

Moser argued for a mid-range sentence.

Gomez, who has five other children in foster care, is being transferred to Washington Corrections Center for Women at Purdy on Thursday to serve her sentence.

She and Raffy's father, Jose Ramon Arechiga, applied for a marriage license last week at the Grant County Courthouse, according to documents. The couple plans to exchange vows while Gomez remains in Grant County Jail.

Raffy's death caused an outcry over the state's foster care system, leading to a review of state welfare agencies. Changes occurred in the way decisions are made to return foster children to their biological parents.

The state Department of Social and Health Services conducted a fatality review of the case, concluding social workers were biased toward the birth parents. Social workers, the report found, ignored obvious signs Raffy was in serious danger and failed to follow the agency's own rules.

"You can't help but feel anger and frustration at the state agency that failed to protect this child time and time again," said Fair.

Gomez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, faces deportation once her prison term ends.