Julie Ann Gonzalez, 21, went missing March 26th in Austin, TX/ her estranged husband is now claiming he is the victim of harassment and vandalism/Update: 9.13.13, George De La Cruz Julie's estranged husband arrested & indicted for First Degree Murder!

Julie Ann Gonzalez, 21, went missing March 26th. Her car was found abandoned in a South Austin Walgreens parking lot.  (Jacqueline Ingles/KXAN)

Updated: Sunday, 04 Apr 2010, 2:45 PM CDT
Published : Saturday, 03 Apr 2010, 6:38 PM CDT

   * Jacqueline Ingles

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The search is on for a missing Austin mother last seen on March 26th.

Dozens of family members and friends of Julie Ann Gonzalez, 21, took to the streets outside Fairview Baptist Church Saturday to raise awareness about the missing Austin mother.

They passed out fliers, held posters plastered with her picture and sold barbecue to raise reward money.

"We are trying to get people to see her," explained Dora Cooper, Julie's aunt.  "Someone's got to know something, some ones got to have seen something."

"We're hoping someone comes forward and says, 'yes, she's alive,'" said Margarita Solmine, Julie's aunt.

Gonzalez went missing last Friday.

Her family said she was last seen at her soon-to-be ex-husband's home.

The couple shares custody of their 2-year-old daughter, but instead of sticking to her routine of picking her daughter up, Gonzalez allegedly asked the father to hold on to the girl.

"She woke up Thursday, great day, beautiful day, said she couldn't wait to see her daughter, pick her up," said Sandra Soto, Julie's mother.

Days later, Julie's new car was found abandoned in a Walgreens parking lot.

Julie was nowhere to be found.

Gonzalez's family said she would have never left her daughter or her close-knit family.

"There is never a lack of communication in our family, so it just breaks my heart, I feel it in my gut, it just hurts," Solmine said.

Hope lives on that Julie will be found alive, yet, her family still fears the worst.

"I think that someone lured her or abducted her. Someone fooled her into believing something," Cooper said.

"Maybe she's somewhere she can't get to a phone, that's what I'm thinking, that she's going to come home," Soto added while choking back tears.

"I just hope that I open my door one day and she's walking down the street towards my house," said Michael Soto, Julie's cousin and close friend.

Austin Police are investigating Julie's disappearance, but her family said there has been little progress made in the case.

The family said they will continue to distribute fliers until they find Julie or find out what happened to her.

Anyone with any information is urged to contact APD.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/search-on-for-missing-austin-mom

Family Members Worried About Missing Austin Mom

Updated: Tuesday, 30 Mar 2010, 10:15 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 29 Mar 2010, 5:47 PM CDT

AUSTIN, TX - (AUSTIN)- Family members of 21-year-old Julie Ann Gonzalez print and post fliers, spreading the word in hopes that someone will have an idea of where the Austin mother could be.

"We've just been waiting around, hoping she'll contact one of us, stop by, hoping to hear something. And nothing," Dora Cooper, Julie's aunt, tells FOX 7.

Cooper says on Friday, Gonzalez went to her soon-to-be ex-husband's home to pick up their two-year-old daughter.

"We share. It is routine for her to come in the mornings to drop off, and come back the next day," George de la Cruz, Julie's husband, said.

But on a routine pickup Friday, de la Cruz noticed something different about his wife's demeanor. "She was kind of down, she was like not there, kind of like spaced out," de la Cruz describes.

Gonzalez ended up asked him to keep their daughter through the weekend. De la Cruz says he would've never thought she'd disappear. Days later, the car Gonzalez had just bought three weeks ago, sits in Walgreens parking lot.

"Yeah, I was the last person to see her, I understand I'm the suspect but like I said, I don't have nothing to be afraid of. I didn't do nothing," de la Cruz said.

APD's Missing Persons Unit has opened an investigation, but at this point they don't suspect foul play.

"That's just not her. Totally out of character for her."

Julie Gonzalez is described as a 21-year-old Hispanic woman, 5-feet-tall, 140-pounds, brown eyes and brownish-black hair. If you've seen her call police.

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/local/032910-Family-Members-Worried-About-Missing-Austin-Mom

http://www.julieanngonzalez.com/

Do you think this is another mommy that just decided to up and leave?

NO, I think the soon to be ex husband thinks he is too smart to get caught.

ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Family of Missing Austin Woman Seek Answers

Aired April 28, 2010 - 19:00:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Breaking news tonight. A tragic heart- wrenching scenario playing out in Austin, Texas, where family is desperately trying to find their precious 21-year-old daughter. This beautiful young mother vanished more than a month ago, and the family does not understand why police aren`t doing more to find her. They say the clock is ticking.

Last night, here on ISSUES, it was bombshell after bombshell after bombshell. Julie`s aunt Dora came on the show, and then Julie`s mother and her estranged husband called in, each to tell their side of the story.

Now, Julie has not been seen since March 26. That`s more than a month. She and her husband, George, a security guard, are in the middle of a divorce. George De La Cruz says he last saw Julie when she came to his house to pick up their 2-year-old daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORA COOPER, MISSING WOMAN`S AUNT: He`s sticking to his story that she showed up, she just was acting funny. And she just abruptly said, "You know what? I`m not going to take her. I`m going to leave her with you for a few days and I`ll be back."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So the estranged husband is the last person to see Julie before she vanished. The smallest victim in all of this, Julie`s little girl, 2-year-old Layla.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE DE LA CRUZ, ESTRANGED HUSBAND: I want to be part of the investigation. And I want to know answers, too. Like I said, my daughter is here. She suffers a lot for her. And it makes me sad to see her cry when she asks about Julie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Julie`s family says they`re the ones who found Julie`s car abandoned outside the Walgreen`s where Julie worked as a pharmacy tech technician. It had been there for days, they say.

The family also says cops did not find it in that obvious location and then never bothered to fingerprint the car. Why not? Has the Austin Police Department dropped the ball here? I am taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to my phenomenal expert panel, along with HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks and investigative reporter Michelle Sigona, MichelleSigona.com.

We have four members of Julie`s family. Let us introduce them to you. Her aunt and uncle, Dora Cooper and Gil Soto. Then we also have Julie`s estranged husband, George De La Cruz. Thank you for joining us, George.

DE LA CRUZ: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And also, the missing woman`s mother, Sandra Soto. Thank you all so much for being here. All we really want to do is to solve this mystery and find Julie and help you do that.

Let`s start with the mother. Sandra, when was the last time you spoke to Austin police, and what did they tell you they are doing about your daughter`s disappearance?

SANDRA SOTO, MOTHER OF JULIE ANN GONZALEZ: The last time I actually spoke with them was this morning. And they just had a few more questions for me and just asked me, you know, some basic questions. And then -- then that was just early this morning. I haven`t really spoken with anybody else. I`ve been waiting by the phone all day. But no more phone call.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait a second. Now, they called you this morning?

S. SOTO: Let me see. No, I called them this morning.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK.

S. SOTO: I called them. I went ahead and called them.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Now, when -- before that, when did you speak to them?

S. SOTO: I speak to them on a daily basis.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. That`s good.

S. SOTO: I`m trying to -- I`m trying to, you know, find out why are they not doing what they should have been doing since day one?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think they should have been doing?

S. SOTO: They should have looked at her car. They should have looked at any video footage from any of the places where she was said to have been last seen. They haven`t done that. They should have polygraphed people who said that they spoke to her last.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You mean her estranged husband, George?

S. SOTO: Well, yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. What else should they have done?

S. SOTO: And the only -- the reason that I say that is because, you know, if George has nothing to hide, I want him to at least, you know, eliminate himself from this case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right. And he says he`s willing to take a polygraph. So here`s my big issue tonight. Where are the cops on this?

Let me get this straight. A 21-year-old college grad, pharmacy tech disappears, leaves behind a toddler, a loving family. There`s been no sign of her for more than 30 days. She leaves her job. She leaves behind her brand-new car, and police aren`t out searching for her?

Now, we tried all day to ask Austin police the following questions. Did they fingerprint Julie`s car? Are they tracking her cell phone? Have they executed any search warrants? Are they conducting any official searches with or without canines? Has there been any activity on her credit cards or ATM card?

We finally got a response from Austin police late this afternoon. Quote, "The case is still open and ongoing, but the Austin Police Department can assure everyone that the case is being investigated to the extent allowed by law."

Investigative journalist Michelle Sigona of MichelleSigona.com joins us live now. Michelle, I understand you have new information on this case.

MICHELLE SIGONA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I do. Jane, within the last hour, I was able to get in touch with Detective Scott, who`s one of the lead investigators, and I asked him all of those questions. We sat on the phone for 25 minutes. And here are the answers.

First of all, Detective Scott does want everyone to know that there is some, quote, "some indication" that Julie may have wanted to withdraw contact and also that there is no foul play suspected in this particular case at this time.

And so when I asked him about the particular -- about her car and about it being fingerprinted he said, no, not at this point, because there is not foul play, and they need to focus their resources into tracking down those particular leads.

As far as the pings on the cell phone, he says that he does not have the ability at this time because of the foul play issue to be able to move forward with those particular search warrants to obtain -- to be able to track her cell phone. Because if she wanted to go missing, she does have a right to do that.

Also, as far as the executed search warrant, he said every single person that he has reached out to has been extremely helpful, including George, and we`ll let George -- he says, "Hey, look, you can take my computer. You can look at it. You can do whatever you`d like." And George, as you mentioned, has also been willing to take a lie detector in this particular case.

