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Jury deems death of husband an act of self-defense
After two and a half years of legal battles and a long-winded trial, an Eagle Lake woman was found not guilty of murder by a jury on Thursday, Jan. 30, in relation to the shooting death of her husband.
35-year-old Roxana Gonzalez, represented by Larry P. McDougal, was cleared of the murder charge after initially being accused of shooting and killing her husband, Alfredo Gonzalez, at approximately 3:50 a.m. on Sept. 24, 2022.
The jury deliberated for four hours following the closing statements from the defense and prosecution, delivering a not guilty verdict on the table.
The trial, overseen by Judge Lynn Ellison, saw a once united family divided within the courthouse, all hoping for the same outcome, that they would be able to find peace and the verdict they each wished for.
More than 10 witnesses took the stand over the course of the four-day trial, including former and current Colorado County EMS employees, a former EL Police Department Chief, the defendant and her eldest son amongst others.
Kristopher Abbott, the EL PD Chief at the time of the incident, was brought up as a key witness by the prosecution, with Abbott telling prosecutors he initially thought Roxana was a “victim, not a suspect” and didn’t mirandize her until their interview at the scene of the shooting, claiming “the evidence and her story weren’t adding up.”
Roxana’s defense attorneys, father and son duo Larry Mc-Dougal Sr. and Larry McDougal Jr. rebutted during their cross-examination of Abbott, harping on the lack of a thorough investigation.
The McDougals asked Abbott if he had investigated the behavior that night and leading up to the incident, to which he responded that he felt “there wasn’t any relevancy in doing so,” also highlighting the fact that Abbott failed to take down a written statement or take her back to the station for a sit-down interview and investigation.
Abbott admits he didn’t fully mirandize the defendant as she was being “fully cooperative” and “gave them every piece of evidence they needed.”
Later that morning, she was taken to the Rice Medical Center by family members after being distraught and claiming she wanted to “kill herself” as a result of what had occurred, where she was treated for anxiety by another witness, Elizabeth Durate, a nurse who had worked at Rice Medical Center for 35 years.
Durate said the primary reason for the visit was “anxiety,” documenting abrasions on the left side of her chest and knee, as well as bruising on her leg and buttock. Pictures shown by both the defense and prosecution correlated with the testimony of Durate, who didn’t find or note any injuries by her neck that would indicate “an inability to breathe,” with no complaints being made by Roxana regarding any pain on her face or neck.
According to her witness testimony, Durate did note however that she gave Roxana Tordum, a medication similar to Ibuprofen, after she complained of soreness throughout her body from a “tussle or fight.”
The former couple’s 13-year-old son, Damon Gonzalez, was brought to the stand as a witness by the defense, documenting the series of events that unfolded between Sept. 23-24, 2024. Damon said his parents left for a party around 11 p.m. or midnight Sept. 23, just down the block at a relative’s home after he and his mom finished working at their food truck, Roxie’s Food Truck in Eagle Lake, at 10 p.m. that same night.
Damon was at home with his two sisters alone at the time when Roxana and Alfredo left for the party and was partially awake when they got home. He testified that he saw his “father lock the doors” so his mom wouldn’t come in, “appearing mad,” pushing her on the counter and overheard his dad screaming expletives at Roxana, telling her he was “going to kill her.”
Roxana was finally called up to the witness stand following testimony given by an expert witness in the field of domestic violence. She walked the defense and prosecution through the night and what led up to the fatal moment, describing Alfredo as a “good father” but a regular drunk who had been abusive towards her for years leading up to that night.
According to her testimony, Roxana recalled that the couple went out to a relative’s party that night that ended up in an altercation between that relative, Jasmine and her husband Alfredo. Jasmine punched Alfredo after the father of her children showed up, aggravating those in attendance, which resulted in an argument between her and Alfredo.
Upon arriving back at their home, Roxana testified that Alfredo continued to be belligerent and locked the doors to their home, which she initially left to allow him time to “cool off” and check back on a relative at Jasmine’s home.
When Roxana came back and went inside the house, she testifies that Alfredo came out of their bedroom and started being violent, “pushing her against the counter” and continuing to scream expletives. After that initial scuffle, they went into the bedroom where she tried to call her sister to “come and get her and the kids” but the “violence continued.”
“He asked me ‘What am I doing b****,’” said Roxana. “He pushed me against the bedpost and it really hurt. I sat down on the bed when he tried to get on top of me. I kicked him and he went away but then he came back on top, grabbing my neck with both hands while saying ‘I’m going to kill you b****.’ He grabbed my neck and squeezed it so hard I couldn’t breathe; I started blacking out. He choked me before but never like that, this time was different, his eyes were different, I thought I was going to die. He stopped and took my phone. I tried to go to the restroom, but I fell on the floor and hit my knee. He started kicking my arms and chest. He blocked me from escaping but then went to the restroom.”
It was after this moment according to Roxana’s testimony that she ran to the closet to “get away from him” when Alfredo followed her in. Fearing for her life, Roxana says she grabbed the gun the couple owned from the top of a shelf in the closet, pointing it at Alfredo to ward him off and “get him to stop.”
Roxana says everything happened “so quickly” that she had no time to react. Alfredo asked her what “she was going to do” with the gun, running at her and choking her with one hand while grabbing the gun with the other hand. The couple struggled for a brief moment before the gun went off, striking Alfredo in the neck, eventually killing him.
According to witness testimony there was no gunpowder residue on Roxana’s hands whi le “gunpowder residue was found on the victim” who “additionally had gun burns.”
Prosecutors harped in on her testimony using the initial words on the 9-1-1 call she made as a key piece of evidence, with Roxana telling operators that she “shot her husband because he was being rude to her.” The call, which was made seconds after the shot rung off, displayed Roxana’s urgency to get Alfredo immediate medical attention, urging EMS to “hurry up and get here” while “trying to stop the bleeding.”
Roxana attributed the misuse of the word “rude” due to the intense emotions of what had transpired, not thinking of her wording given the fact that “English is her second language,” with Spanish being her first language having moved from Mexico to the U.S. years ago.
Both the families of Roxana and Alfredo declined the Citizen’s approach for comments.
