Every Fucking Day Of My Life (aka One Minute to Nine)

[Liamsmom617]

  No thread on this one? One of the most compelling documentaries I’ve seen. Wendy Maldonado and her son, Randy, are both free now, but both did time for the bludgeoning death of Aaron Maldonado, Wendy’s husband and Randy’s father, who had been unspeakably violent and abusive toward Wendy, their four children together, and even the family’s dog for most of the children’s lives.

   The documentary follows Wendy and three of her sons (Randy had already started serving his sentence) in the week or so before Wendy had to begin serving her 10-year sentence. Intercut with documentary footage are snippets of “home videos” taken by Aaron. 

  Chilling, to say the least....Wendy’s often faraway, despondent expression would transform immediately into a falsely cheery, “everything’s fine” demeanor when Wendy realized Aaron was watching/filming her. 

   Oddly, home videos from right after they were married (Wendy was all of 16, I think) show a playful, affectionate couple. Aaron  came off as sweet and goofy, nothing like the monster he eventually became. 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Liamsmom617

[msrachelj]

when was this on? i don't see it anywhere in my search on direct tv.

[heatherchandler]

2 hours ago, Liamsmom617 said:

  No thread on this one? One of the most compelling documentaries I’ve seen.

 

3 minutes ago, msrachelj said:

when was this on? i don't see it anywhere in my search on direct tv.

Just came here to ask the same thing.  I checked hbogo and I don't see it.  Also checked my cable guide.

[Liamsmom617]

It aired several years ago...,sorry; didn’t mean to mislead anyone. It’s on You Tube now: 

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Liamsmom617

[formerlyfreedom]

It looks like this wasn't originally an HBO documentary, but did air on HBO at some point in time.

Quote

One Minute to Nine is a 2007 documentary film written and directed by Tommy Davis and produced by Quinto Malo Films. It was later re-edited and screened on HBO as Every F---ing Day of My Life. The film chronicles the last five days of freedom for Wendy Maldonado before she and her son are sentenced for the manslaughter death of her husband and explores the years of domestic abuse the family experienced prior to his death.

[Liamsmom617]

Oh...my mistake.

[formerlyfreedom]

11 hours ago, Liamsmom617 said:

Oh...my mistake.

It's fine! You can still discuss it in here!

[CaughtOnTape]

Ya know what I'm over?  This idea that someone still needs to pay for killing these abusive dicks.  He was an asshole.  Good riddance.  I hate judges and their "But someone is dead and there needs to be a consequence for that".

The cops were called, they walked away.  The dipshit neighbors didn't want to get involved so they just turned deaf.  Her family didn't do shit.  She was completely on her own.  She killed him.

Oh fucking well.

His family can take a thousand seats.  Ample evidence of him being a prick.  Don't raise a prick then he doesn't have to die when his wife kills him for beating the hell out of her daily.

[Liamsmom617]

  Couldn’t agree more. Neither Wendy nor Randy should have served one day of prison time! Aaron can rot in hell.

[Angelsmom1009]

I watched this on YouTube after reading this thread, and it's stuck with me since. What a horrifying experience for Wendy and her kids. It's a miracle any of them lived as long as they did with that monster terrorizing them daily. It must have been quite cathartic beating him in the head and watching him slowly die.

I Googled the hell out of this case after watching and a few thoughts and standouts:

-The massive amount of holes in the walls that were covered by the boys' artwork. There was just so many of them, and you know each one equaled a fist or someone's head being slammed into the wall. Wendy and her boys talked about the abuse they endured, but those photos really brought it home. That gave me goosebumps.

-The neighbors saying what they witnessed over the years vs. Wendy's family saying they didn't know what was going on. Clearly Aaron didn't make a it a secret that he was beating the hell out of his wife, so I find it hard to believe her family didn't know. I vaguely remember Wendy's mother saying she had been in an abusive relationship when she was young, and that can obviously set your views on relationships askew. So I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she told Wendy to try to stick it out and not upset him, at least in the beginning.  Another comment thread I read about this documentary said that the neighbors called the cops numerous times, but Wendy would tell them everything was fine and turn them away. I know that there are police out there that do little to nothing in DV situations, but a lot of times, they can't because the abusers has made threats against the victim's kids, loved ones, etc. so they are understandably too scared to press charges(and I fully believe Aaron the wannabe serial killer and rapist would make good on these threats) and there's only so far the law can go. It's not an uncommon situation. The whole system is just frustrating and something needs to change, because too many women stay with their abusers because they are too scared to leave.

-The look of sadness on Wendy's face when she wasn't aware she was being filmed, only for her to plaster on a fake smile when Aaron called out to her. That was heartbreaking. I read an interview that was done with the director of the documentary, and he said that the home videos were heavily edited by Aaron. There were moments he caught where no one was smiling, the video would cut off abruptly, and then go back to the same scene where everyone was smiling. God only knows what he did to make them put on the front of "happy family" on film.

-Conversely, the look of true relief Wendy had during her last few days before prison. I know people disagree that she should have gone to trial and not accepted a plea, but I read that her public defender offered to go to trial and she declined, saying she didn't want to risk her son going to prison for 25 years, and she would gladly do 10 years because it meant her kids were safe. From the moment Aaron died, they were free, and I don't think prison could even take that feeling away.

-I read that the autopsy on Aaron showed fresh bruises and cuts on his knuckles and forearms, which meant he beat them literally up until he went to bed and they bludgeoned him to death. SMH.

-Anything and everything involving the dead deer *shudder*

-I know that some people are sociopaths and wired wrong and whatever, but I really, really wonder how people like Aaron become who they are. What has to happen to a person to make them want to inflict such pain and terror onto another human being? I wish there were some sort of interview with his family or people that knew him. But judging by his brother sending Wendy and her kids to hell at the trial, despite the insane amount of evidence of his abuse, I doubt they would provide much insight anyway.

I know that Wendy and Randy were released last year and have been privately and quietly since then. Wendy mentioned in her only interview after her release that she may talk about her story and do speaking engagements and stuff, but for now she just wants to focus on rebuilding her life and family. I truly hope the Maldonados have found the peace they so justly deserve.

[Liamsmom617]

  I so agree with your entire post, Angelsmom1009! My brother is a cop and has said that the DV situations are probably the worst/most frustrating for him, b/c the wife inevitably says all is well/refuses to press charges when the police show up. 

   The “look of sadness” that always hits me hardest is in the brief video clip of Wendy in a hospital bed, holding /patting the back of a newborn (likely Tyler, the youngest, based on the age Randy appears to be in the clip) with a look of total despondency; she then puts her hand up to cover her eyes as if to suppress tears. You can see her thinking, “Now I have 4 kids to protect from Aaron...how are we ever gonna get away?! We’re so screwed.”

  As I stated before, what truly baffles me is that Aaron’s demeanor was so different in the clips from when they were first married. He clearly morphed into the evil-incarnate animal later. I wonder if it was some kind of psychotic break?

Edited October 26, 2017 by Liamsmom617