And as far as the activity on the ATM card, Detective Scott says, "Hey, I cannot comment on the ATM card at this particular point, but that`s one thing that we are looking into."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Excellent work as always, Michelle Sigona.

Dora Cooper, Julie Ann Gonzalez`s aunt, if, in fact, police think that this is not, as you just heard, foul play, have they given you any indication whatsoever as to why they think this is not foul play, since you think it is?

DORA COOPER, JULIE ANN`S AUNT: No. I`m sure if they would have found some blood or some semen or a glove or something, maybe they would have suspected foul play, but what -- what signs need to be shown in the vehicle or anywhere she was for them to classify it as foul play? They have not been able to define foul play for us yet. What defines foul play?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, wait. Sandra Soto, you`re the mother. You say your family found the car. They didn`t find the car, and then they didn`t fingerprint it. My question is, how do they know there`s no foul play if they didn`t fingerprint the car?

Now, did Julie have a computer, Sandra?

S. SOTO: No, she didn`t. When she moved, she didn`t have a computer. She just had her iPhone, and she did all her texting from her iPhone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. George De La Cruz, Julie Ann Gonzalez`s husband.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. You have a computer.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, I do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did police look into your computer?

DE LA CRUZ: No, they haven`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So they came to your house. What did they do?

DE LA CRUZ: They searched, like, every room, outside, the sheds that we have back there. They searched everywhere. Just to make sure we weren`t hiding her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But did they -- they didn`t look in your computer?

DE LA CRUZ: No, they didn`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Mike Brooks, you`re listening to all of this.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`re the law enforcement analyst. How do they know there is no foul play if they haven`t looked in the computer, if they didn`t fingerprint her car, and they didn`t do any searches?

BROOKS: First of all, Jane, thousands of people go missing every single day. At least 2,000 children go missing every single day. And as I said yesterday, that they classify missing persons cases as critical or non-critical.

Foul play: when they found the car, were there any keys in the car left in the car like someone may have snatched her out? No. Was there any sign of a struggle? Was there any blood visibly in the car? No. Were there any windows broken out? No. There`s nothing to indicate that there is foul play.

And to do a search warrant, Jane, on anything, you need probable cause. A judge signs that. It`s the same with a subpoena.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Mike, let me...

BROOKS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me finish. Same with a subpoena for cell records. You just can`t go look up somebody`s cell phone. You know, she may have wanted to go missing. What did George tell us last night when he last saw her? I`d like to hear that story again also.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Well, let me ask you this question, Mike. Don`t you think if they knew they had reason to believe she left on her own that they -- that they should tell the family, "Well, here`s why we think she left on her own"? I`m -- I`ve got the whole family here. Has anybody from the police told anybody in this family why the police think she left on her own?

S. SOTO: No.

GIL SOTO, JULIE ANN`S UNCLE: No.

COOPER: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have they given you any indication of that?

COOPER: No, no.

G. SOTO: Not at all. I personally...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

G. SOTO: You know, George speaks of that he`s in the investigation and he`s trying to help and assist. When, in fact, we were passing out flyers in his neighborhood where she was last seen. He called the police and advised the police we were harassing him for passing out flyers.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: George?

G. SOTO: Now, not once did he show up. Not once did he come and say, "Can I pass out flyers? Give me flyers." Not once.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s hear George`s side of that.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, I`m not wanted because you`ve always been pointing fingers at me. And I know this from the beginning.

First of all, that same -- Saturday night when we reported her, I got a threat from Dora`s son. I didn`t like that so, yes, I`m going to protect myself and I called the police.

And I am doing stuff that you don`t see. I passed out flyers on 6th Street. I do it around neighborhoods, because I`m trying to find out, too. And you just say I`m not cooperating, I`m not cooperating. And like I say, if you want me to be there with y`all, I want to be there with y`all, but I know I`m not wanted. So why be there if everyone is going to look down on me?

G. SOTO: Well, Julie didn`t trust you, and you know that. Every time Julie went to go meet you with Layla, to do the exchange, she always went escorted because she didn`t trust you. This particular time she wasn`t escorted, and this happens.

So you have to understand us. We don`t trust you because of what you`ve done in the past. Now, she has received texts from supposedly your dead uncle from heaven, stating some big old stories how you guys should be together. Now, how is your uncle from heaven going to be sending texts to Julie? She just has a weird -- from -- weird responses from you.

COOPER: And on top of that, you claimed amnesia before you attempted suicide. And you played that so well. Now, why was that vehicle found four blocks from your house? A mile away from my house?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let`s give George a chance to respond, because we have to give him props for coming on this show, calling last night and then appearing on this show. And he is not considered a suspect. In fact, police say they don`t think it`s foul play.

George, what`s your side? What`s your response to what the missing woman`s family has said about you just now?

DE LA CRUZ: Like I said, I understand they suspect me because I was the last person, but like I said, if anyone seeing -- of course, they`re going to be a suspect. But like I said, I`ll be willing to do anything. Lie detector. They can search my house, tear it apart. If they do, they can do that. They can actually put a -- a police to track me down everywhere. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. And I`m here. I`m not running away. I`m trying to help.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. That`s why we`re talking to you. We`re trying to solve this mystery. I think it would be probably a smart idea to give him a lie detector test to eliminate him as a suspect, if only to give the family some comfort.

Everybody stay right where you are. We`re just getting started on this desperate mystery.

And we`re talking your phone calls. They`re lighting up: 1-877-JVM- SAYS.

Plus, Sandra Bullock`s bombshell. She has filed for divorce and adopted a beautiful little baby boy. Is Jesse going to fight for custody?

But first, we`re trying to track down Julie Ann Gonzalez. What happened to this beautiful mother?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Julie is a very responsible 21-year-old mother. She is not one of these 21-year-old types that just want to be out and party. She`s always been responsible. Always looked out for the best interest of her 2- year-old daughter, and that was her main -- main concern, 24/7.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: She looked completely different. She kind of looked sad. She was down. She was out of -- like, not there. Like, not concentrating. And like I said, I know -- I know her. Like I said, I was with her. And I`m married to her. So I know when there`s something wrong. And I tried asking her what was wrong. And she never told me what was wrong. She said, "I`m OK, don`t worry about it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The estranged husband of the missing woman, George De La Cruz, talking about his wife the last time he saw her. He is appearing right now live on our show. Julie Ann Gonzalez has been missing for more than a month now. The family says police in Austin aren`t doing enough. Police say they don`t suspect foul play, but they haven`t told us why they don`t suspect foul play, and they haven`t told the family that either.

Phone lines lighting up. Tammy, Nebraska, your question our thought, ma`am?

CALLER: Yes. I`d like to know why, in the state of Texas, that they`re so lax on when a person goes missing. Because I had a sister missing for 2 1/2 years before they find out whether she was dead or alive, and she was in the state of Texas. And we waited 24 hours. They said they couldn`t do anything about it for 24 hours. Well, at that point -- within that 24 hours, you know, she was abducted and killed the same day.

And I pray to God that that isn`t happening to this Julie Ann, that that happened to her. But my question is why, in the state of Texas, are they so lax on doing investigations when people are missing?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, listen, I don`t want to -- it`s a good question, but I don`t want to cast dispersions on an entire state by any means at all. There`s a lot of good police doing a lot of good police work.

We`re trying to understand, Michelle Sigona, if they don`t think it`s foul play, why not let the family in on the secret as to why they don`t think it`s foul play?

SIGONA: Well, I agree with you. And I understand what you`re saying, Jane. And trust me, I sympathize with the family. And I hope and I pray that Julie Ann is found.

But the problem is, is that when these particular investigations happen, investigators have things that they`re doing behind the scenes to connect the dots, to be able to come out and say, "You know what? At this time we don`t suspect foul play." And they may have their reasons that they`re keeping close to the vest, because maybe they have an idea as to where she is. Maybe they`re going out to talk to her. We don`t know at this time. But a lot of times...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle, I would agree with you except that the fact that they didn`t search the pings and try to triangulate the pings...

BROOKS: You need a subpoena, Jane, to get the cell records.

SIGONA: You have to.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right, but let me tell you this. When Josh Powell, OK, went camping and his wife disappeared, OK, they...

BROOKS: Totally different circumstances. Apples and oranges, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: ... went and they searched with canines.

BROOKS: Different case. Why did they do that? Did they think there could be foul play? What was the unusual circumstances that he was involved in?

G. SOTO: Do you need a subpoena to fingerprint -- do you need a subpoena to fingerprint the car or take photos?

BROOKS: There`s...

G. SOTO: I have a camera, a disposable camera. I could take my own photos.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time.

BROOKS: I hope you all find your relative. I hope you find her. Wait a second. But there`s always -- there`s something you can do. If you feel law enforcement is not doing enough for you, and that`s get someone to dedicate all their time to this and...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And...

BROOKS: ... as many people do, hire a private detective.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, they`re trying to do that, actually. We`re going to try to try to put up some information as to, if people want to help them, but go ahead. Somebody said an APB.

COOPER: APB actually told us that if we feel they`re not doing their job, well, maybe we should hire a private investigator. Really? Should we feel so safe? Should we be so taken care of in Austin, Texas? Taxpayers are paying for this service, and this is the service we get?

G. SOTO: Now, do you know the definition of malfeasance of duty? Does anybody -- has anybody ever looked at that and what that means?

