To stop Alatorre from screaming, Cruz told police he strangled her until she stopped. She didn't want to go with him, he said to police in the reports.Ĭruz raped her in the back of his truck, despite her asking him to stop, he told police.Īlatorre physically fought back and struggled and screamed at him, police wrote in the offense reports. ![]() During a second encounter, Cruz said, Alatorre entered his truck and they began driving around. Patricia Alatorre's case started as a missing person's case on July 2, 2020, when Alvarez reported her as a runaway to the police.Ĭruz, when arrested, first denied knowing Alatorre and provided "inconsistent statements," according to the BPD offense reports.īut he then admitted to exchanging sexually explicit pictures with Alatorre and meeting her for sex acts, the reports said. (Life without parole) allows that process to begin sooner." "Healing is a process, not a moment, and it's going to take a lot of time for people to heal from this. "(Life without parole) is finality," Kang wrote. A capital case has a higher chance of an appeal and "increased scrutiny," which means the case can go on without closure for decades, he added. Prosecutors are not guaranteed the death penalty when leaving a case's outcome to jurors. Public Defender Peter Kang wrote in an email that life without parole is just a slower version of the death penalty. ![]() Antonios also noted Cruz didn't plead guilty to any lesser charges in the deal.Ĭhief Assistant Public Defender Tanya Richard and Deputy Public Defender Thomas Pope, who represented Cruz, said they had no comment at this time. "I believe this was the most horrific crime we've seen in a long time and absolutely merited (the death penalty)," Antonios said.īut the deputy district attorney said the deal was made after weighing factors such as reopening the family's wounds by sitting through a trial rife with explicit details. Deputy district attorneys Christine Antonios and Tyson McCoy offered a sentence of life without the possibility of parole in lieu of the death penalty if Cruz agreed to plead guilty to 11 charges. "It changes your soul."Ĭruz, who was arrested in July 2020, attended court hearings for two years before cutting a plea deal, pleading guilty to 11 charges. "Having a sibling that was murdered changed me deeply," Vivianna Alatorre said. What would it be like if Patricia Alatorre was still here?, she asked in court Tuesday. Sister Vivianna Alatorre, who is one of eight siblings, said she thinks about her baby sister in everything she does. Cruz looked down during most of the hearing and looked affected by the family's statements but didn't show much emotion. The Alatorre family's heartbreak sounded across a Kern County Superior courtroom prior to the reading of Cruz's sentence as three family members described how Cruz ruined their lives.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |