EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – It’s been nearly a week since El Paso District Attorney James Montoya announced that his office will no longer seek the death penalty for federally convicted Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius.
Since then, more of the victims’ families have spoken out.
Christopher Morales said his mother, grandmother and aunt were inside the Walmart on that fateful day on Aug. 3, 2019. Morales said all three of them were shot that day, but his aunt, Teresa Sanchez, was killed.
Crusius killed 23 people that day in a racially motivated attack and injured more than 20 others.
In July 2023, he pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences.
Following the DA’s decision, Morales said he and his family wants to move on, too, after nearly six years.
“The state case should have never happened in the first place. This shooter is serving 99 life sentences. We got justice. We need to move on from this specific situation so that we can continue our justice journey, because it’s not over yet,” Morales said.
Morales said that his family wanted the death penalty, but adds that a lot has happened behind the scenes over the years.
“You have to realize this: This case, behind the scenes, was we were basically abused by many different authorities that were supposed to be helping us,” he said.
Montoya said that he made the decision not to seek the death penalty at the state level after talking to victims’ families, who told him that they just wanted the case to be over with and were tired of the delays.
Last week, KTSM spoke to family members of Jordan and Andre Anchondo, who died in the Walmart shooting protecting each other and their 2-month-old baby from gunfire.
That family did not agree with the DA’s decision, saying that the punishment doesn’t fit the magnitude of the crime.
The Walmart gunman is expected to plead guilty to state charges and be sentenced to a life sentence without parole on April 21 in the 409th Districdt Court.
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