Florida Man Sentenced to Death for 2024 Stabbing Murders of Girlfriend and 4-Year-Old Daughter
DOVER, Fla. — Angel Gabriel Cuz Choc, 33, was formally sentenced to death on Friday for the brutal 2024 slayings of his girlfriend and her young daughter in Hillsborough County. Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco handed down the sentence nearly four months after a jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of 10-2, marking the conclusion of a case that prosecutors described as one of the most horrific in the county’s history.
Details of the Crime
The conviction stems from the events of April 24, 2024, at a mobile home on Sumner Road in Dover. According to court testimony and forensic evidence presented during the trial, Cuz Choc attacked his girlfriend, 36-year-old Amalia Coc Choc de Pec, and her 4-year-old daughter, Estrella Anastasia Pec Coc. Investigators revealed that Cuz Choc became enraged after Amalia returned home later than expected from helping a friend.
The attack began in the backyard, where Cuz Choc struck Amalia with a shovel before fatally stabbing her. A bloody handprint found on the side of the trailer suggested she had attempted to flee the violence. Cuz Choc then entered the home and attacked the 4-year-old girl, who was found dead in the bathtub.
Judge Sisco, visibly emotional during the sentencing, highlighted the suffering of the child, noting that the medical examiner’s evidence showed Estrella was alive and conscious during the assault. The child sustained defensive wounds to her hands, indicating she had tried to grab the blade, a factor that supported the state’s aggravating factor that the crime was “heinous, atrocious, and cruel.”
Defense and Legal Context
The sentencing followed Florida’s capital punishment laws, which allow for a death sentence recommendation without a unanimous jury verdict. The jury in Cuz Choc’s case voted 10-2 in favor of execution. During the penalty phase, the defense had attempted to mitigate the sentence, but the aggravating circumstances—particularly the age of the child victim and the brutality of the murders—weighed heavily in the court’s final decision. Judge Sisco affirmed the jury’s recommendation, stating that the killing of the child met the strict legal standards required for capital punishment.
State Attorney Suzy Lopez released a statement following the sentencing, acknowledging that while the decision cannot restore the lives lost, it provides a measure of justice for the victims’ surviving family members in Guatemala.
Background and Immigration Status
Authorities disclosed that Cuz Choc was a Guatemalan national who had entered the United States illegally in 2023. At the time of his arrest in Florida, following an overnight manhunt that ended with a K-9 unit locating him in dense brush, he was also identified as a suspect in two separate homicides in his native Guatemala. The case has drawn attention not only for its brutality but also for the broader conversations regarding immigration and cross-border law enforcement cooperation. Cuz Choc will now be transferred to Florida’s death row.
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