COOPER: Her car was not found at her job location. It was found in a different Walgreen`s location.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, OK. That`s a good clarification.

BROOKS: There`s also -- you know, you can go above the police department.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to bring out the big gavel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We`re very concerned about Julie but also concerned about my granddaughter, because George does have a -- an attempted suicide on his record.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A what?

COOPER: An attempted suicide on his record. In January, when he separated -- when Julie left him, he attempted to commit suicide while he was taking care of Layla.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is this true, George?

DE LA CRUZ: No. I wasn`t taking care of Layla. At that time I didn`t have her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. But George later told us that, yes, he was despondent after the break up. And he did try to overdose with pills, but he has recovered. And he is with us tonight, along with the missing woman`s family. We are trying to find out what happened to Julie Ann Gonzalez.

Phone lines lighting up. Melody, Ohio, you question or thought, ma`am?

CALLER: Yes, Jane. I also agree that law authorities are not following the proper procedure. My question is, did she have a history of mental illness? And if this person is found right where the police should have been looking or doing something, can the -- can the police department -- could they get a lawsuit going? Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s ask the first question. Both good. Sandra Soto, you`re the mother, or anybody in the family. Did Julie have money problems, credit-card debt, a foreclosure, a conflict at work, a history of depression, or a history of drug or alcohol abuse?

S. SOTO: None of those.

G. SOTO: None of the above.

S. SOTO: None of those. None of those. She...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Does she have an arrest record?

S. SOTO: No, she doesn`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She -- did she -- did she graduate school?

S. SOTO: Yes, she did. She graduated from high school in three years, because when she was in junior high, she found out that you could finish high school in three years; and she set her mind on that, and she did it. She accomplished it.

When she was a sophomore, she was going to high school, and she was going to community college, because she was trying to get dual credits to finish high school in three years.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Let me ask you this question. George says when -- the last person who saw her, that she seems despondent or strange. Any family member, did she seem at all strange, out of sorts, different at all in the days leading up to her disappearance?

S. SOTO: No, she didn`t.

COOPER: I spoke to her the Thursday before she went to pick -- or the day before, and she was making plans. Friday she said she was going to run errands. That`s her day off. She made plans to go see the babysitter, to pay the babysitter. She made plans to go to a baby shower we were going to be having on Sunday.

S. SOTO: And she also made plans -- she also made plans to go down to the courthouse to pay the extra fine to get George served with the divorce papers.

G. SOTO: Because he refused to voluntary go sign.

S. SOTO: Because he would not sign the divorce papers. So she was going to pay the fine to the constables.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. All right. George, is it true that you didn`t want to sign the divorce papers?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, at that time I did. But eventually I gave in, and I did it. So like I said, the papers are in. Like I say, it`s in the process.

So, like I said, I know back then I was giving -- I was being hard- headed not to sign it, but eventually I gave in, because you know what? It`s not going to be fixed, so I just signed them and returned them to the court.

S. SOTO: When did you sign them, George?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, about three weeks ago. Four weeks ago.

S. SOTO: Three weeks ago?

G. SOTO: How convenient.

S. SOTO: Really?

G. SOTO: How convenient. After the fact.

S. SOTO: Well, I have something to say to George. George, you and I have talked, and you were the last person that we know of that saw Julie.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, can I interrupt? Can interrupt you?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re not done. Hang on, everybody. Finish that sentence on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA SOTO, MISSING WOMAN`S MOTHER (via telephone): They never fingerprinted the car that sat in the parking lot of that pharmacy for, you know, up to almost eight days.

DORA COOPER, MISSING WOMAN`S AUNT: And they didn`t find the vehicle. I found the vehicle.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dora, you were going to say something.

COOPER: Austin police department did not find the vehicle. I found the vehicle.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you`re saying they never fingerprinted the vehicle?

COOPER: No.

S. SOTO: Never, never.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Controversy and concern tonight as a search should be under way for a missing 21-year-old woman by the name of Julie Ann Gonzalez. She has been missing for more than a month. The last person to see her before she vanished, George de la Cruz, her estranged husband, who said she decided she wanted to leave the child with him and said she would come back.

Now, George, I have to ask you this question. Leila`s(ph) medicine was reportedly found inside the car that was abandoned at a pharmacy. Not the pharmacy that she worked at, but another Walgreen`s according to the family.

Now, why wouldn`t she have given you -- if she was leaving voluntarily, why wouldn`t she have given you the medication for her precious child? And did you ask for that medicine?

GEORGE DE LA CRUZ, MISSING WOMAN`S ESTRANGED HUSBAND: Well, I didn`t know about the medicine. Like I said, I had medicine at that time. She had plenty of it. I didn`t know anything about the medicine.

And, yes, Julie would give it to me if -- like I said, there was medicine. I didn`t know about the medicine.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle, does that sound strange to you that a mother would leave voluntarily but not give the medicine?

MICHELLE SIGONA, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, especially, you know, a mom who obviously -- she has a job. She`s educated. She cares about her child. And she cares about her relationships, especially with her family.

It does seem a little odd that if she were going to leave voluntarily that she would not pass over that medication to George and say, "Hey George. This is for the baby just in case, you know, I don`t come back," or whatever the case may be.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dora Cooper, you`re the aunt. I want to ask you about the messages that have come in from somebody purporting to be Julie. Now, I`m kind of unclear on this. Did they come in on a cell phone? Did they come from her cell phone as text messages or did they come in as MySpace -- from her MySpace or both?

Tell us about -- what did the messages say and where did they come from?

COOPER: There were messages posted to her Facebook and her MySpace via her mobile. The ones to MySpace stated that she wanted to run away; there was a lot of BS in her life. And she`s got something to make that happen.

And then another blog on her MySpace stated that she was running away and everyone just needed to leave her alone.

GIL SOTO, MISSING MOM`S UNCLE: And this is actually -- was the high time in her life right now. She was actually doing good. She was getting out of a relationship that was abusive relationship. She didn`t want that relationship.

She was doing good in her job. She had just bought a car. She saved money to buy a car. And it just doesn`t make sense that those comments were made that way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So did -- did the message refer to another individual like, "I`ve met someone else?"

COOPER: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, they didn`t?

COOPER: No.

S. SOTO: Well, there was a friend of hers that came forward several days after we reported her missing saying that she held back some information and she wanted to let us know what it was.

So she called -- I talked to her on the phone and she said, "I need to let you know something very important. Julie texted me and said that she met some guy named James who is a web designer who bought a new house in Colorado and he`s taking me away for the weekend to show me a good time."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. James, a web designer. Ok. Well, we know, Mike Brooks, that a lot of untoward people have used the Internet posing as --

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Oh, yes. Sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- web designers and other people like that and they`ve seduced people over the Internet where they can create whatever persona they want.

And I`d like to get your thoughts on this -- this is new information. Just right now, we`re hearing it on ISSUES.

G. SOTO: And that was done to Julie from supposedly George`s dead uncle, giving Julie a message that he wanted them back together.

BROOKS: Mr. Soto, where were the messages supposedly from the dead uncle? Where were they originating from? Do we know?

G. SOTO: We don`t know. It was like a phone, one of those throw-away phones because we tried to track that phone down. She told everybody in the family what was going on with George.

He would leave her messages on her windshield, little notes here and there. He would follow her. Things like that. And she told us everything.

COOPER: She left a suicide note in the diaper bag and called her and said, "Look in the bag. I left something for you."

BROOKS: Did Julie ever get a protective order against George? George, did she ever get a protective order against you?

DE LA CRUZ: No, she didn`t.

G. SOTO: Well, she should have. She should have at that time. She didn`t know how things -- how bad things were going to get. She never suspected.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Look. Did you tell the police about James the mystery web designer?

COOPER: The police have spoken to that --

S. SOTO: They have all of that information. They have all that information. They are also questioning the friend who held back that information. She also -- she also approached me at one time when we were holding up signs, you know, asking people if they had seen Julie.

And when she approached me, all she could do was look down and apologize and tell me that, "I`m so sorry, I`m so sorry. I don`t feel like I should be here. I don`t know what I`m doing here. You know, I don`t know what else to do."

BROOKS: Is this friend a confidant of Julie`s? How well --

G. SOTO: She never did like George. And all of a sudden now they`re friends on MySpace. She never did like George.

BROOKS: Before that, though, how close were they?

COOPER: They went to school together.

S. SOTO: They went to high school together. They went to high school together but before George -- when Julie and George were together, George didn`t like for Julie to hang out with her friends. George wanted Julie to stay at home with him and with Leila and George didn`t like for Julie to go visit the family.

And so, you know --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on one second. A couple of things. George, quickly, your response to that.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, like I say, yes, I didn`t like the type of friends she had because of the stuff they did around her. And, like I said, the stuff that they did wasn`t really considered being friends. Smoking weed, doing drugs, that`s not being a good friend. Like I said, I wanted Julie - -

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wait a second. I understood from the family that Julie did not do drugs.

G. SOTO: Not at all.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. She did not? Or did she?

S. SOTO: She has asthma.

DE LA CRUZ: She did. Yes she did.

S. SOTO: She has asthma. Why would she smoke?

BROOKS: Is that why on your MySpace, you`re getting high and you`re getting drunk?

S. SOTO: And you`re playing beer pong in front of your daughter?

DE LA CRUZ: We had family there.

BROOKS: Yes, now it`s private. Now we can`t see it because it`s private.

Here`s the thing that concerns me is James, the mystery web designer.

