BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019
LINDA
Continued from Page 1A
Peterson helped stock
small food pantries and Little
Libraries placed around town
to help others, Wilson said.
She and Lane saw the
need for more resources be-
cause of the limited services
they knew were available to
Peterson.
Whereas food boxes are
distributed once or twice a
month, the pantries will be
available at any time, they
said. And they will provide
information about where
people can go to fi nd other as-
sistance in the community.
With the help of Wilson’s
husband, Steve, who works
for his parents at Wilson’s
Cabinet Shop in Halfway,
Peterson’s daughter and sis-
ter plan to place pantries in
private yards around Baker
City, Halfway and possibly
La Grande. And they will
work to keep the pantries
stocked with items donated
to “Linda’s Hope.”
Chief Duman spoke in sup-
port of the effort.
“It’s great for the fam-
ily to be proactive in poten-
tially helping other people
who have issues similar to
Linda’s,” Duman said.
Donations will be collected
at drop sites at the Baker
City Police Department, 1768
Auburn Ave., and at New Di-
rections Northwest Behavior-
al Health and Wellness, 2200
Fourth St., from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Monday through Friday;
at the Cornucopia Coffee
House, 280 S. Main St., in
Halfway, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday;
and at a La Grande site to be
announced.
Wilson and Lane are es-
pecially looking for nonper-
LAWSUIT
“This is something to keep
me busy and somewhere
to put my emotions. This
is what (Mom) always
wanted to do — to help
everybody.”
— Alesia Wilson, Linda
Peterson’s daughter
ishable food items, hygiene/
toiletry items, warm winter
items for adults and chil-
dren and yarn to be used by
volunteers who have offered
to crochet hats.
And they’ll be seeking
donations of books.
Wilson said her mother
loved books and used infor-
mation she gained by reading
about a wide variety of topics
to help others.
“When she’s clean and tak-
ing her medication, she’s able
to do anything,” Lane said of
her older sister.
But when she isn’t, it’s her
“loud mouth” that gets her
into trouble, Lane said.
“She’ll let you know what’s
on her mind,” she said.
Peterson’s loud and
boisterous behavior resulted
in her being banned from
many places in Baker City
designed to provide her with
some of the help she needed
or even places to come in
out of the weather for short
periods.
And when she wasn’t caus-
ing trouble for herself in that
way, Peterson’s generosity
sometimes left her without
food or money, her daughter
said.
“She helped people very
much to the point that she
was very easily manipu-
lated,” Wilson said.
“She would ‘lose’ her (food
stamp benefi t) cards,” Wilson
said.
passenger door, the complaint
states. After a while Van-
Continued from Page 1A
Cleave got out of the truck
Vicki VanCleave fi led the
with his rifl e, and walked
lawsuit on behalf of herself
from the truck to continue elk
and the couple’s children,
hunting.
Tara Hett and Jennifer Cun-
When he returned to the
ningham, benefi ciaries of
vehicle, he opened the rear
George VanCleave’s estate.
passenger door and loaded
Her husband died when
his rifl e into the truck for
he was struck by a round
transport, the complaint
from Toubeaux’s loaded .300 states.
Weatherby Magnum rifl e
Next Toubeaux got out of
as Toubeaux was preparing
his vehicle to prepare his rifl e
the gun for transport. Baker for travel because the men
County authorities ruled
were planning to drive from
VanCleave’s death “a tragic
the area for dinner.
accident.”
That is when VanCleave
Vicki VanCleave accuses
was shot, according to the
Toubeaux of negligence on
lawsuit, which states:
the grounds that he “knew or
“Upon grabbing his rifl e
should have known that his
from the back seat of the
rifl e was loaded with a round vehicle to ensure that it was
in the chamber, that the rifl e’s unloaded and in a safe condi-
safety was not engaged, and tion for transport, the rifl e
that the barrel of the rifl e was went off. The bullet struck
pointing at (her husband).”
and killed (VanCleave) while
The two men had driven
he was in the process of load-
to the area in Toubeaux’s
ing his own rifl e and equip-
2001 F350 crew cab pickup
ment into the truck.”
truck and VanCleave had
In her demand for a jury
ridden in the passenger seat, trial, Vicki VanCleave details
the complaint states. After
the monetary loss to her fam-
looking around the property ily, including up to $10,000
for elk, the men returned to
in burial expenses and
the vehicle and placed their
other economic loss of up to
rifl es in the back passenger
$200,000.
compartment.
She also claims that
Toubeaux’s loaded rifl e was because of Toubeaux’s
placed in the back seat with
negligence, she and her
the barrel pointed at the rear children have suffered and
will continue to suffer “loss of
society, companionship, and
services” of VanCleave, in
noneconomic damages of up
to $750,000.00.
She is represented by Bend
attorney Wayne D. Hawn.
