Veva Virgil - Under Suspicion of 3 y.o. Daughters Murder
Little Girl's Body Found In Motel; Mother Arrested POSTED: 10:45 am PST November 17, 2008 UPDATED: 12:00 pm PST November 17, 2008 WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- The mother of a 3-year-old girl found dead in a Watsonville motel room has been arrested on suspicion of murder, according to police Lt. Darren Thompson. Officers were called to a Motel 6 at 125 Silver Leaf Drive around 2 p.m. Sunday after housecleaning staff reported finding the girl's body. Police learned that the mother, Aptos resident Veva Virgil, 37, checked into the motel room Saturday and checked out Sunday morning, Thompson said. Virgil was contacted and allegedly confessed to "acting alone to kill the child in a motel room at Motel 6," Thompson said. "She was living in Aptos with her husband and she came down and rented the room and stayed at least one night," Thompson said. "She left the next day and left the child deceased in the room." Thompson said Virgil's husband is the 3-year-old girl's stepfather. While Virgil allegedly told police she acted alone, detectives have continued to investigate whether another person was present at the time of the girl's death, Thompson said. The cause and time of the girl's death have not yet been determined, but the case is being investigated as an apparent homicide. Virgil has been booked into Santa Cruz County jail. The murder is the city's third of the year, with two gang-related homicides reported in October, Thompson said. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact police at (831) 768-3350 or the Crime Tip Line at (831) 728-3544. http://www.foxreno.com/news/17999516/detail.html?rss=reno&psp=news

Body of girl, 3, found in motel; mom arrested 11/17/08 13:28:01 An Aptos woman is under arrest for allegedly suffocating her 3-year-old daughter and leaving her body in a motel room. Police say 37-year-old Veva Virgil suffers from schizophrenia. Virgil was taken into custody Sunday night, several hours after a housekeeper at a Watsonville motel discovered the body of Isabella Martinez. Authorities have not said exactly how the child died. http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/1018726.html

Spouse defends wife in daughter's slaying By JENNIFER SQUIRES MediaNews Updated: 11/19/2008 01:49:13 AM PST WATSONVILLE — The Aptos woman accused of killing her young daughter in a Watsonville motel room will be charged with murder today, according to the District Attorney's Office. Veva Virgil, 37, faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life for allegedly suffocating her 3-year-old daughter, Isabella Grace Martinez. Virgil's husband, Richard Sullens, said he thinks she did not mean to kill Isabella. Virgil suffers from mental illness and was having a breakdown when the girl was suffocated, he said. "I would stake my life on it," Sullens said. "She thought it was the end of the world and she wanted to save her child." Sullens blames Virgil's actions on the multiple medications she was prescribed to control her schizophrenia. "Everyone's getting it all wrong," said Sullens Wednesday. "She was the best wife, the best mom, the best Christian." Prosecutor Ross Taylor declined to discuss specifics of the case, including if mental illness or drug use played a role in the killing. Watsonville police Lt. Darren Thompson said Virgil showed no obvious signs of intoxication when she was arrested late Sunday. "The investigation into Isabella's killing is ongoing, but the facts and circumstances support a charge of murder," Taylor said Tuesday, calling it "a tragic crime." A housekeeper at Motel 6 on Silver Leaf Drive discovered Isabella's body on a motel room bed just after 2 p.m. Sunday. Virgil was apprehended by San Jose police later that day. Virgil and the girl were missing since Friday, when Sullens said she suddenly had a breakdown as they were moving new furniture into their Aptos mobile home. "I didn't see this one coming," said Sullens, explaining that normally he could tell when Virgil's mental state was deteriorating and would intervene. "It happened so fast." Sullens said he searched for Virgil and Isabella all weekend. At one point Saturday, he found them and convinced Virgil to come home. She was driving in a vehicle behind his when she suddenly veered off and he couldn't find her again, Sullens said. On Sunday, he called the Sheriff's Office to file a missing person report. About the same time, the housekeeper found Isabella's body. Sullens said he considered the little girl, whose biological father died in 2006, his own daughter and he was in the process of formally adopting her. "We had plans, college tuition and ballet," he said. "I loved this child." Sullens and Virgil have been together for about two years. They had moved in with his 87-year-old mother at Aptos Pines mobile home park six months ago to help care for her, and the couple married Aug. 8 — "for infinity," Sullens said. On Monday, he got a job offer he'd been waiting for. "We had so much going for us," he said. Virgil, who has three other children who didn't live with