TAMPA, Fla. — Prosecutors have announced they will seek the death penalty against Angel Cuz Choc. The 31-year-old Dover man is accused of murdering his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter in late April.
He was captured by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies after a day-long manhunt.
“There was no reason for him to have killed them,” said Delores Choc, speaking through tears at a press conference in Tampa. Choc said she wants justice for her sister, 36-year-old Amalia Choc de Pec, and 4-year-old niece, Juana Estrella.
Prosecutors say Cuz Choc killed Choc de Pec in a rage because she hadn't answered his phone calls earlier that day. They say he then killed little Estrella.
Both had been stabbed to death.
Cuz Choc took off, but a day later Hillsborough deputies tracked him to a wooded area where he was arrested.
"This is one of the most horrific crime scenes I've ever seen," Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez.
Lopez said they would seek the death penalty against Cuz Choc, who she confirmed entered the U.S. illegally from Guatemala in September of last year. Lopez added that Cuz Choc is suspected of committing two more homicides there.
“He is wanted in Guatemala for the murder of one woman and the rape and murder of another,” Lopez said.
Choc de Pec's sister also accused Cuz Choc's family of failing to contact the police even though they knew where he was and what he'd been accused of.
“The family of the defendant knew what was going on with her sister,” said a translator. “Knew what was happening.”
Prosecutors were also asked about the possibility of extraditing Cuz Choc back to Guatemala. So far, they said they have not heard from authorities there, but they assume that he will be prosecuted and held accountable for his crimes here first.
Cuz Choc’s arrangement is set for May 20.