Family demands justice for accused
Posted on 08/08/2002 2:19:37 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Family demands justice for accused
They cite 'no excuses' for man charged in slaying of wife, kids
08/08/2002
Still reeling from the loss of five family members, relatives of the victims in a weekend shooting spree spoke out Wednesday to express bewilderment at the tragedy and to ask for justice.
"What he did, there can be no excuses for," Mireya Alvizo said of her brother-in-law Abel Ochoa, who is charged in the shooting.
"He can't blame anything for what happened. The children what kind of fault would they have in this? There can be no motive, no excuses," she said.
Mr. Ochoa, 29, remains in Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $2 million bail. He is charged with capital murder in the Sunday shooting deaths of his wife, Cecilia Ochoa, 32; and daughters Crystal Ochoa, 7, and 9-month-old Ana Ochoa. Also killed were his father-in-law, Bartolo Alvizo, 56, and sister-in-law Jacqueline Saleh, 20.
Another sister-in-law, Alma Alvizo, 27, was seriously wounded and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
"From one day to the other, we have lost much of our family," Mireya Alvizo said Wednesday as she and other family members made funeral arrangements for the five. "All we want is that he get the maximum that the law will allow, justice for what he did."
Gabriel Ochoa has said his brother, Abel Ochoa, told him he was addicted to drugs and had smoked crack cocaine before the shootings in the central Oak Cliff home.
Gabriel Ochoa has said there were no arguments before the shootings.
Mireya Alvizo said family members were reluctant to talk publicly because they wanted to make sure nothing harms the case against Abel Ochoa.
She talked about the almost unbearable pain the family was going through, noting that about 30 relatives, many of them from Monterrey, Mexico, have traveled to Dallas to offer support.
"That unity has sustained us. This has affected so many families, so many. Not just one."
Ms. Saleh and Mr. Alvizo would've had birthdays this month, she said. "And those kids. They were so young. They didn't get a chance to live," she said.
According to police reports, Abel Ochoa opened fire inside his house about 6 p.m. Sunday. The family had gathered there after attending church and visiting Gabriel Ochoa.
Visitation for those who died will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Oak Cliff Funeral Chapel, 222 E. Colorado Blvd. A funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, with burial at Southland Memorial Park in Grand Prairie.
As he helped with funeral arrangements, Guillermo Garay, uncle of Cecilia Ochoa, said: "More than anything, we want justice. This is something that cannot go unpunished. There has to be justice."
E-mail ftrejo@dallasnews.com
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