A distressed mother and two of her family members attacked her daughter’s accused killer as she claimed the shameless murderer was “laughing at my face” during an emotional testimony inside a Texas courtroom Tuesday
Frank DeLeon Jr., 19, attended the second day of his murder trial, where he is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend, Diamond Alvarez, 16, 22 times back in Jan. 2022, when the chaos broke out.
Alvarez’s mother, Anna Machado, had just finished giving a victim impact testimony at the trial when she walked off the stand and headed straight for DeLeon before being stopped by a bailiff.
As Machado was being held back, Alvarez’s uncle rushed DeLeon and punched the alleged murderer several times.
Court employees tackled the man to the ground while DeLeon was ushered to a corner, video captured by KHOU from outside the courtroom shows.
Machado attempted to rush to the defense of her relative but was blocked by DeLeon’s own mother who began to shove her counterpart.
Once the families were separated, Judge Hazel B. Jones ordered for the courtroom to adjourn.
Machado was one of the relatives to hear the gunshots on Jan. 11, and rushed outside to the field to find her daughter lying on the ground.
She had performed CPR on Alvarez but was unsuccessful.
DeLeon, 17 at the time, was arrested shortly afterward.
Following the brawl, Machado expressed her regret over the courtroom outburst.
“That was wrong of me, that was wrong of us, because we are not monsters,” Machado said outside the courtroom following the brawl.
“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.”
Machado called out DeLeon for how he looked during the trial, saying he was smiling during her testimony.
“He’s a monster in my eyes. That would never change. Did he look remorseful at all? No. He was laughing at my face,” Machado added. “(Like) it’s a joke. A life is not a joke. My daughter’s not a joke.”
Alvarez’s uncle was detained and taken away in handcuffs.
It is not known whether he was charged or not for the incident.
The couple’s relationship ended after Alvarez discovered DeLeon was seeing another girl while the two were still dating.
DeLeon had asked Alvarez to meet up at a park the night of the shooting.
DeLeon made his first appearance in court Tuesday after missing the first day of his trial Monday, because he was involved in an ATV crash with his uncle on their property and had to be taken to a hospital to be evaluated for a head injury, according to KHOU.
DeLeon accepted a plea deal and faced 45 years in prison, and he will be eligible for parole halfway through his sentence.