HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A man has been sentenced to death for the 2024 murders of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter.
WKRC reports that on Feb. 6, 33-year-old Angel Gabriel Cuz Choc was sentenced to death for the April 24, 2024, murders of Amalia Coc Choc de Pec, 36, and her daughter, Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc. Judge Michael Cisco said the killing of the child met the legal standards for “heinous, atrocious, and cruel.”
The jury voted 10-2 to recommend the death penalty after Cuz Choc was found guilty of first-degree murder on Oct. 7, 2025, WFLA reports.
According to testimony, Cuz Choc attacked Coc Choc de Pec with a shovel and knife when he became angry that she got home later than expected, WKRC reports.
Officers found Coc Choc de Pec in the backyard of a trailer home in a puddle of her own blood, per Law & Crime. There was a bloody handprint on the side of the trailer, suggesting that she had tried to escape, officers said.
The child was found in the bathtub inside the trailer home, Law & Crime reports. She had sustained two significant wounds to her neck and four to her hand — defensive wounds consistent with grabbing the blade, according to Cisco. The prosecution contended she was alive and conscious when fatally wounded, WKRC reports.
A manhunt took 18 hours to find Cuz Choc, who was hidden in deep vegetation, according to Law & Crime. WKRC reports a K-9 unit helped to locate him.
Of the sentencing, State Attorney Suzy Lopez said, “Nothing can bring Amalia and Estrella back, but we do believe we’ve gotten justice for them and their surviving family members in Guatemala,” WKRC reports.
According to a press release from the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, Cuz Choc reportedly entered the United States illegally from Guatemala, where U.S. Border Patrol says he is also wanted in connection with two killings.
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