Our 20 year old, a college student and only child, Teresa Del Rio, was shot through her car door on June 6, 1999 in the Rampart area of Los Angeles, Ca. Two boys, she had met couple of months earlier, through a friend had called Teresa and asked her for a ride home. Teresa and her girlfriend went to pick them up.
When leaving the area a man with a gun walked out of the night and started shooting at Teresa’s car. Teresa was hit and collapsed onto her steering wheel. As the car rolled down the street, the shooter continued shooting at her car missing the occupants in the car. Some of the bullets hit homes near by. Teresa bled to death on the operating table. The bullet had ricochet internally and destroyed Teresa’s organs beyond repair.
The shooter was caught in Las Vegas, Nevada and extradited to Los Angeles. The shooter, Robert Franklin Ramirez, 20,, was ordered by a judge to stand trial for two murders in 1998 and for Teresa’s murder in 1999. The shooter had no bail.
Being proactive with victim’s groups whether it is directly working with victims of homicide or lobbying for legislation dealing with guns in the hands of criminals, writing parole hearing letters for other victims or attending murder trials at the request of families. This helps me on a daily basis to distract what has happen to my daughter. Regular visits to my psychiatrist deals with my PTSD.
Crime Survivors has given me the strength to keep moving on with my life in a world that I don’t like to be in. Their commitment to working and understanding how victims of violence suffer everyday, paves a way for a peaceful and safer community.
I will always consider Crime Survivors as a place where I can go to to contain my sanity after the murder of my child.
UPDATE: On December 30, 2010, Robert Franklin Ramirez, convicted killer of 2 was given a plea bargain. He received 31 years, with 11 years served. No charges for 3 attempted murders, Teresa’s passengers, and no charges with the murder of 16 year old Matthew Bravo.
In November of 2014, the convicted killer, Robert Franklin Ramirez, was given an early release date of 2025, without a parole hearing and will be release back on the streets of Los Angeles, CA. www.annadelrio.com
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