Michelle Sigona, that -- that concerns me because either this person exists and she`s with him or this so-called mystery web designer could be some kind of pedophile, you know, predator is what I mean on the Internet who could have used the Internet to seduce her.

SIGONA: You`re e exactly right. We`ve seen these cases so many time, Jane, where these men and women, for that matter, pose as someone different. They lure in their victims. And they get them to meet them and take advantage of them. That is something to be concerned with for sure.

That`s why if anyone out there has any information, you`ve got to pick up the phone and you`ve got to call investigators. That`s the first thing.

The second thing is that if investigators have verified that maybe she did, in fact, meet someone and she did possibly leave, maybe that`s why they aren`t suspecting foul play. But they just haven`t connected all the dots 100 percent. Maybe sometime -- hopefully this week, maybe we`ll learn a little bit more.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hang on. We`ll continue this on the other side of the break because we want to solve this mystery. It sounds like we`re getting there. Everybody -- back in two seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where is 21-year-old Julie Ann Gonzalez? She disappeared more than a month ago.

Her desperate family has come on ISSUES tonight in a desperate bid to try to get some answers about what happened to their precious daughter. You`re looking at her there. She has a 2-year-old daughter of her own. She was in the process of getting divorced.

And her estranged husband, George De La Cruz, is also on with us saying he is not responsible, even though he was the last person to see her and even though the family has questions about his story. He`s saying, "I have nothing to hide, and I am here right now."

Evelyn, Georgia, your question or thought, ma`am?

EVELYN, GEORGIA (via telephone): Yes. My thought is that first of all, the family doesn`t get along with the husband. With Julie`s husband and I think that since she was working in Walgreen`s, she might have met somebody and left.

And also, he said that -- you notice that she was sad, but to me I think that she was leaving her child behind, that she felt comfortable because she knew that the husband was going to care for the child.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, ok. These are interesting theories. I want to ask whoever knows the most about James the Web designer. Was it Dora?

S. SOTO: Oh no, that would be me, Sandra.

G. SOTO: That`s actually a smoke screen.

S. SOTO: That would be me, Sandra.

COOPER: And that is a smoke screen.

S. SOTO: That is just a text message that Julie`s friend received.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok.

S. SOTO: It wasn`t a voice phone call. It was a text message out of Julie`s text -- her cell phone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Gil, you`re the uncle.

S. SOTO: So we don`t know.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think about this James text?

G. SOTO: Well, you know, texts have come into Julie`s phone from -- like I said, the dead uncle. Random texts, anonymous calls, things of that nature, and this is just another one; this is just another smoke screen.

BROOKS: Gil, who is --

G. SOTO: And just --

BROOKS: Gil, who is paying the cell bill? Who gets the physical bill or able to go online to keep the phone running?

S. SOTO: I do.

G. SOTO: My sister can.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, has there been any credit card or ATM activity on her credit cards?

COOPER: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: No activity?

COOPER: No.

G. SOTO: No money has been withdrawn from the bank, you know. If she ran away, she would need money.

S. SOTO: There was one credit card activity.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I beg your pardon, Sandra?

S. SOTO: There was one credit card purchase.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What was that store?

S.SOTO: It was purchased at Best Buy. They showed me the video and they asked me to identify the person who used the credit card and it was not her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, whoa.

BROOKS: Who was it?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s huge.

G. SOTO: Yes, that`s one of the red flags that I tried to bring up to the point today because I had a conversation with the police chief on the radio today. I caught him off guard because I -- it was a call-in show. So I spoke with him before he knew who I actually was.

And I mentioned, you know, there are some red flags out there. What is your detective doing about those red flags?

BROOKS: Yes, who was the person at Best Buy? A description of that person? Was it a male, female?

S. SOTO: It was a female, but it wasn`t her. Julie is five feet tall, very petite, not long-legged and the person who was on the video was obviously not Julie.

BROOKS: And how long ago was that?

S. SOTO: The purchase was made April 7th, but they showed me the video just last week.

COOPER: The 20th.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But this is what I don`t understand. I don`t understand -- now, you didn`t know who this female was. In other words, it wasn`t one of her regular friends, right?

S. SOTO: No, no.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So it was an unidentified female using her credit card to purchase what?

S. SOTO: A movie.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A movie? What movie?

S. SOTO: "Spiderwick Chronicles."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What?

S. SOTO: "Spiderwick Chronicles."

BROOKS: Was -- was the card used as a credit card or was it used as a debit card? Do you know?

S. SOTO: I believe it was used as a credit card.

BROOKS: As a credit card?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. You know what, we`ve got to transition because we`re -- it`s technical stuff. But I want to ask all of you, put all the panel up, please, for one second.

Ok. They`ve agreed that they will come back tomorrow. We`re going to stay on top of this. We`re going to solve it. We`re getting closer but we haven`t solved it yet.

It`s shocking that somebody else used her credit card and we`re just getting to that now. Wow.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/28/ijvm.01.html

Appears to be a lot more to this story that will be coming out soon. Unfortunately, there only has to be NO obvious indication of foul play for LE to assume on foul play. They don't have to have any evidence that indicates she decided to disappear for awhile.

As far as the cell phone records, if there's no reason to suspect foul play then it's true PD can't get them. However, family can certainly try to get those records. And, it sounds like the cell bill was under the mother's name so there shouldn't be any problem with her getting the records.

If the ex was abusive, then the 2 most dangerous times for the abused victim are (1) when she leaves and (2) when he's being served with divorce papers. I don't believe she would have left her daughter with him even if she wanted to disappear.

IMO, ILE is mucking this up. It appears they are not taking this case seriously. Any woman that disappears just after having filed for divorce is suspicious in itself. The friends and family of Jeremy Griess have gotten more assistance from LE in Colorado on that case which definitely has no indication of foul play. From what the investigator said, it sounds like he hasn't even assessed if there's been any financial activity yet.

I would like to know when this friend got the text from Julie about James, the Web designer...If it was after she was missing, anybody could have sent that message from her phone...Sounds like a ploy to divert LE....Also there was intimations that this friend might be getting close to the ex-husband...Hopefully LE is doing more behind the scenes and is not falling" hook, line, and sinker" for this ex's story...It sounds to me like he was obsessed with Julie (suicide attempt, texts, notes, etc.) and is way too eager to now downplay his feelings about her and the divorce.

Ex has her cell phone. Ex sends messages to it. He made up the James the web designer story.
She would NEVER leave her daughter.

ISSUES WITH JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Where is Julie Ann Gonzalez?

Aired April 29, 2010 - 19:00:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, desperation mounts in the frantic search for a young mother from Austin, Texas. Julie Ann Gonzalez vanished without a trace more than a month ago. Last night on ISSUES, bombshell revelations. A strange woman used Julie`s credit card. So what does this mean, and why won`t cops call this foul play? Tonight, I`ll talk to a slew of family members, including Julie`s husband and her frantic mother.


VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, the drama unfolds after bombshell revelations right here on ISSUES last night. And we`ve got breaking news in the search for 21-year-old Julie Ann Gonzalez.

The family could not understand why cops would only call it is missing persons case. Well, tonight a major turn-around. Julie`s family says cops are now calling Julie a missing person in danger. You think?

Julie disappeared in Austin, Texas, March 26. We found out right here live on ISSUES yesterday that a female unknown to the family used her credit card 12 days after she vanished. We had Julie`s entire family on ISSUES last night: her mother, aunt, uncle and estranged husband. And the information vacuum led to a lot of finger-pointing. We saw a heated back and forth, for example, between the family and the woman`s soon-to-be ex- husband, who was the last person to see her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL SOTO, JULIE`S UNCLE: Well, Julie didn`t trust you. You know that.

GEORGE DE LA CRUZ, JULIE`S ESTRANGED HUSBAND: I understand they suspect me because I was the last person. Like I said, if anyone sees -- of course they`re going to be a suspect. Like I said, I`ll be willing to do anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to give him props for coming on the show.

Julie left behind her pride and joy, her 2-year-old daughter, Layla. Her family says she would never leave the child voluntarily. But even yesterday, cops weren`t convinced something criminal was going on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE SIGONA, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Detective Scott, who`s one of the lead investigators, and I asked him all of those questions. We sat on the phone for 25 minutes. And here are the answers. First of all, Detective Scott does want everyone to know that there is some -- quote, "some indication" that Julie may have wanted to withdraw contact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what is that new information that caused Austin police to change the status of Julie`s case to missing person in danger? Could it have anything to do with the fact that we`ve been covering it on this show for two days straight? I`m not saying. I`m just wondering. I`m asking.

And I`m taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297.

Straight out to my awesome expert panel: HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks with us tonight; investigative reporter Michelle Sigona of MichelleSigona.com, and once again, we`re honored to have Julie`s family here, her frantic family. Her aunt, Dora Cooper; uncle, Gil Soto; and Julie`s mother, Sandra Soto.

Sandra, we begin with you. Tell us what police told you about Julie`s case today and what made them change the case to a high priority?

SANDRA SOTO, JULIE`S MOTHER: Today they called me, and they told me that she was now considered missing, endangered and high priority. They didn`t tell me why or they didn`t tell me, but they just said that they are definitely investigating.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And what did you say in response?

S. SOTO: I said, "Thank God. It`s about time. Thank God."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that was it? It was like a really short conversation? "Hey, we`re making this a top priority. See you later." I mean, or did they give you any other details?

