Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputies discuss tracking down double murder suspect

TAMPA - After the discovery of the murder of a Dover woman and her 4-year-old daughter, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office began to search for the killer. That search took multiple deputies throughout the community near where the crime occurred. The Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit was deployed to the scene to assist the homicide detectives in locating the suspect. 

Those talked about the process in court for the trial of Angel Cuz-Choc on Thursday.

The backstory:

Deputies had responded to 3720 Sumner Road after a neighbor called about finding a woman lying face down in a shed on the property in April 2024. 

That neighbor directed the first responders to the area where they found Amalia Coc Choc de Pec deceased.

Responding deputies made entry into the home, and sadly also discovered Coc Choc de Pec’s  daughter, Juana Estrella, also dead with stab wounds.  

Summoning crime scene units and detectives to the scene, the investigators determined that they should be searching for the victim's boyfriend Angel Cuz-Choz. He was last seen with the two victims. 

The search lasted about 17 hours as deputies and K9 units converged on the surrounding neighborhoods to find the suspect. 

Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc was located hiding in the woods beside a nearby strawberry field only two miles from the crime scene.  

Previous Coverage here:

• 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:

As the State Attorney’s Office continued to lay out evidence in the double murder trial for Cuz-Choc, the prosecution introduced the jury to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputies, who followed the trail of the suspected murderer, eventually tracking him down.

Detective Corporal Elizabeth Rieger told the court how they followed the trail to a nearby woodline where they found discarded items that the suspect had left behind.

They recovered an article of clothing, a handkerchief, a lighter, a charging device for a phone and other items. 

The discarded items left a trail that led detectives towards the Bethlehem Road cemetery, where they summoned the HCSO K9 team to begin searching the area. 

Deputy Sarah Ernstes responded with her bloodhound Mary Lu. 

The prosecutor asked what Mary Lu’s specialty was, and Ernstes responded that Mary Lu tracks human odor.

The K9 was given a scent item and began to lead the deputies on the trail left behind by the suspect. 

Mary Lu was just one of the K9’s searching for the suspect, and as the deputies got closer and closer to the area that the suspect was thought to be hiding in, more K9 units converged on the scene.

K9 Deputy Brian Pulido and his K9 Boomer isolated Cuz-Choc in heavy brush as Deputy Craig Lariz assisted in pulling the suspect out for the arrest.

That location of the suspect and arrest were all captured on those respective deputies’ body-worn cameras.

That video of the arrest can be watched here: 

What's next:

The prosecution is still presenting the case to the jury. The suspect is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and if found guilty, could face the death penalty in the penalty phase of the trial.  

TampaHillsborough County