A brawl broke out in a Texas courtroom on Tuesday after an emotional mother and two other family members attacked her daughter’s alleged killer.
Nineteen-year-old Frank DeLeon Jr., is accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend, Diamond Alvarez, 22 times in Jan. 2022. Alvarez was 16 years old at the time of her death, according to the New York Post.
Alvarez’s mother, Anna Machado, delivered a victim impact statement during the second day of the murder trial and then walked off the stand and headed toward DeLeon before a bailiff stopped her. At that point, Alvarez’s uncle stepped forward and pummeled DeLeon, punching the alleged killer multiple times.
Video shows court employees rushing to take down the man while DeLeon is pulled to a corner. DeLeon’s own mother then shoves Machado as she tries to defend her relative, the Post reported. (RELATED: Teenager Kills Michigan Democratic Party Official After Asking Him For A Dollar, Police Say)
The courtroom was then reportedly adjourned after security broke up the fight.
Machado later told reporters outside the court room she regrets the incident, according to the Post.
“That was wrong of me, that was wrong of us, because we are not monsters,” Machado reportedly said. “But it’s so much hate, because I want my daughter back, and what he did is horrible, seeing my daughter there and looking at him, knowing he did that, and him laughing at my face, it was very wrong and I’m sorry for that.”
“He’s a monster in my eyes. That would need change. Did he look remorseful at all? No. He was laughing at my face,” Machado added, according to the Post. “A life is not a joke. My daughter’s not a joke.”
Alvarez and DeLeon broke up after she allegedly caught DeLeon cheating, according to the Post. DeLeon allegedly asked Alvarez to meet him at a park before he fatally shot her, per the outlet.