Angelica Vazquez

Names and identities

• Angelica Vazquez — wife and mother; cafeteria worker for Mesquite Independent School District (resigned at the end of the school year in May 2012); identified by the Dallas County Medical Examiner as the person who shot and killed her husband and their two children before taking her own life.
• Marcelo Vazquez — husband of Angelica Vazquez; long-haul truck driver; identified as one of the victims; age 44.
• Paulina Vazquez — daughter of Angelica and Marcelo Vazquez; age 21; attended Eastfield College and later transferred to UNT (studying criminal justice); identified as one of the victims.
• Alejandro Vazquez (also referred to as “Alex,” and Alejandro “Alex” Roman Vazquez) — son of Angelica and Marcelo Vazquez; age 18; attended Eastfield College; identified as one of the victims; brother of Paulina Vazquez.
• Jean Conway — president of Eastfield College; posted a statement on the school’s website.
• Christa Rogers — person who brought flowers; described “Alex” and said they would miss him.
• Gonzales Funeral Home — funeral home named as holding visitation and services.
• Bill Hedgpeth — spokesman for Mesquite Police Department; spoke about the handgun and police actions.
• Lt. Hedgpeth — identified in reporting as the lieutenant who stated officers checked the residence and later returned.
• Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office — ruled on the deaths and classifications.
• Carla Wade and Monika Diaz — authors of one WFAA.com article.
• Matt Goodman, Davod Schechter and Jobin Panicker — authors of another WFAA.com article.
• Bud Gillett — author of a CBSlocal.com article.
• Rickey Moreland — neighbor quoted about being surprised.
• Erin Ebikefe — next door neighbor quoted about being scared.
• Gustavo Herrera — family friend quoted: “I'm just shaking... I can't even express it right now,” and additional remarks.
• Jasmin Lechuga — another friend quoted: “I don't even know how it happened. It doesn't make sense, really,”.
• Mesquite Police Department — conducted the investigation and spoke with the public.
• Mesquite ISD — school district that employed Angelica Vazquez until she resigned.
• Mesquite Independent School District — named for her employment as cafeteria aide until May 2012.
• Eastfield College — named as attended by Alejandro and Paulina.
• University of North Texas (UNT) — named as where Paulina was studying and living in Denton.
• Paintbrush Street — location in Mesquite where the apparent murder-suicide occurred.
• Mesquite home in the 1400 block of Paintbrush Street — where the bodies were found.
• Mesquite, Texas — where the incident occurred.
• Mexico — where the family would be buried.
• 1111 Military Parkway / 1111 Military Pkwy — address of Gonzales Funeral Home.
• 972-285-5489 — phone number for Gonzales Funeral Home.

Status and timeline

Timeline

• March 8, 2013 — Angelica Vazquez shot and killed her husband and their two children before taking her own life in their Mesquite, Texas, home.
• March 14, 2013 — Deaths were ruled murder-suicide; the bodies were found the previous Wednesday; police described earlier actions to open the door and the discovery of bodies after forced entry.
• March 15, 2013 — Mesquite police said there was no note explaining why Angelica Vazquez shot her husband and two adult children before committing suicide; the case remained under investigation and no motive or reason had been revealed.

The offence

Angelica Vazquez shot and killed her husband, Marcelo Vazquez, and their two children, Paulina Vazquez and Alejandro Vazquez, before taking her own life in their Mesquite home.

Classification of deaths

• The Dallas County Medical Examiner ruled that each death was classified as a homicide.
• The Dallas County Medical Examiner identified Angelica Vazquez as having shot and killed her husband and their two children before taking her own life.

Investigation

Medical examiner findings and police statements

• The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office ruled that Angelica Vazquez shot and killed her husband and their two college-aged children before taking her own life in their Mesquite home.
• Police reported that the case was still under investigation.
• Mesquite police said there was no note explaining why Angelica Vazquez shot her husband and two adult children before committing suicide.
• Investigators were still without a motive in the crime; no motive or reason for the shootings had been revealed.