S. SOTO: They would not give me any details. You know, I asked them, are you looking into this, are you looking into that? You know, and they said, "Yes. Yes, ma`am, we are looking into everything."

And everybody is under the microscope right now. You know, everybody as far as friends, even relatives, everybody is under the microscope. And that`s fine. My main concern is let`s find her.

You know, they already dragged their feet too long on this. It took them a month to finally get her, you know, as missing and endangered. You know, now they`re trying to play catch-up.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s hope that we do solve this case. Last night, another bombshell dropped here on ISSUES when we found out that an unidentified woman used Julie`s credit card. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. SOTO: There was one credit-card purchase.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What was that for?

S. SOTO: It was purchased at Best Buy. They showed me the video, and they asked me to identify the -- the person who used the credit card, and it was not her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh! Whoa! That`s huge!

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Who was it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. So that was a shocker. What did the woman buy? Well, the PG movie "Spiderwick Chronicles." And we actually went out and rented it today. It`s from Paramount Pictures. Here it is.

Now look at it. It`s a 2008 fantasy film targeted at school-aged children. What a bizarre choice. The card was used on April 7. The missing woman`s mother was shown this video on April 20 by police.

Back to the mother, Sandra Soto.

What do you make of the purchase of a children`s video, and what did police tell you about the video when they were showing it to you?

S. SOTO: They asked me, does Julie like to watch movies? I said yes. We all like to watch movies. You know, we all go out and buy movies just because we`re such a big family that, you know, it`s better if we just buy the movies and watch it at home than for all of us to go to the movie theater and watch it at the movie theater. That`s just the way we are. We`re close that way.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Would she watch a movie like this? I mean, she wasn`t the person purchasing it. Somebody else was who you could not identify.

S. SOTO: I don`t know. You know, she has children`s movies. She has action movies. She has all kinds of movies in her -- in her library.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me ask you this. Where was this Best Buy? In other words, she disappeared from Austin. Did police tell you, "Well, this was the Best Buy in -- nearby? In Austin?

S. SOTO: They didn`t -- no, they did not tell me where the Best Buy was. I don`t know what store it was purchased at.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But was it in Austin, somewhere in Austin, or they didn`t tell you that?

S. SOTO: They just said Best Buy. They didn`t tell me city. They didn`t say what part of town. They didn`t say anything. They just said Best Buy.

BROOKS: So Sandra, it was the police that brought this to your attention about the Best Buy, then?

S. SOTO: No. It was actually -- it was actually us.

BROOKS: OK.

S. SOTO: My sister has access to Julie`s bank statements, and she was the one who discovered the purchase, you know, that was made.

BROOKS: Oh, OK. All right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she called cops and said, "Hey, the credit card has been used. Check this out." They checked it out. And then they show you the videotape.

S. SOTO: Yes, but it didn`t -- it didn`t even take -- it wasn`t even like as soon as they got the information they looked into it. It took them at least a week or two.

BROOKS: But what about any other activity on her credit card or debit card or any other account, Sandra?

S. SOTO: Nothing. You know, if she were to run away, you would think that she would use the money that she had in her bank. Because, you know, she`s going to run away, she`s going to need money.

BROOKS: Now has law enforcement -- you were saying the car she bought is -- was repossessed and is over at a lot, and they`re getting ready to sell it. Did law enforcement tell you today if they`re planning on going over there now and printing the car or processing that car, possibly?

S. SOTO: They didn`t tell me that they were going to do that. They just told me that, if I wanted to go remove her belongings from the car, that I could do that. That they no longer need the car.

BROOKS: I wouldn`t go over there, Sandra. If you go over there and remove her belongings, call the police and have them go over there with you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Michelle Sigona, there seems to be something a little -- can I say back asswards on television, about this? What are you hearing?

SIGONA: Well, this is -- it`s kind of interesting. I did speak with Detective Scott last night, as I mentioned for a long period of time. And I just spoke with him a little while ago. Unfortunately, he is not allowed to comment if this case has been elevated to an endangered persons case -- endangered missing persons case as a high priority case or not.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why not?

SIGONA: Without -- without the permission of his public information office, which is interesting.

BROOKS: Well, I called the public information office. I spoke to -- to Anna, who runs the public information office.

SIGONA: So did I. Yes.

BROOKS: And she says that apparently investigator Detective Scott`s commander, that she will not give him permission as of right now because -- because, she said, it is now a national story.

SIGONA: Right, right.

BROOKS: So there you go, Jane.

SIGONA: And I really feel -- a lot of these cases and sometimes departments that they feel overwhelmed and they don`t really know which direction things are going in. But it`s important, if it is an endangered person case, to be able to come out and say, "Yes, this is an endangered missing person case. We do need all the tips possible, and this is the best information we have."

BROOKS: Right. And we`re they`re friend on getting -- friend on getting the information out. Otherwise no one else would know it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right. But it`s pretty fascinating that after we cover this for two days, suddenly it`s a missing person in danger.

BROOKS: A little bit of backstroking.

G. SOTO: Maybe it wouldn`t have happened otherwise.

BROOKS: Right.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we`re here to solve problems like this. That`s why we exist.

G. SOTO: That`s correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve got to be in the solution.

Everybody, stay right where you are. So many other pieces to this puzzle. We are hunting down this missing mother, and we`re taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297.

Plus, the runaway mom finally squawking, and, boy, does she have some explaining to do.

But first, the mystery mounts on a war on women. A beautiful mother vanished in Austin. What happened to Julie?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: If you want me to be there with you all, I want to be there with y`all. But I know I`m not wanted. So why be there if everyone`s going to look down on me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. SOTO: They should have looked at her car. They should have looked at any video footage from any of the places where she was said to have been last seen. They haven`t done that. They should have polygraphed people who said that they spoke to her last.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You mean her estranged husband, George?

S. SOTO: Well, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And here is my big issue tonight. Why now? After all this time, why did authorities reportedly change Julie Ann Gonzalez` missing persons case to a high-priority and a missing person in danger? Did cops uncover anything? Or was it just a response to the fact that we`ve been talking about this for two days straight here on ISSUES?

We`ve been calling them for a couple of days now to appear on ISSUES. Police do not want to talk to us about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORA COOPER, JULIE`S AUNT: I`m sure if they would have found some blood or some semen or a glove or something, maybe they would have suspected foul play. But what signs need to be shown in the vehicle or anywhere she was for them to classify it as foul play? They have not been able to define foul play for us yet.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What...

COOPER: What defines foul play?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And look, I want to make this clear. I want to be wrong. I don`t want this to be foul play. I sincerely hope Julie is OK and safe and just made a very bad decision, kind of like the runaway mom who we`re going to cover in a little while, and simply needs therapy.

But to me, when you hear that a stranger is using her credit card, I personally think that is suspicious.

Marcie, New York, your question or thought, ma`am?

CALLER: Yes. Hi, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

CALLER: I love your show.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

CALLER: I commend you for doing this case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

CALLER: and I was wondering if the police who were investigating it - - she`s Hispanic. I notice that a lot of young white women when they go missing, the police care more than if it was a Hispanic or black woman.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, listen, I don`t like to play that card ever, but I want to toss it out to the family. Dora Cooper, Julie Ann Gonzalez`s aunt. Do you feel that, let`s say, you would have been treated -- you`re treated differently than you would if you were, let`s say, perhaps a wealthy family or a famous family or a family from another background?

COOPER: Yes, I do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You do?

COOPER: If we had money, yes, I do. Also, it depends on -- it would have depended on who she was related to. If this would have been a high- profile person`s daughter or niece or whomever, well, yes, they would have been all over the street. But, you know, we`re just a regular family. And, yes, I do believe that. I wouldn`t say because she`s Hispanic. I just think that because of, you know, where she came from, maybe.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hmm. Well, last night on ISSUES, the family talked about James the Web designer, somebody who was allegedly texting Julie in the days before her disappearance. Listen to this clue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think about this James text?

G. SOTO: Well, you know, texts have come into Julie`s phone from -- like I said, the dead uncle, random texts, anonymous calls, things of that nature. And this is just another one. This is just another smoke screen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Gil, you`re the uncle. You`ve been very vocal about this so-called Web designer. How did the family learn about this mystery man, James the Web designer? And do you think he exists?

G. SOTO: No, I don`t. I don`t think he exists. And it came up through a supposed friend of Julie`s who we have not heard from anymore. We heard from her one time. And now she just doesn`t want to speak to anyone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well...

G. SOTO: And that`s where it`s at right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Sandra, you`re the mom. Explain the Web designer and this -- this girl came up to you and said, "Oh, I don`t know what to say." She`s hanging her head low. And then she said she met a guy called James. What`s the story, very briefly?

S. SOTO: Well, she just told me, you know, "I`m sorry I kept this information from you," because she came to me a few days after we reported Julie missing. And she was just hanging her head low, you know, just saying, "I shouldn`t be here. I shouldn`t be talking to you."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What did she say about James?

S. SOTO: She just said, "Julie texted me saying that she had met James at her work and that he was a Web designer and that he had..."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, at her work? Now we`ve got another piece of the puzzle, Mike Brooks.

BROOKS: Absolutely. Now, when did she say that Julie, you know -- when did this woman -- or Julie confide in this woman about the Web designer at her work? Did she say?

COOPER: Well, now, Mike, I`ve to give you a little bit of background on this. I spoke with Julie`s best friend today...

BROOKS: Yes.

