Shraman Mitra
‘Accused: Guilty or Innocent’ features an in-depth and detailed study of the justice system by taking on various cases and examining the conditions under which a suspect can be convicted. The episode ‘Masked Attacker or Mistaken Identity’ chronicles how Taiz Cruz was arrested for a home invasion, which she claimed she was not involved in. Although the victims insisted they saw the accused and recognized Taiz by her voice, she kept insisting on her innocence and was ready to fight the case in court. Well, let’s delve into the details surrounding the same and find out where Taiz is at present, shall we?
Who Is Taiz Cruz?
A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Taiz grew up in a tight-knit family and always remained pretty close to her parents. She had great aspirations for her future from quite a young age and was determined to make her parents proud. Hence, when the Covid-19 pandemic crippled the world, Taiz, eager to help others, applied to be a traveling nurse. Incidentally, at the time of her arrest, she was working as a part of a Covid Crisis Response team and had assignments all over the United States. Besides, her arrest and the charges levied on her left most of her loved ones in shock, as Taiz did not have any criminal record prior to the incident.
Reports claimed that one of Taiz’s friends was going through a custody battle with his ex-wife in December 2020. Although the court had permitted him to spend time with his child, the ex-wife refused to let him visit and allegedly threatened that he would never see the child again. Hence, when he was denied in a similar way on December 25, 2020, he approached the police and informed them about the incident. Law enforcement officials made their way over to the woman’s house, but they could do nothing as she refused to open the door.
At around 8:25 pm that same evening, about a few hours after the cops left, two masked intruders smashed the rear window and entered the single mother’s house. They then made their way upstairs and physically assaulted the child’s mother and grandmother. The victim later mentioned that while she could recognize one of the assailants as Taiz Cruz through her voice, her mask allegedly slipped during the attack, confirming her identity. Once the intruders left, the single mother called the police and reported the incident. Subsequently, the boy’s mother and grandmother positively identified Taiz Cruz to authorities, and they put out a warrant for her arrest. Around that time, Taiz was traveling through New Mexico on an assignment when she got into a vehicle accident and requested assistance. However, once law enforcement officers came to assist her, they informed her about the break-in and took her into custody.
Taiz Cruz is Serving Her Probation Time
When Taiz was arrested, she refused to hand over her phone on the advice of her lawyer, which ended up being a massive issue as the prosecution used it as an indication of her guilt. She was eventually charged with aggravated robbery and faced about 12 years in jail if convicted. When talking to her lawyer, Taiz insisted on her innocence and claimed she was not involved in the break-in. She even mentioned that she spent the whole of December 25 with her family before traveling to Phoenix for her next assignment at 10 pm. However, when detectives questioned Taiz’s mother, she initially claimed that her daughter had stepped out to go to the store in the evening and was not able to specify the duration of her absence. While this made the prosecution believe that Taiz had enough time to slip out, break into the victim’s house and return home, her mother later insisted that she was away for a total of ten minutes.
Still, with both victims as well as several other witnesses identifying Taiz by voice and face, it would have been extremely difficult to prove that she wasn’t present at the crime scene. Hence, when the prosecution approached Taiz with a deal asking her to confess to trespass in a habitation, her lawyer advised her to accept it. Eventually, Taiz Cruz pled guilty to a single charge of trespass in a habitation, and the judge sentenced her to 90 days in jail with a 2-year probation following release. Although Taiz has since completed her 2-month prison sentence, she is presently serving her probation in Columbus, Ohio.
