TAMPA - The murder trial for an illegal immigrant charged with stabbing and beating his girlfriend to death as well as stabbing her daughter to death had an unusual turn of events Tuesday morning as the suspect took the stand in his own defense.
His testimony proved to not be convincing as the jury deliberated just a few hours to return a guilty verdict.
The backstory:
Prosecutors used all of last week to establish their capital murder case against Angel Cuz Choc.
It was April 2024 when Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to 3720 Sumner Road following a 911 call about a woman with traumatic injuries lying face down in a shed.
Courtesy: HCSO
Witnesses on scene directed those deputies to where they found Amalia Coc Choc de Pec dead with visible injuries consistent with a violent struggle.
They followed a blood trail into the home and also found Coc Choc de Pec’s daughter, Juana Estrella, also dead from several stab wounds.
During the murder trial, those deputies spoke to the court along with the crime scene technicians who examined the murdered victims.
Homicide detectives developed leads on the suspect, and detailed to the court how Angel Cuz Choc was controlling and demanding in the relationship with the victim and her daughter.
He was last seen with the two victims at the home.
Previous Coverage
- Dover double murder: Court documents reveal suspect’s possible motive for killing woman, child
- Dover double homicide trial begins with prosecution seeking death penalty
What they're saying:
After the defense barely challenged the criminal case that the State Attorney’s Office presented, they surprised the court by putting the defendant on the stand in his own defense on Tuesday.
Cuz-Choc on the stand
While Angel Cuz-Choc had to speak to the court through an interpreter, his demeanor was subdued, and he kept his gaze primarily down towards the microphone at the witness stand.
The defense tried to present a theory that Cuz-Choz was not the killer. They addressed how much he loved the victim, Coc Choc de Pec, and treated her daughter as his own.
The prosecution confronted Cuz-Choc with the challenge that no one else was present at the time of the murders. No one else had access to the victims in the time frame presented. How did he, Cuz-Choc, explain the deaths in that time frame?
His response to the prosecution over and over again through the interpreter was, "I don’t remember."
Cuz-Choc on the stand
Each question about the violence brought the same response.
The prosecutor challenged that memory, or lack of memory with the fact that someone who didn’t remember committing a crime would not flee from the scene and deliberately hid from law enforcement officers.
The prosecutor reminded Cuz-Choc that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy K9 team tracked him down, and he actively resisted them during his arrest.
In the end, the Jury was charged with the case and returned a verdict of "Guilty" on each of the two counts of 1st degree murder, "Guilty" of aggravated child abuse, and "Guilty" of kidnapping.
What's next:
Tampa Judge Michelle Sisco charged the jury with being prepared for the start of the penalty phase in the case. That will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
The jury will have to decide whether to sentence Angel Cuz-Choc to the death penalty for either one or both of the first-degree murder counts. The other charges will come into play as "aggravating factors," which contribute to the cruelty and inhumane nature of the case. The prosecution plays those up to the jury to show the sentence of death is deserved.
The defense goal is to convince five of the jurors that their client should get "Life in Prison" instead. That is a high bar as the unanimous verdict of guilt shows a unity in the jury's thinking.
The Source: This story was written based on courtroom testimony today and previous court appearances in the case.