SACRAMENTO — A woman convicted of child endangerment whose boyfriend was acquitted of murdering her 3-year-old son now is trying to regain custody of her two surviving older boys, it was disclosed in Sacramento Superior Court today.
Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet said it was "my understanding" that defendant Rosalie Uribe, 25, whose sentencing was postponed Friday, "has changed positions" and will try to regain custody of her sons who are now 7 and 5 in upcoming family court hearings.
The two older boys are now living with relatives of their biological father in Madera County. Neither Uribe nor her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Alice Michel, would comment on Bladet's remarks in front of Judge Timothy M. Frawley.
Uribe's live-in boyfriend, Joseph Skates, 25, was accused of second-degree murder in the Nov. 9, 2008, death of her youngest son, Manuel "Manny" Maciel. A jury acquitted Skates on Feb. 11. Members of the panel refused after the verdict to comment on how they reached it.
The boy died due to blunt-force trauma to the head and also sustained injuries that an autopsy surgeon said had "crushed" his internal organs.
Uribe testified at Skates' trial that "the honest feeling is that (Skates) had something to do with" inflicting previous injuries that the victim had suffered while in her boyfriend's care.
It was disclosed during the trial that Uribe had been sending love letters to Skates while he was in jail awaiting trial and that she also sent him a picture of a new tattoo she had just below her navel.
Asked by Bladet during the trial if it was true that her feelings for Skates came first over those she had for her children, Uribe replied, "Yes."
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