St. Francis
turkey dinner
set for Nov. 3
The annual St. Francis
Turkey Dinner is scheduled
Sunday, Nov. 3.
Tickets are $10 for adults
and $5 for children
Two meal sessions are
scheduled. The fi rst starts at
2 p.m. and a second will begin
at 4 p.m. at St. Francis parish
hall, 2235 First St.
Tickets are available from
Jody Colton by calling 541-
519-0162 or the parish offi ce
at 541-523-4521.
That usually meant they
had been stolen or she’d been
manipulated into giving
them away.
That was one reason Wil-
son took over guardianship
for her mother two years ago
after Peterson left treatment
at Juniper Ridge Acute Care
Center in John Day. Wilson
helped her mother get set up
in an apartment and Peter-
son worked to stay clean and
sober in order to spend time
with her grandchildren.
So when she failed to show
up for Wilson’s daughter’s
dance recital in March,
Wilson knew immediately
that something was seriously
wrong.
“I came to town and I
couldn’t fi nd her,” Wilson
said. “Nobody had seen her.”
Peterson routinely went to
the Idle Hour tavern in the
mornings for coffee and to
buy single cigarettes (one of
the last places in town that
provides that service, Wilson
said). And she had friends
who she visited routinely
or whose houses she helped
clean. No one had seen her.
Since here mother went
missing in March, Wilson
said she’s received hundreds
of messages and stories of
what she’s done for people.
“She touched a lot of
people’s lives in this town,”
Wilson said.
The women plan to honor
Peterson’s memory and
dedication to helping others
in another way. They’ll place
painted rocks — a pastime
Peterson enjoyed using her
artistic ability on — in the
pantries. They hope those
suffering with addiction and
mental health issues will
carry one with them.
“They can put it in their
pocket and pull it out and re-
Police Seeking
Public’s Help
In Search For
Linda Peterson
Anyone with
information about
Peterson is asked to call
offi cer Shannon Regan
of the Baker City Police
Department at 541-523-
3644 or email her at
sregan@bakercity.com
member: That’s what caused
her to go missing,” Wilson
said.
One of Peterson’s dreams
was to become stable enough
to serve as a peer counselor
at Shelter From the Storm
in Island City or at MayDay
in Baker City, where she had
volunteered in the past. Both
agencies offer services to
domestic violence and sexual
assault victims.
“It was always Mom’s hope
to help people — to get them
to recovery and get them out
of any negative situation,”
Wilson said.
More information about
Linda’s Hope is available on
Facebook. Those who want to
donate to the project or who
have a need for specifi c items
may leave a message for Wil-
son or Lane on the page or
call Wilson at 541-519-1322.
They plan to distribute
fl iers about the effort as it
continues and hope to sched-
ule a community vigil for
Peterson as well as fundrais-
ing events and other projects.
“This is something to keep
me busy and somewhere to
put my emotions,” Wilson
said. “This is what (Mom)
always wanted to do — to
help everybody.”
L OCAL B RIEFING
Friends of Heritage Museum meet Oct. 24
The general fall meeting for the Friends of Baker Heri-
tage Museum is set for Oct. 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
at the Museum, 2480 Grove St.
Crossroads seeks entries for two art shows
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center is inviting all art-
ists to submit works for the annual Ornament Expo
that opens Nov. 1. Crossroads will accept ornaments
throughout the holiday season from Oct. 21 through
Dec. 20.
All artists who enter the “Ornament Expo” will be
given a $10 Crossroads gift certifi cate
The yearly exhibition “Christmas at Crossroads-The
Gift of Art” opens Dec. 6. Crossroads is looking for fi ne
art and fi ne crafts including paintings, clay, fi ber art,
glass, wood, metal, mixed media, jewelry, hand-painted
signs, scarves, hats, collage, soap, small sculptural
pieces, and holiday cards of high quality and locally
hand-crafted.
Entries can be submitted on Monday, Dec. 2, from 9
a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For both shows there is no entry fee and all items must
be available for sale but a commission (30% for members
and 40% nonmembers) will be collected on items sold
during the show. Both exhibitions will end Dec. 27 and
artists will collect their art that day from 10 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. For all of the exhibit information and an entry form,
go to www.crossroads-arts.org then, look for “Quick Forms”
at the bottom of our home page. Click on “Ornament
Expo 2019” and “Christmas at Crossroads — The Gift of
Art 2019” to view details and to print the entry form. For
questions, call Crossroads at 541-523-5369.
Heritage Museum extends deadline for
nominations for Central Gallery exhibit
The Baker Heritage Museum has extended through
the end of October its open nominations for extraordinary
women to be included in the Museum’s 2020-21 Cen-
tral Gallery exhibit — “Extraordinary Women of Baker
County & North Powder.”
