Jacob Silva was convicted of the murder of Renee Ramos, whose bruised and beaten body was found June 5, 2000, beneath a pile of insulation at the site of a Home Depot under construction in Manteca, San Joaquin County, California.
Jacob Silva and Renee Ramos were boyfriend and girlfriend. Both 18 years old and living pretty much on the streets, sleeping in cars, parks or friend’s homes.
A 14-year-old when questioned by police, said he witnessed the victim’s rape and murder, but subsequently admitted the story was entirely made up. The prosecution case was that this happened five days earlier. There was no evidence to substantiate boy’s original claim, and forensic examiner John Cooper testified that the victim had only been dead for 1 to 3 days, and it was actually closer to one day than three, contradicting the story.
According to prosecutors, there were as many as five people present at the alleged crime.
Nevertheless, despite the complete lack of evidence to support the prosecution case other than the boy’s original story, and the conflict with the time of death according to Cooper, Jacob Silva was convicted of murder, and another man Ty Lopes was convicted of rape and murder.
Wrongly Convicted Group Website 