Gonzalez has spent most of the last three years in the Essex House of Correction in Middleton awaiting trial after Giovanni disappeared during a weekend visit to Gonzalez’s apartment in August 2008. Gonzalez confessed to killing his son in a jailhouse interview with The Boston Globe three months after Giovanni disappeared.
Investigators found the boy’s blood in Gonzalez’s apartment in Lynn, but a body was never found and authori ties have not charged the father with the boy’s death.
Instead, they charged Gonzalez, who was estranged from the boy’s mother, with parental kidnapping and with lying to investigators about the boy’s disappearance. He has pleaded not guilty and could still face up to 10 years in state prison if convicted of misleading investigators. The parental kidnapping charge had carried a penalty of up to a year in county jail.
Lu said in yesterday’s ruling that because Gonzalez and the boy’s mother had no court-sanctioned custody arrangement, there was no legal basis for the kidnapping charge.
The boy’s mother, Daisy Colon, said she still holds out hope that the child is alive. Yesterday she said she is infuriated by the judge’s ruling and urged prosecutors to appeal it.
“Basically what he’s saying is it’s OK for a parent to take a child away from the mother or the father with no repercussion for that,’’ said Colon. “He knew he didn’t have custody of my son.’’
Christopher Skinner, Gonzalez’s public defender, said he was pleased with the judge’s ruling and that the case was nearing trial on the charge of misleading investigators.
“We’ve got to get ready. We’re getting close to the end of the case, however it’s going to be resolved. I think all the discovery is done. All of the motions are done. I suppose the Commonwealth could appeal this [the judge’s ruling]. We’ll see.’’