The original deadline for nominations was Oct. 1.
Nominations are limited to women who have passed
away. Nomination forms should list reasons why the
nominee made a difference in the history of the Baker
County or North Powder areas.
You can drop off nominations at the Heritage Mu-
seum, 2480 Grove St., which is open daily through Oct.
26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nominations can also be sent
by email to museum@bakercounty.org, or mailed to the
Museum. More information is available by calling the
Museum at 541-523-9308.
Redmond couple guilty of murder
in daughter’s starvation death
By Garrett Andrews
The (Bend) Bulletin
A Redmond couple was found
guilty Friday of the starvation
murder of their 5-year-old daughter,
Maliyha Hope Garcia, who weighed
24 pounds when she died Dec. 21,
2016.
The jury returned in the case of
Estevan Adrian Garcia and Sacora
Rose Horn-Garcia after roughly half
a day of deliberation, fi nding them
both guilty of murder by abuse and
two counts of criminal mistreatment.
A sentencing hearing will be Nov.
18 in Deschutes County Circuit
Court. The presumptive sentence
they face is life in prison with parole
possible after 25 years. The mistreat-
ment charges each carry a presump-
tive sentence of 5 years, meaning the
couple might have to wait 35 years
before a shot at release.
“We’re ecstatic,” said Barb Cook,
Garcia’s aunt and guardian of fi ve of
Maliyha’s older sisters. “He is guilty.”
The fi ve-week trial was described
by parties involved as intense and
grueling, with expert testimony on
starvation and child scapegoating
and more than 25,000 text messages
that offered a candid look at a seem-
ingly normal household roiled by
mental illness and abuse.
The abuse didn’t happen in a day, a
week or even a month.
For nearly a year and a half, as
Horn-Garcia experienced several
mental breakdowns, the stepmother
forced Maliyha to “use her words” to
ask for everything, most notably food,
though also to wake, leave her room
and to go to the bathroom.
Horn-Garcia regularly forced
Maliyha to miss meals for not “using
her words,” and in summer 2016, the
abuse accelerated when the couple
pulled Maliyha out of day care, ac-
cording to trial testimony.
Though he was once seen as a dot-
ing father to Maliyha, the text mes-
sages show Garcia continually gave
in to his wife’s increasingly cruel
disciplining of Maliyha.
One evidentiary exhibit that
factored prominently in the case was
a growth chart showing Maliyha’s
weight compared to others in her age
cohort.
On it, a red line signifying Mali-
yha proceeds upward through time
alongside her peers, until it starts to
level off in about January 2015 and
declines drastically around summer
2016.
A blue line cuts perpendicular
about January 2015. It represents
when Garcia married Horn-Garcia.
The abuse culminated in a 911 call
Dec. 21, 2016. Horn-Garcia told the
dispatcher her girl was “sick” and
had suddenly lost consciousness. But
more than a dozen police offi cers and
medical professionals testifi ed the
girl was dead when the fi rst units
arrived at the family’s home. Starva-
tion was determined to be the cause
of death.
Cook and her husband, Russ, also
raised Garcia for a time, and helped
facilitate Maliyha’s adoption by
Garcia when she was born and tested
positive for meth.
They watched Garcia change after
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he married Horn-Garcia.
“He went from a loving father to
not a loving father,” Russ Cook said.
“We opened our house to him, and
he distanced himself from his family
immediately (after meeting Horn-
Garcia).”
After the verdict was read, rela-
tives of Horn-Garcia wept leaving
the courthouse, while a plainclothes
detective high-fi ved prosecutor Stacy
Neil.
A judge’s order preventing parties
from speaking to the media remains
in effect until sentencing.
“Gag order,” was all District At-
torney John Hummel texted when
asked for comment.
Garcia’s brother, Carlos, told The
Bulletin he feels confl icted at the
verdict.
“I feel that, yes, he should be pun-
ished for his part in what happened
— and he should have got him and
her out of there — but I don’t feel he
should have been found guilty of the
same charges as her,” Carlos Garcia
said. “But I am happy that justice
was served and we can start to let all
this go.”
For a time, before his brother met
Horn-Garcia, Carlos Garcia helped
raise Maliyha in Redmond.
Carlos Garcia lives in Salem.
He said it’s been painful watching
outsiders during the trial blame his
family for not acting to save Maliyha.
He said he asks God regularly to
wake him and tell him “it was all just
a dream.”
“I just really hurt in all this,” he
said.
New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals
Fundraising Banquet
Saturday, October 26th
Community Connection
2810 Cedar Street, Baker City
Spaghetti Dinner at 6 pm, followed by Auction
Tickets $15 adults, $12 youth age 12 & under
Tickets available at Betty’s Books
Proceeds benefi t Powder Pals dog &
Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Programs
Questions? Call 541-403-2710