COOPER: ... which is Natasha. And Natasha and Amber. And Natasha said, you know, "I heard from Amber that she was with this guy James. So then I called Julie. Julie did not answer the phone. And she sent me a text message, saying, `I don`t feel like talking right now. What`s up?` And she says, `What`s going on?` She says, `I met this guy named James.` And she says, `What James? What are you talking about?` She says, `I`ve never heard of a James`."

S. SOTO: So these are text messages. These are text messages.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is there a James at her work? Have you called her workplace, the Walgreen`s where she was a pharmacy technician? Is there a James there?

COOPER: No. I`ve spoken with...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time, please. OK. OK. Go ahead, Mom. Was -- is there a James at the work?

S. SOTO: There is no James at the work. And the pharmacy where Julie works at is so -- there`s so many people coming in and out of there that even, you know, people...

G. SOTO: He could have been a customer.

S. SOTO: You know, even people that...

BROOKS: What about...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead, Mike.

BROOKS: What about possibly, you know, Walgreen`s, it`s not based there. What about a regional office for Walgreen`s in that area that may service the difference stores with their computers and, as a technician, she may deal with him if there`s a technical issue?

S. SOTO: You know what? There`s a lot of what-ifs.

BROOKS: Yes.

S. SOTO: But when it comes down to it, Julie went to work, and when she wasn`t at work, she was with Layla. And when she wasn`t with Layla, she was at work.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we`re going to go to break. But let me tell you something. We`ve got to talk about the pings. Now that they`ve declared it a priority, maybe they could check out her cell phone and find out where the pings are coming from.

We are all over this desperate search. Stay right there. We`re back in a moment with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S. SOTO: There was a friend of hers that came forward several days after we reported her missing, saying that she held back some information, and she wanted to let us know what it was.

So she called -- I talked to her on the phone, and she said, "I need to let you know something very important. Julie texted me and said that she met some guy named James who is a Web designer, who bought a new house in Colorado, and `he`s taking me away for the weekend to show me a good time`."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, there has been so much news on this case. And it`s trickling out as people speak. Now we hear the details of that again, and what popped out at me was the word "Colorado."

Now, Sandra Soto, you`re the mother of the missing girl. Did you tell police to check out Colorado? Are they checking out Colorado?

S. SOTO: Well, you know, I`ve given them all the information that I have. We have all given them everything. Everything that we know about Julie, everything we found out about Julie. And, you know what? It`s taken them a whole month just to get to where we are at right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did they check the surveillance video of the lot where her car was found abandoned? Her new car?

S. SOTO: To tell you the truth, I still don`t know. I still don`t know.

G. SOTO: No, you know what? Also, Jane, there`s a security camera inside the Walgreen`s at the registers. They stated -- somebody stated that a young lady went inside and said, "I`m having car trouble. I`m leaving my car here, and I`ll be back in a couple of hours to pick it up."

Now, we went and asked the clerk, and he couldn`t identify if that was Julie or not. Now, that`s a new vehicle and for her to be having car trouble and leave the vehicle there, we couldn`t understand. We didn`t -- we don`t have any answers for that either.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is it a brand-new vehicle, or was it just purchased, newly purchased and it`s a used car?

COOPER: Newly purchased. But...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. So I`ve had some lemons, let me tell you. I`ve bought new cars. If they`re used, they break down.

COOPER: But APD never contacted any one of us or even Sandra to verify that that was Julie entering the store.

G. SOTO: Or to watch the video.

BROOKS: Gil -- Gil, what did they say, that the car was dropped off at the Walgreen`s? At that particular Walgreen`s? And how far is it from her Walgreen`s where she works?

G. SOTO: I would say it`s a couple of miles. It`s a good distance. As far as...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And just for our viewers -- just for our viewers, she works at one Walgreen`s as a pharmacy technician. She dropped her car -- her car was abandoned at another Walgreen`s a few miles away.

G. SOTO: Maybe -- maybe three blocks away from George`s house.

S. SOTO: And a mile away from my home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Amy, Pennsylvania, quick question or thought, ma`am?

CALLER: Yes, I just have a question about the credit-card purchase. Now, I know that the police won`t tell them where they can get this information, but there has to be a way where they can call the credit-card company and get the information about where that was purchased, also. Because they`re not being informed, and maybe they`re just not asking the right questions, as well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I just want to say something. We only have a few seconds. If for some reason Julie Ann Gonzalez is out there and watching us, we want you to call us. We want -- you can see your family loves you very much. They are here. You should contact them, contact us or contact the police, but don`t stay out there.

And I hope that that`s the scenario. I hope nothing untoward has happened. We`re staying on top of this story. We won`t let it go. Thank you, family, for coming on, and also, fantastic experts Mike Brooks and Michelle Sigona.

snipped from:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1004/29/ijvm.01.html

As for George the ex husband--When someone says, "Like I said" before every sentence, that leads me to believe that they have a story and they are sticking to it. Whether it is the TRUE story or not...

The video purchase is probably for the ex's new girlfriend's child.

Also, do you know any woman that would say, "he`s taking me away for the weekend to show me a good time`?"

On Dr. Phil today -
The family of Julie Ann Gonzalez, this is part two (last Friday was part one) and the husband is on the show too. The husband agreed to have a polygraph and the results will be tomorrow.
I'm wondering if the reason Dr Phil had this family on is because the police (IMO) don't seem to be paying attention to this case. It's good for his ratings but I hope this has lit a fire under LE's butt!

Post by Wrapitup Today at 19:02
Updated: Wednesday, 19 May 2010, 9:28 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 18 May 2010, 1:42 PM CDT

* Chris Sadeghi

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Sandra Soto has spent the last six weeks hoping for any sign of her missing daughter, Julie Ann Gonzalez.

Now, after a search of Gonzalez's estranged husband’s house and an appearance on “Dr. Phil,” she said she believes George De La Cruz might have what she has been hoping for.

“I have been asking George to clear his name,” said Soto. “I am not pointing the finger at George. I just am asking him to clear his name if he has nothing to hide so the investigation can go on."

De La Cruz and Gonzalez were going through a divorce at the time of Gonzalez’s disappearance in March. The two shared joint custody of their 2-year-old daughter, but now the girl is splitting time between De La Cruz and Soto.

The heat was turned up on De La Cruz last Friday when Austin police executed a search warrant at his home and a polygraph test on the “Dr. Phil” show suggested he was lying when he claimed to not know anything about the disappearance.

“The results of the polygraph justify my feelings,” said Soto.

Police are investigating. However, Soto said she has received very little information about where investigators stand.

She said she does believe the national television appearance has caused a sense of urgency.

“I feel after the show, they stepped up their game,” said the mother.

There were no warning signs from Gonzalez in the days leading up to her disappearance, according to her mother, who said her mood was upbeat as it usually was.

Please see video here:

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/missing-girl%27s-mom:-husband-has-info

An Austin family continues to raise awareness to help in the search for their 21-year-old daughter who went missing nearly four months ago.
A fundraiser was held Sunday for the family of Julie Ann Gonzalez at a restaurant in Bee Cave. The family says the money will be used to pay legal expenses and raise awareness.
Family members are now concerned the investigation has gone cold.
"The police department has not shared anything with us, we've called them, we've tried to keep in touch with them, we've provided them with a lot of information, but they have yet to share anything with us or to let our family know about anything," said Dora Cooper, Julie Ann's aunt.
Gonzalez went missing on March 26. She was supposed to meet her estranged husband and pick up their 2-year-old daughter, but she never showed up.

http://www.kvue.com/home/Gonzalez-family-says-case-of-missing-daughter-has-gone-cold-98717794.html

As police continue to search for missing Texas mom Julie Ann Gonzalez, who disappeared in March, her estranged husband is now claiming he is the victim of harassment and vandalism.

The 21-year-old mother was last seen by her estranged husband George De La Cruz on March 26. De La Cruz and Gonzalez were in the process of getting a divorce. He maintains that he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
According to KVUE, De La Cruz claims someone smashed his car windshield while it was parked in front of his Austin home. De La Cruz had recently been at a custody hearing for Gonzalez's 2-year-old daughter.

"We feel whoever is doing this is retaliating. It's for us not giving the family custody or access to Layla," Patrick Fagerberg, De La Cruz's Attorney, told KVUE.

Very little evidence in the case and the lack of new leads have left many questions unanswered.

According to the Austin Police Department's spokeswoman Anna Sabana, police have found no physical evidence that indicate that Gonzalez was a victim of foul play.

De La Cruz told CNN in April that when Gonzalez came to pick up their daughter at his house she "looked completely different."

Gonzalez told him that she would be back later, but she never returned to pick up her daughter.

Months later, Gonzalez's family fears the worst.

Anyone who has information regarding her whereabouts is urged to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20011188-504083.html

Julie Ann Gonzalez Update: Husband George De La Cruz Named "Person of Interest" in Disappearance
Posted by Carlin DeGuerin Miller
AUSTIN, Texas (CBS) A little over three months after Julie Ann Gonzalez was reported missing by her aunt, recently released court documents reveal that Austin police have been investigating her estranged husband, George De La Cruz, as a person of interest in the case since early May, and turned up some potentially incriminating evidence while serving a search warrant that same month.
According to the search warrant, investigators found a debit card belonging to Gonzalez in De La Cruz's house along with the car keys belonging to Gonzalez. Investigators also found droplets of blood and human tissue as well as hair and fibers, CBS affiliate KEYE reported.