her, had lost custody of Isabella to the state in 2006, according to family friend Kelly Collier of Sunnyvale. Collier became a licensed foster parent through Child Protective Services and took in Isabella, who has the same father as one of Collier's children. "I found that (Virgil) was suffering from mental illness and I tried to support her," Collier said Monday. "I really wanted to see Veva win. I really wanted to see Veva win for once." Isabella lived with Collier's family for seven months while Virgil worked to meet the Child Protective Services requirements to regain custody of her daughter. Sullens said those standards included attending parenting classes and undergoing drug and psychological testing. He also said Child Protective Services workers were aware of Virgil's struggle with schizophrenia. Virgil had been on several medications in the past. Some worked for awhile, while others were never effective, Sullens said. One caused internal bleeding for three months, he said. "They had her on every medication I've ever seen in my life," Sullens said. "And this is what happens, I lose my whole family?" Sullens said he hopes Virgil can finally get the help and proper medication he believes she desperately needs. "I still love Veva," he said. "Yes, she took our daughter, but I still love her. She wasn't in her right mind." Virgil remains in County Jail on $750,000 bail. Contact Jennifer Squires at 429-2449 or jsquires@santacruzsentinel.com. http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_11021012?source=rss

Aptos woman confesses to killing her 3-year old daughter By JENNIFER SQUIRES MediaNews Updated: 11/18/2008 10:28:15 AM PST WATSONVILLE — A 37-year-old Aptos woman has confessed to killing her young daughter by suffocating the child in a motel room Sunday, according to police. Veva Virgil was arrested in San Jose around 1 a.m. Monday, almost 12 hours after a housekeeper at a Motel 6 in Watsonville found the body of Virgil's 3-year-old daughter on a motel room bed. Virgil is being held on suspicion of homicide. "I don't know the motive of the crime yet," Watsonville police Lt. Darren Thompson said. "I know that she confessed." Thompson said he did not know how long the girl had been dead — her body was found shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday — and he wouldn't provide additional details on the crime, saying only there was "no chance at all" the death was accidental. Preliminary results of an autopsy performed Monday confirmed suffocation as the cause of death, he said. A family friend said Virgil has mental health issues and had been receiving medication. Virgil had once lost custody of her child to authorities, according to her friend, though police said they could not confirm Virgil's alleged mental health or custody problems. Virgil, who lives with her husband of three months in an Aptos mobile home park, has three other children, but none live with the couple, Thompson said. Police have yet to release the identity of the little girl, but friends of the family said she is Isabella Grace Martinez. She attended preschool in Capitola. "God, Bella was such a beautiful little girl. I loved her so much," said Kelly Collier, of Sunnyvale, a friend of Virgil who called the little girl "Bella Bean." The events that led to the child's death appear to have begun Friday when Virgil left her Aptos mobile home with her daughter for no apparent reason. Virgil and the girl stayed in a Santa Cruz motel Friday night, then went to the Motel 6 in Watsonville on Saturday, according to Collier. She left Sunday. Just after 2 p.m. a housekeeper found the girl's body in the motel room and called 911. About the same time as police were called to the motel, sheriff's deputies arrived at Virgil's home after her husband had called to fill out a missing-person report, Thompson said. "He had been looking for her all weekend," Collier said. Police issued a be-on-the-lookout alert for Virgil and her vehicle Sunday afternoon. Shortly thereafter, San Jose police contacted Watsonville police and said they had detained Virgil. Collier said Virgil had gone to a third motel, this one in San Jose, where police found her Sunday. Virgil is being held in County Jail on $750,000, after being transported there early Monday. She is due to be arraigned in court later this week. "I would never think that Veva would hurt her daughter in a million years. She loved that child," Collier said. "Veva was more likely to hurt herself." Virgil and her husband, who is not the Isabella's biological father, married in August. The couple recently moved to Aptos Pines mobile home park, where they lived in a light pink home with a wrap-around deck and white lattice fence. On Monday afternoon, no one was home. "By all accounts, everyone thought Veva was thriving and happy," Collier said. Collier knows Virgil because Isabella and Collier's daughter have the same father, Christian Cole, who died in 2006. When Virgil was having trouble taking care of Isabella, Collier stepped in to help care for the girl while Virgil attended parenting classes, obtained housing and went