Rios to undergo retrial

By Juana Summers

Published May 1, 2007

Even though Linda Valencia now works part-time, she plans to miss multiple days of work to follow the trial of Steven Rios in the murder of her son, Jesse Valencia.

"I will be there for every single hearing," she said. "He took my only son. We miss him every single second of the day."

She said her family had just begun to piece its life back together after Jesse Valencia was killed three years ago.

"We're just now getting our lives back together," Linda Valencia said. "It's taken us this long to get settled down, and me and the girls are still in counseling, even after all this time. Now they're telling us that they're going to give him a new trial."

The family celebrated Jesse's birthday on Feb. 22.

"It was the first time on his birthday that I didn't just lock myself in the house and stay there," Linda Valencia said. "I went out by his grave, and I planted flowers."

But two months later, new court actions changed the progress that she and her family had made.

"And then, here it came," she said. "It's like it all just blew up in my face."

The former Columbia police officer was convicted in the murder of Jesse Valencia in May 2005, but the conviction was overturned Friday.

It will be sent back to the Boone County Circuit Court for retrial.

Rios, who resigned from the department in June 2004, was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

He was sentenced to serve life in prison with no chance of parole.

Rios and Jesse Valencia were involved in a sexual relationship, according to court documents.

The Western District Appellate Court in Kansas City overturned Rios's May 2005 conviction after two statements admitted in the trial were ruled by the appellate court to be hearsay.

Linda Valencia was working at her part-time job when her mother called her in hysterics to tell her Rios' conviction had been overturned. Linda Valencia said her mother saw it on the news.

"I don't watch the news anymore since Jesse died," Linda Valencia said. "It just tears me apart."

In the decision, prepared by judge Patricia Breckenridge, two separate hearsay statements were called into question.

A statement made by Joan Sheridan, Jesse Valencia's friend, was called into question in Rios' appeal.

Sheridan said Valencia told her that he would end his relationship with Rios if he found out Rios was married.

During the trial, Sheridan said the statement was made June 2, three days before Valencia's death.

A second statement called into question by the defense also involved a conversation with Sheridan.

She said she had a conversation with Jesse Valencia about a municipal ticket that Rios issued to him.

Valencia said he had a "little secret" for the Columbia Police Department were Rios not to get the municipal ticket revoked.

The appellate court ruled the trial court erred in admitting the statements.

"They're trying to give him a new trial on hearsay because of what one of Jesse's girlfriends said," Linda Valencia said. "They don't have any new evidence. They don't have any new suspects. They don't have anything."

In the decision, Breckenridge said the state used erroneous admission of the statements to establish a motive for murder, and the statements prejudiced the jury against Rios.

Rios also objected to the court's admission of 47 pictures of the victim's body taken at the scene of the crime and during the autopsy, as well as the introduction of a Spyderco brand knife and photographs of Jesse Valencia taken the morning he was murdered.

Since Rios's original conviction in May 2005, the Columbia Police Department had little to no interaction with the former officer.

Linda Valencia said she plans to attend the trial every day in hopes of seeing Steven Rios convicted a second time.

"People that really knew who Jesse Valencia was are telling me and my family that we will get through this," Linda Valencia said. "I'm not by any means looking forward to it, but, God willing, I'll be there."