De La Cruz is thought to be the last person to see Gonzalez before she disappeared when she came to his house to pick up their 2-year-old daughter, Layla, at around 11 a.m. March 26. The two were going through a contentious divorce, but shared custody of Layla who had been spending a few days with her father. De La Cruz says Gonzalez looked "out of it" when she arrived and asked him to keep Layla a few more days because she needed to get away and spend some time alone.
That was the last time anyone has reported seeing Gonzalez. Her aunt, Dora Cooper, reported her missing the next day and Gonzalez's car was found abandoned in a pharmacy parking lot not far from De La Cruz's house March 28.

The documents do not reveal whether the blood or hair belonged to Gonzalez, but surveillance video captured De La Cruz using the debit card to buy a video with his daughter just after he says he last saw Gonzalez.

The documents also state that in May De La Cruz's mother, who lives with him, led cops to a hole that had been dug under a large storage shed in the backyard. De La Cruz told police at the time that the previous owners had dug the hole for "plumbing purposes." But his mother contradicted his story saying she had not noticed the whole until May 4, according to the Austin American Statesman.

Police returned later to execute a search warrant for the storage shed but did not find a body, the paper reported.

Also in May, Gonzalez's family took her story national, appearing on the "Dr.Phil" for a segment entitled "Runaway Moms." De La Cruz appeared as well and took a polygraph test, answering questions like "are you responsible for Julie's disappearance?" He failed the test, KEYE reported.

De La Cruz's attorney, Patrick Fagerberg, refutes the reports and suspicions against his client saying that De La Cruz has a "watertight alibi" "from morning till night" for the day that Gonzalez went missing, according to CNN.

As for the debit card and keys to the abandoned car Fagerberg told the news channel that "there [is] an innocent explanation for everything that happened that day."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20014121-504083.html

This is a post by Julie Gonzalez's cousin on her local blogspot...

So now for the good news. George Delacruz, Julie Ann's former husband, has just been named as the #1 suspect in the disappearance of Julie Ann. This is good in so many ways because now hopefully the truth will come out about what REALLY happened to Julie and Layla, Julie's 2yr old daughter can now reunite with her grandmother Sandra and be taken away from that horrible man and his family who have covered up and spoke for him. As far as I'm concerned they are just as guilty as their son especially his mother who muted George and spoke for him so that he would not say the truth. This month Sandra will be going to court to try and get custody of little Layla and George and his mother have tried to drag Sandra's name in the mud claiming that Sandra abused little Layla which is A TOTAL LIE! But now that Austin Police have finally stepped up and are doing something maybe the Judge will see that Layla belongs with her grandmother Sandra for both her safety and her well being.

Little Layla get the short end of the stick seeing as though her dad took her mother away from her and tried to take her grandmother away as well and now she will only grow up with her grandparents as parents and not ever knowing what it feels like to be mad at her mom or run to her when she has a broken heart from a boy. She will never have her mother help dress her for formal or her wedding day and she had to deal with the fact that her father is the reason she doesn't get all of this. Hopefully George just has Julie locked away some where but kept her a live but the truth is that just might not be the case. Maybe if we think of the worse we will get something a little better. I hope for Layla's sake that Julie is alive and well but if she's not this baby is going to have a tough life a head of her.

Having great grandparents to take care of you is great but because I have cousins that loss their mom to cancer and get to see how formal and prom and next year their wedding day is hard and bitter sweet because their mother is not there its sad and I would hate for another cousin to have to do that but at least she will be away from that monster who took Julie Ann away from her family, friends, home, and most of all her little girl. Please pray for both Sandra and Layla and pray that the truth comes out sooner than later.

Posted in the Family & Home interest group.
Topics: Julie Ann Gonzalez
posted by AnaMartinez on Monday, August 16, 2010 at 09:13 AM

http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/AnaMartinez/59930

Wow lisette thank you. I went to the blog and a really good point was brought up. How could Julie drive off if her keys were found in his house? Plus he used her credit cards?

LM, I think it was a debit card, but they have video of him using it at a video store shortly after Julie went missing...Yeah, and the keys...I wonder what his "innocent explanation" of that would be? And he failed the poly that he was given as part of the Dr. Phil show in May...I think it's horrible that he and his mother are trying to keep Julie's mother from Layla!

Could she have had a duplicate car key?

I am ashamed of the Austin PD that they have taken their own sweet time in this case!!

Yes it was a debit card your correct. Unless the media is not reporting correctly they said Julie's keys.

George de la Cruz and Julie Ann Gonzalez
by Eyes at 2:27 PM

Julie Ann Gonzalez disappeared in Texas after she visited her estranged husband, George de la Cruz, to pick up her daughter, who they shared custody of at the end of March. According to George, when she arrived, she wasn't herself. George said she then asked him if he could keep their daughter for the weekend. She hasn't been seen since.

Julie's family has been on TV a few times hoping to get information because the police are saying they do not believe this is a case of foul play. However, Julie's car was found in a Walgreen's parking lot abandoned (not the Walgreens where she worked at), someone has used her credit card, and video surveillance identified that the person using it was not Julie.

I listened to George speak in this video above, and what he said has me curious to see more of him. I have highlighted things that are a red flag for me.

George said to Jane Velez-Mitchell :
Well, like I said, it was her time to come pick my daughter up, because, uh… like I said, we had joint custody and well she arrived … I was expecting her to go pick her up -- come and get her. Right. And …she came in, like I said I saw her …she was... ….different. Like I said I’d know I’ve been with her for at least four years, so I know when there is something wrong with her. And I tried talking to her -- I asked a question what’s wrong and she just said, well, I’m okay, don’t worry about it. So I just let it go, right. So like I said, “Here’s Leyla’s stuff and everything is there, so you want to go ahead and check , uh, check at it so you can make sure everything is there and you can take her.

That’s when she told me, “Well, you know what? I got plans… uh…this weekend can you please take care of her?” I‘m, well, okay, yeah. And I said so when are you going to come pick her up? She says I’ll let you know. I’ll call you whenever I want her. But she said its going to be this weekend? And I'm like yes. So, I just said, I never thought anything bad was going to happen, cuz like I said, well okay, I’ll take her for a couple of more days, and whenever she is ready, she’ll call me to pick her up this weekend. So like I said, I didn’t expected nothing to come bad from this, until Saturday, that we find out she hasn’t contact no one. So like I said yeah...yeah, I kind of feel bad, because I was the last person, I should have done a little extra to find out if something was wrong, if there was something wrong cuz.... its gone a month and there is nothing....that we have heard from her.

Has anyone verified that Julie's car was seen at George's house that day? George seems to say what appears to be a slip of the tongue when he says, "well, she arrived … I was expecting her to go pick her up.." You have to wonder, did George meet Julie somewhere else the last time he saw her, and expected Julie to go pick up her daughter somewhere else? Or did George not have his daughter and told Julie she was somewhere else? What George says here is awfully strange.

Notice he talks in the past tense about custody. They "had" joint custody. Why isn't he talking in present tense--having custody?

I wonder does he always say "Right" after he says things. People who are deceptive often confirm their stories verbally out loud to themselves like this. However, if this is not George's native language, that could explain it. I'd need to know from those who knew George if this is normal behavior or not.

I thought it was strange that Julie would ask George to care for her daughter when in reports she was very close to her own family, and estranged from George. Julie's uncle said that Julie always went to pick up her daughter escorted and this time she didn't, and something happened. George called the police and reported Julie for abandoning her daughter after she left this day, which shows the two were not getting along, according to George himself. Furthermore, George supposedly called the police according to her uncle (on the same show, different segment) and said her family was harassing him when they were posting missing posters in his neighborhood. George didn't deny this in the interview. George attempted suicide when Julie decided to leave him. Knowing all of this, it makes little sense Julie would voluntarily leave her daughter with him longer than she was required.

I find it even more unusual that Julie would say, "I will call you whenever I want her." That doesn't sound like something a mother would say--especially to someone she appeared not to trust. It's unusual.

I find it odd how George says, "But she said its going to be this weekend? And I'm like yes." Notice how he got who said what mixed up here? If he is recalling something from memory, I wouldn't expect this to happen. You have to wonder did he say that to Julie that he wanted to keep the child for a few more days? Did Julie ask him if it was going to be this weekend and he said "yes" as he says. People usually don't get facts like this so badly messed up without reason. Why aren't the things George is saying making sense?

George says he "kind of" feels bad. This is what I have coined hedging. Either he feels bad or he doesn't. "Kind of" is notable for me. I've heard him use this a few times. It's a red flag for me.

And last George says, "if something was wrong." When I have watched him in small snippets in other interviews, he is pretty insistent something was wrong. He used the word "despondent" when describing Julie in another interview. That's a change from his statement here. What caused that change? Why is he confident in one interview and not in another? If he doesn't know anything, I would expect him to be consistent, but this is not. Why is he not consistent?

Furthermore, George gives us very few details of their last meeting. He doesn't talk about greeting Julie, how she interacted with the child, how they parted, or any other details of their conversation. The details are few and sparse, and only pertain to what George wants us to know. I'd expect some extraneous information, but there is nothing. Imagine describing the last time your saw your mom. What would you say?

I'd like to see George tell us verbatim exactly what happened that day down to the details. That would be an important interview for me.

At this point, George interests me and I'd like to see more. He raises my eyebrows. Please know George de la Cruz is not a suspect a the time this was published.

http://blog.eyesforlies.com/2010/05/george-de-la-cruz-and-julie-
ann.html

There is a lot of information here:

http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1465/

One Year Later: Still No Sign of Texas Mother


She’s been missing for a year now and still no sign.
21-year-old Julie Ann Gonzales’ family held a prayer vigil for her on the South steps of the Capitol Saturday.