through other requirements set out by Child Protective Services, according to Collier. Virgil regained custody of Isabella more than a year ago, according to Collier. Citing confidentiality rules, a Child Protective Services official on Monday declined to discuss the situation and would not confirm that Virgil and her daughter were on the CPS case load. The girl's death is the third homicide in Watsonville this year. All have occurred this fall. The other two were gang-related stabbings; no arrests have been made in those cases. Thompson said officers are often emotionally affected by the cases they work, but that the girl's death has been especially hard on them. Counseling services were made available for Watsonville police staff Monday. "When it's a 3-year-old little girl it really hurts, and our officers are very impacted by this," Thompson said, adding that the investigation "is our No. 1 priority." Collier remembered Isabella as intelligent, funny and strong. "She had a belly laugh that would kill you. She was so funny," Collier said. "She would literally run circles around kids, she was so smart. She led my little boy around by the nose." Isabella had attended Lifespring Preschool in Capitola on and off since she was 18 months old. "She was just a fabulous, happy, happy little girl," said Heather Heit, who owns the preschool. Isabella stopped attending the preschool in March when her family circumstances changed, according to Heit. "I'm still just so numb," Heit said. "I mean, I haven't seen her in a few months, but she always came back." http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_11013790?source=most_viewed

Mom pleads not guilty to killing 3-year-old By JENNIFER SQUIRES MediaNews Updated: 11/20/2008 01:46:28 AM PST WATSONVILLE — Using her long chestnut hair to shield her face from family and friends seated in the courtroom gallery, Veva Virgil pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning to the charge she murdered her 3-year-old daughter. Isabella Grace Martinez's body was discovered in an otherwise-empty motel room Sunday afternoon. Virgil, 37, was arrested in San Jose late that night. Virgil's husband, Richard Sullens, has said his wife suffers from schizophrenia. She had a mental breakdown Friday, fled their Aptos mobile home with Isabella and disappeared, he said. He located Virgil and Isabella, who was not his biological child, once on Saturday and persuaded his wife to come home, but she changed her mind and he couldn't find her again, said Sullens. He filed a missing person report Sunday, about the same time a housekeeper at Motel 6 on Silver Leaf Drive found Isabella's body on a motel room bed. She died of suffocation. Virgil made her first court appearance Wednesday dressed in red jail-issue clothes. She didn't look at her husband or other loved ones gathered in the front row. Public Defender Maya Nordberg was appointed to represent Virgil. The attorney said she knew little about the case. "It is clear that this is a tragic case," said Nordberg, who declined to comment further. Family friend Kelly Collier of Sunnyvale, who was Isabella's foster mother for seven months in 2007, said Virgil's relatives and friends are "devastated" by Isabella's death and Virgil's alleged actions. Sullens has said the medications Virgil was taking to control her schizophrenia sometimes did not work properly. "I just hope that she gets on the right medication and she gets another chance," Collier said. After court, prosecutor Ross Taylor said, "We look forward to proving she's guilty of murder. It was a tragic death." He declined to talk about specifics of the case, citing the ongoing investigation. Virgil has no prior criminal history, said Taylor. She has three other children — an 18-year-old son and two daughters who are minors — whom she doesn't have custody of, said Collier. Collier said Virgil lost custody of her daughters in Tuolumne County family court two years ago, which led to a breakdown. At that time, Virgil voluntarily gave up custody of Isabella and Collier, who has a daughter who has the same father as Isabella, became a foster mother so she could care for the little girl. Collier said she had custody of Isabella for seven months while Virgil attended parenting classes and counseling. Virgil completed the requirements to regain custody of Isabella in September 2007, according to Collier. She married Sullens, her partner for two years, in August and the three were building a life together. Sullens said he was in the process of adopting Isabella when she was killed. Virgil remains in Santa Cruz County Jail on $750,000 bail. She returns to court Dec. 17 to set the date for a preliminary hearing. Memorial services for Isabella are pending. The school she attended on and off, LifeSpring Preschool in Capitola, is handling arrangements and collecting donations to cover the costs. Contributions can be made at any Wells Fargo branch to the Isabella G. Martinez Memorial Fund, Account No. 9552850001, or by contacting the preschool at 477-0584. http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_11030521?source=rss