Forensic discovery and scene entry

• Officers were initially called to the address at 6:30 a.m. Saturday after witnesses said they heard gunshots.
• Officers checked the residence from the outside and reported no sign of forced entry and that everything appeared to be okay.
• Officers left, but returned twice that day to try to get someone to open the door; both attempts were unsuccessful.
• On Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m, an officer returned and observed an important clue: mail in the mailbox that was uncollected and newspapers in the front yard.
• The decision was made to force entry into the locked home, and officers discovered the bodies.
• The bodies were found in separate rooms.
• A handgun was recovered inside the residence “near one of the deceased.”
• A 9mm handgun was found near her body in a master bedroom.

Calls prior to gunshots

• Besides one medical call, police said there had been no other calls to the home before someone called 911 last Saturday saying they heard gunshots.
• The bodies were found Wednesday, after being possibly there since Saturday.

Arrest

No arrest was described in the provided material.

Trial

No trial was described in the provided material.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described in the provided material.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

• The Dallas County Medical Examiner identified Angelica Vazquez as the person who shot and killed her husband and their two children before taking her own life.
• Police said Vazquez left no suicide note.
• The incident was ruled a murder-suicide.

Aftermath

Community response and memorials

• A memorial sprung up outside the family’s home, with the mailbox surrounded by stuffed animals and flowers.
• A note posted said there would be a memorial for the family on Sunday afternoon.
• Memorial services for the family were moving forward.
• The Gonzales Funeral Home at 1111 Military Parkway in Mesquite would hold visitation Sunday afternoon from 2:00 until 8:00 p.m., and the phone number was 972-285-5489.
• The family would be buried in Mexico.
• A statement about grief support was posted by Eastfield College’s Counseling Services Department availability for grief processing and grief recovery.

Eastfield College statement (verbatim)

Jean Conway, president of Eastfield College, posted the following statement on the school’s website:

"It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing of an Eastfield student, Alejandro "Alex" Roman Vazquez, 18, and his sister, Pauline Vazquez, 21, a UNT student who previously attended Eastfield. Alex and Pauline were among the four people shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday on Paintbrush Street in Mesquite. Eastfield College's Counseling Services Department is available to assist in grief processing and grief recovery as needed. Please keep those close to the Vazquez family in your thoughts and prayers."

Quotes from community members (verbatim)

Rickey Moreland, a neighbor, told CBS 11 News:

“I’m very surprised. This is unbelieveable. These are some great neighbors,”

and later added:

“Sweet family... just really shocked, real nice family,”

Erin Ebikefe, another next door neighbor, said:

“It’s very scary because we just moved here, we’ve been here for, like, a year. Because where I lived in Dallas I never seen this kind of stuff before.”

She added:

“It don’t make no sense to me,” she said.

Gustavo Herrera, a family friend, said:

"I'm just shaking... I can't even express it right now,"

and Jasmin Lechuga said:

"I don't even know how it happened. It doesn't make sense, really,"

Christa Rogers described her reaction and said she would especially miss “Alex”:

“Alex,” as friends called him. “He could literally light up a room. He was so friendly, he was a sweet person,” she said, “but he was just so sweet, it was just a huge shock. Everyone around here loved him”

Employment and education details

• Mesquite ISD confirmed that Angelica Vazquez was a cafeteria worker at an elementary school from 2005 until she resigned in at the end of the school year in May 2012; other reporting said she worked for Mesquite ISD as a cafeteria aide until May 2012.
• Marcelo Vazquez was a long-haul truck driver.
• Paulina Vazquez, age 21, spent a year at Eastfield College before transferring to UNT, where she was majoring in criminal justice.
• Paulina lived off-campus, but came home to Mesquite for spring break.
• Alejandro Vazquez, age 18, was in his second semester at Eastfield.
• Alejandro also worked at a local Blockbuster store.
• The college president’s statement said Alejandro was an Eastfield student and that Pauline was a UNT student who previously attended Eastfield.
• The CBSlocal.com report said Paulina was a sophomore at the University of North Texas studying criminal justice and living in Denton, and that Alejandro was taking required preparatory courses for a 4-year degree.

Health and chemotherapy

• Friends said Angelica Vazquez had undergone cancer treatments recently.
• One report said the mother had recently completed chemotherapy in a battle against cancer.

Family members’ movements and identifications

• A separate account described Paulina and Alejandro as college-aged: Paulina and Alejandro had attended Eastfield College.
• Authorities and media described the family of four as being found shot to death inside a home on Paintbrush Street in Mesquite.
• Reports described Alejandro as a male Eastfield College student who recently graduated from Mesquite High School and his sister as a UNT student.