They released purple balloons they say were filled with hope and prayer in a desperate plea that they might reach Julie Ann, wherever she is.

Her mother, Sandra Soto, says the family is, “living on a prayer”.

Police have only named one person of interest.

George De la Cruz is Julie Ann’s estranged husband.

However, police say neither he, nor his attorney, Patrick Fagerberg, are cooperating with the investigation.

Lieutenant Gena Curtis with the Austin Police Department says investigators are at their wits end with this case.

“I would just strongly ask George, please re-consider. I know you have an attorney, but please re-consider,” says Curtis.

Detectives tell KEYE TV, De la Cruz was the last person to see Julie Ann and they believe he has valuable information to relay.

KEYE TV contacted Fagerberg who says, “I stand by my client’s innocence.”

http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=355836

I think this husband is going to get away with murder.

Thanks for the update on this case, raine...It is hard to believe that it has been a year! Wish there could be a break in this case...

It sure seems like if you can hide the victims body well enough you can get away with murder.

Is this the kind of message LE wants to send?

In custody battle, suspicions abound about disappearance of Julie Ann Gonzalez


Almost a year and a half after young mother Julie Ann Gonzalez disappeared without explanation from South Austin, her family members were at the Heman Sweatt Travis County Courthouse on Thursday continuing their quest to find out what happened in the case police believe may be murder.

Gonzalez's mother, Sandra Soto, has asked for court-ordered visits with Gonzalez's daughter, who was 2 when Gonzalez disappeared. The girl lives with Gonzalez's estranged husband, George De La Cruz.

Police have said De La Cruz, 23, is a "person of interest" in Gonzalez's disappearance. Soto and her family members hoped Thursday that during a planned hearing in the family court case, Soto's lawyer could ask De La Cruz questions under oath about the days surrounding March 26, 2010, when Gonzalez went missing.

"We believe he knows more than he's saying," Soto said outside of court.

De La Cruz's testimony, though, became unnecessary after he agreed to allow Soto regular visits through January. The sides will return to court at some point to determine future visitation.

De La Cruz has repeatedly maintained that he had nothing to do with Gonzalez's disappearance, including during an appearance on the "Dr. Phil" television talk show last year.

On Thursday, his family court lawyers would only say that he was a good father.

His criminal lawyer declined to comment, other than to say that De La Cruz has cooperated with police.

Police say he has stopped cooperating.

Gonzalez and De La Cruz were divorcing and sharing custody of their daughter when she disappeared. Gonzalez was 21 and had begun seeing another man.

De La Cruz told police that on March 26, 2010, Gonzalez asked him to take care of their daughter for a few more days because she was leaving town, according to documents.

He told police she left his house on Garden Oaks Drive in South Austin about 11 a.m., that he did not know where she was going and that he had no further contact with her.

The next day, Gonzalez was reported missing, and on March 28, her 2006 four-door Chevrolet Impala was found in a Walgreens parking lot on South First Street, near De La Cruz's home.

While Gonzalez's family began pointing the finger at De La Cruz, police initially did not suspect foul play in Gonzalez's disappearance, in part because it appeared she had sent text messages to her family and friends and had posted updates online.

But a May 17, 2010, search warrant affidavit said police believe De La Cruz committed murder.

That affidavit said that De La Cruz's mother showed police a large hole that had been dug underneath the wooden floor of a large storage shed in the backyard. She said she discovered it May 4, 2010, and that it was not there when her ex-husband built the shed years earlier.

De La Cruz had previously "explained that it had been dug by the previous owners for plumbing purposes," the affidavit said.

Detectives learned that on March 26 at 2:20 p.m. — about 3½ hours after De La Cruz said he last saw Gonzalez — someone had used Gonzalez's Visa bank debit card at a South Austin Walmart, the affidavit said.

Video taken inside the store appears to show De La Cruz pushing his daughter in a shopping cart about that time, the affidavit said.

Soto's lawyer, Ron De La Rosa, said questions about that debit card were among the inquiries he had hoped ask De La Cruz if he had taken the stand Thursday.

"We were going to ask him about what happened to Julie," De La Rosa said.

While De La Rosa and one of De La Cruz's lawyers, Sarah Balaparya, worked out the details of their agreement in the courthouse hallway, Soto and De La Cruz sat nearby with their respective family members on separate benches.

Sandra Soto said she watched and listened carefully to De La Cruz.

"You look at his demeanor and he's laughing and texting. He doesn't take this seriously," she said. "He's talking about what he's going to do this weekend."
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/in-custody-battle-suspicions-abound-about-disappearance-of-1887295.html?cxtype=rss_local

Another one who is getting away with murder.

Reminds me of Josh Powell. Thanks for updating this, Raine!!

AUSTIN -- Austin police have charged the estranged husband of a woman missing since 2010 with first degree murder.
Police say George De La Cruz, 25, was indicted by a Travis County jury for murder relating to the disappearance of Julie Ann Gonzalez, 21.
De La Cruz  was arrested on Friday by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. His bond has been set at $500,000.
Gonzalez was reported missing on March 27, 2010. De La Cruz has been a person of interest in the case, and evidence was taken from his home via a search warrant in May 2010. Police have said in the past that De La Cruz was not cooperating with their investigation.
De La Cruz has had custody of the couple's four-year-old daughter Layla since Gonzalez's disappearance.
If you have any information regarding this case you are asked to call police at (512) 477-3588.
http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?fId=223666101&fPath=/news/local/&fDomain=10232

I am SO GLAD that POS has finally been arrested! I've been waiting years to post the above!!!!

FINALLY!!!!!

Posted: 2:52 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, 2013
Man charged with murder in the 2010 disappearance of Julie Ann Gonzalez

APD seeks help locating missing man

From the City of Austin
A Travis County Grand Jury has indicted George De La Cruz, Hispanic male, (D. O. B. 10-11-1987) for murder in the disappearance case of victim Julie Ann Gonzalez.

De La Cruz has been charged with Murder, a 1st Degree Felony, bond is set at $500,000. That is too LOW! He should have NO bond!! He was arrested today, Friday, September 13, 2013 by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.

The case remains under investigation. If you have any information regarding this case please call the APD Homicide Tipline at 512-477-3588. Any information regarding this case needs to come from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.

Last statement released on March 23, 2011:
On March 27, 2010 Julie Ann Gonzalez was reported missing. Initially it appeared that Julie’s disappearance was voluntary based on text messages sent to Julie’s family and friends from her cell phone. However, the length of time since Julie’s last communication with family and other information uncovered causes concern about Julie’s welfare. While voluntary withdrawal cannot be conclusively eliminated as a possibility, it becomes more unlikely as each day passes without contact from Julie.

A team of investigators from the Austin Police Department Violent Crimes Command have been investigating this case. During the investigation, APD gathered information that led us to believe that her disappearance may not have been voluntary. On May 14, 2010, APD executed a search warrant at the residence of George De La Cruz, Julie’s estranged husband. In that search warrant, detectives asked for numerous items of evidence that they believed would be found at the residence. While some items were seized that may be of evidentiary value, not all items sought were found.

At this time, George De La Cruz is considered a person of interest and it is believed that he has information that could be of great assistance to the investigation. De La Cruz has been interviewed in the past but is currently not cooperating with the investigation.

In the best interest of this investigation, APD is unable to share additional information at this time.

APD has been and continues to work diligently on this investigation. The investigation will not end until Julie’s family has the answers it seeks about what has happened to her. APD appreciates the assistance we have received from national, local media and tips from citizens. APD is grateful to the assistance of Julie’s family and their tireless efforts to keep her information in the public forum. The department urges anyone with information about Julie’s current whereabouts or the circumstances under which she disappeared to call the Austin Police Department’s Homicide Tipline at 512-477-3588.

http://www.statesman.com/weblogs/the-blotter/2013/sep/13/man-charged-murder-2010-disappearance-julie-ann-go/

http://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/husband-of-woman-missing-since-2010-indicted-on-murder-charge

I do not understand why he has bond at all! Not for murdering his wife!!!!!!

AUSTIN -- Assistant Travis County District Attorney Gary Cobb told KVUE Friday evening that he believes George Delacruz could still be convicted of murder even though the body of his estranged wife has yet to be found.
“They're difficult cases but they can be proven and we've done in Travis County before, we've done it in the state of Texas before, and we've done it all over the United States before. It's difficult, but sometimes justice requires it,” said Cobb.
On Friday morning a Travis County Grand Jury indicted George Delacruz for first degree Murder in connection with his wife’s disappearance.
Delacruz was later arrested Friday afternoon while he was working at a construction site.
Julie Ann Gonzalez was 21-years-old when she vanished in March of 2010.
The couple’s daughter had just turned two.
Dora Derma, an aunt of Julie Ann Gonzalez told KVUE in a phone conversation Friday said that the family isn’t speaking on camera because of an ongoing custody battle with Delacruz over the couple’s daughter.
“It's difficult to imagine a scenario where she would not only voluntarily disappear, but voluntarily for over a 3-year period have no contact whatsoever with her beloved child," she said.
http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?fId=223707881&fPath=/news/local/&fDomain=10232

raine1953 wrote:I do not understand why he has bond at all! Not for murdering his wife!!!!!!

Welcome to Travis County....MOO.