Left: Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc. Right: Amalia Coc Choc de Pec and her daughter Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc (Hillsborough County State Attorney”s Office).
A Florida man has been sentenced to death for the brutal murders of his girlfriend and her young daughter in a tragic incident that unfolded on a strawberry field. Angel Gabriel Cuz-Choc, aged 33, was found guilty of murdering 36-year-old Amalia Coc Choc de Pec and her 4-year-old daughter, Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc. A jury determined that Cuz-Choc deserved the death penalty rather than life imprisonment. According to local reports from Fox affiliate WTVT, Cuz-Choc, who entered the United States illegally in 2023, is also a suspect in two other murders in Guatemala, his country of origin.
The gruesome events took place on April 24, 2024, in a mobile home situated on the 3700 block of Sumner Road in Dover, near Tampa. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to a distress call around 5:30 p.m., reporting a deceased woman, according to a press release issued by the deputies.
Upon arrival, authorities discovered a bloody handprint on the side of the mobile home, indicating a desperate struggle by the victim to escape the violence. Inside a trailer at the rear of the property, the woman was found lifeless in a pool of blood, while the young girl was found dead inside the home, officials reported.
“This is not a sentence anyone celebrates. It was one of the most horrific crimes we’ve encountered in Hillsborough County,” expressed State Attorney Suzy Lopez. “While nothing can bring back Amalia and Estrella, we believe justice has been served for them and their family members in Guatemala.”
The suspect had run away, prompting a manhunt that ended after 18 hours when a police dog found the suspect nearby in heavy vegetation, an arrest in which the sheriff’s office released body camera footage. Authorities say the suspect became enraged when his girlfriend came home later than expected
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Michelle Sisco was visibly moved as she recounted the details of the crime, which she described as “heinous, atrocious, and cruel,” as reported by local NBC affiliate WFLA.
Judge Michelle Sisco became emotional during the sentencing hearing while describing the facts of the murder which she called “heinous, atrocious and cruel,” local NBC affiliate WFLA reported.
“[Estrella] sustained at least six significant injuries to her body, two to her neck and four to her right hand,” Sisco reportedly said. “The court finds that the evidence introduced to trial established that [Estrella] was alive and conscious when she received the knife wounds, as demonstrated by Dr. Webb’s testimony that the wounds to [Estrella’s] hands were defensive wounds from grabbing a blade.”
