Crystal Figueroa's last day of life was a miserable one.
In the hours before she was found in a trash bin, she was sick and vomited frequently, prompting her mother's boyfriend, Marc Anthony Colon, to say the 3-year-old was bringing "too much drama" to their lives, according to grand jury testimony.
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Colon's 8-year-old daughter, Marlene Colon, told the grand jury that she saw her father hit Crystal several times on the arms "because she was always throwing up on the couch."
The next day, Marlene and her 9-year-old sister, Maxine Colon, woke up and Crystal was gone. Their father told them her grandmother had picked her up, they testified.
The testimony came during a March 30 grand jury hearing that ended with the indictment of Marc Anthony Colon, 28, and Crystal's 24-year-old mother, Gladys Perez. They have both pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, child abuse and child neglect.
Crystal's body was found Jan. 12 in an apartment trash bin. She became known as Jane "Cordova" Doe as authorities launched a nationwide investigation to determine her real identity and who was responsible for her death.
Detectives cracked the case when Perez's grandmother filed a missing persons report in California.
According to an arrest report, Crystal was beaten during an argument between Perez and Colon after he gambled away the family's money shortly after they arrived in Las Vegas from Southern California.
During her interview with Las Vegas homicide detectives, Maxine recalled how she was left to watch over Crystal as she vomited through the night.
"I had to stay up all night to watch her so she wouldn't throw up," she told the grand jury. "My dad wanted me to watch Crystal because they were in the room sleeping."
When Crystal vomited, Maxine woke up her father, who cleaned the child, changed her clothes and put her back to bed, Maxine testified.
"It's like sometimes I hear her throwing up and I just like get scared because she's really sick," Maxine said.
Maxine also testified that she saw Perez slap Crystal.
"I seen her hit her," she said. "I was scared that she hit her. I started to cry when Crystal said 'Ow.'"
Las Vegas police homicide Detective Michael McGrath told the grand jury that Colon was uncooperative and did not answer questions during an interview conducted after Colon was arrested in St. Paul, Minnesota.
When McGrath asked Colon who was responsible for Crystal's death, he said "That's not my child," McGrath told the grand jury. Colon also said he never left the apartment, McGrath said.
McGrath asked Colon if he ever punched Crystal, to which Colon responded, "I love that girl. She kissed me on the lips before she died," McGrath testified.
Colon told police he grew concerned about Crystal's health and gave her cardiopulmonary resuscitation when she stopped breathing at one point, McGrath said. But when Colon and Perez took the girl to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, they didn't take her inside.
Colon explained his actions to McGrath by saying "It's not my kid" and "I'm running from parole," McGrath testified.
Colon ended his interview with police by defending his girlfriend.
"Gladys is a good woman. We both have anger problems," McGrath quoted Colon as saying.
Homicide Detective James Vaccaro told the grand jury that Maxine said she heard her father say Crystal brought "too much drama" to their lives during an argument with Perez about Crystal.
The girl also told police she saw her father punch Crystal, causing a bruise on her back, Vaccaro testified.
Perez told detectives that Colon would hit the girls, sometimes using a sandal, and that he hit Crystal after she pooped her pants, Vaccaro told the grand jury. Colon would hit Perez, too, Vaccaro said.
"She would intervene between Marc Anthony and the child, and she would end up getting hit for that," he said.
