People v. Yax CA4/2

BACKGROUND

I. Family background

Alba Aguilar has two daughters—Jane Doe 1 (born in August 2004) and Jane Doe

2 (born in June 2006). Aguilar was married to Yax for 14 years. Yax was born in 1976.

Aguilar met Yax when Doe 1 was almost 4 years old and Doe 2 was almost two years

old. Both Doe 1 and Doe 2 called Yax “‘Dad.’”

In 2011, the family moved into a two-bedroom apartment, which Doe 1 described

as “pretty small.” Initially, Doe 1 and Doe 2 slept in the master bedroom along with Yax

and Aguilar. When Doe 1 was in the eighth grade, the girls moved into the bedroom

across the hall. The girls’ separate bedroom did not have a doorknob.

When Doe 1 was 18 years old, she was 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 120

pounds. When Doe 2 was 16 years old, she was 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 100

pounds. Both girls described Yax as taller and stronger than they were. Doe 1 described

2 Yax as “[s]lightly overweight” and “very strong, like muscular a little bit.” A law

enforcement officer described Yax as having a stocky build with a larger stomach.

II. The charges

In 2022, the People charged Yax by information with committing one count of

kidnapping Doe 2 to commit…