Evaristo Salas Jr. (Junior)

They were abusive to me, sometimes to my sisters.

But they seemed mainly to focus on me.

I don't know if it was because I was the boy, you know, and my two sisters were there.

My little brother was born a little bit later, but he was still a baby.

So there seemed to be almost, you know, I took the brunt of everything when it came to that.

And I had really vivid memories of my mother, you know, of being with these abusive people.

You know, there was times that I tried to protect her.

But I was too young.

I was just a child, and they would toss me aside.

And what bothered me the most about her is that she would always take them back.

I mean, they would leave her.

I have one real vivid memory of being alone in the house.

Me and my sisters were alone for two or three days.

Nobody knew where our mother was.

We didn't say anything.

And then she just... I think my dad came over, and we couldn't find her.

And two days later, she shows up, and she's beaten so bad.

I mean, her...

I couldn't even recognize her.

And I'd just seen her and I just kind of broke down.