Looks like the sentencing continues this week . . .
Psychiatrist testifies that man who shot 5 was in cocaine delirium
04/18/2003
A psychiatrist testified Thursday that Abel Ochoa of Dallas killed five family members during a drug-induced delirium but would not pose a future threat to society.
"What happened on Aug. 4 was as a result of his cocaine addiction that triggered events that were beyond his control," said Dr. Edgar Nace, a psychiatrist who specializes in drug abuse.
Mr. Ochoa, 30, was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the killings of his wife, Cecilia Ochoa, 32, and 7-year-old daughter, Crystal, last summer. Also killed in the family's Oak Cliff home were the couple's 9-month-old daughter, Anahi; Ms. Ochoa's sister, 20-year-old Jackie Saleh; and Ms. Ochoa's father, 56-year-old Bartolo Alvizo.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The punishment phase in Mr. Ochoa's trial continues Friday and is expected to finish next week. [Week of 4-21-2003]
Testimony this week included threats that Mr. Ochoa had made against his wife. But Dr. Nace, who examined Mr. Ochoa twice after the killings, said that did not mean that Mr. Ochoa would be a continuing threat.
"I found nothing in his background that shows he has a pattern of violence," Dr. Nace said.
In a confession to police shortly after he was apprehended in August 2002, Mr. Ochoa said he was high on crack cocaine the Sunday afternoon that he shot his family as they visited at his central Oak Cliff home in the 2300 block of Salerno Drive.
In the statement, which was read to jurors Tuesday, Mr. Ochoa said the family went to church together. Afterward, he said, he persuaded his wife to give him $10 for a "dime bag" of crack. Mr. Ochoa said the shooting began because he wanted more crack.
Mr. Ochoa got his 9mm semiautomatic handgun from a closet, walked into the living room and began shooting.
"I started shooting while they were all sitting on the couch," his statement said. "I don't remember who I shot first. I ran out of bullets."
Mr. Ochoa returned to his bedroom to reload, then found his daughter Crystal trying to run away. "I chased after her, and I shot her," he told police.
Another of Ms. Ochoa's sisters, Alma Alvizo, 29, was seriously injured.
"I just keep thinking of what he did to me," Ms. Alvizo said, tears welling in her eyes. "My kids, they see me cry a lot. There doesn't go a day that I don't think about my family."
E-mail imccann@dallasnews.com