Dover double homicide trial begins with prosecution seeking death penalty

Illegal immigrant on trial for 2024 double murder

The murder trial of Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc is underway in the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

TAMPA - The murder trial of Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc is underway in the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

The double murder in Dover was shocking for the community around Sumner Road. It’s not that domestic arguments never happened, it’s just that a man murdered a 4-year-old as well as his girlfriend leaving their bloodied bodies lying in the home. Both the woman and her daughter were found stabbed to death at that mobile home by friends and neighbors. 

The backstory:

It was April 2024 when a neighbor called 911 to report a terrible incident at her friend’s house. She had gone over to meet Amalia Coc Choc de Pec and found her lying outside of her mobile home with blood all over her back.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and found the victim lying face down under an overhang outside of her home. She had died of traumatic injuries and had multiple injuries consistent with a violent struggle.

Deputies went into the home and found her daughter, 4-year-old Juana Estrella, also dead.

Their criminal investigation led them to search for Coc Choc de Pec’s boyfriend. Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home showed him leaving the property last.

Seventeen hours later, they found Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc hiding in the woods beside a nearby strawberry field.

Cuz-Choc was determined to be in the United States illegally, having paid a smuggler to get into the US.

He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in addition to kidnapping and aggravated child abuse.

Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc mugshot courtesy of HCSO. 

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What they're saying:

A jury was seated Monday in the criminal trial for the defendant. On Tuesday, the State Attorney’s Office, which is seeking the death penalty in this case, started the day interviewing witnesses establishing the timeframe of the murders and the relationship of the victims to the suspect.

Witness interview in court

The woman and her child lived in the home for about 4 or 5 months, according to the witnesses who established who lived there at the time of the crime.

Amalia Coc Choc de Pec and her daughter Juana Estrella were there, as was the "man."  The "man" was identified in court as the defendant, Angel Cuz-Choc.

The witness saw them at breakfast before leaving for work the morning of the murder.

Trial witness showing body location

It was after 5 p.m. that the 911 call was made to the Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Kevin Adams responded to that 911 call and met with the witnesses at the mobile home. The prosecution showed his body camera video in court. 

Deputy Kevin Adams

He viewed the victim’s body outside the home in a makeshift shed. He paused and called for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue to respond to the scene. 

He observed blood on the side of the house and stairs before approaching the victim’s body.

He and his partner confirmed that Amalia Coc Choc de Pec was dead there at the scene.

What's next:

The prosecution will continue to present the case that Angel Cuz-Choc did commit the murders. In their process, they are working to establish that the murders were intentionally cruel and heinous. That gives weight to the aggravating factors necessary to secure a death penalty verdict in the second phase of the trial.