Only On 9: Sheriff's Deputies Surprise 2006 Murder Victim's Daughter At Her Quinceanera In Louisiana
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — On Nov. 4, 2006, Esther Arteaga left her 7-year-old daughter Katty Gomez in the care of relatives and went to work at a gas station in Carson.
The 32-year-old single mother didn't get to come home.
She and Eduardo Roco, 74, were shot and killed during an attempted robbery at the gas station. The double irony: It was Arteaga's first night on the job. Roco was retiring that evening.
That night, Carson sheriff's deputies Jorge Padilla, Nancy Bowley and Blanca Arevalo responded to the scene and investigated the double homicide.
The three were so moved by the little girl and her senseless, tragic loss they vowed to stay a part of her life.
In a story that is Only On 9, Elsa Ramon reports the detectives stayed in touch with Katty, even after she and her family picked up and moved to Louisiana to start a new life several years ago.
This past Saturday, Katty celebrated her 15th birthday with a quinceañera celebration in Baton Rouge, where she now lives with her grandmother and other family.
Padilla, Bowley and Arevalo flew to Louisiana to join Katty in celebrating the big day.
They hadn't seen the little girl in years.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement: "Although nothing can be done to completely erase the emotional pain and suffering the family and friends of Esther and Eduardo have experienced, it is the wish of all members of the Sheriff's Department that this small gesture will remind Katty she has not been forgotten."
"This is one of those situations that really stuck to our heart," Padilla said. "How is this little girl, how is her life going to be, without her mother, no father, just her and her grandmother?"
He told WAFB in Baton Rouge that Gomez reminds him of his own children and that he was so touched by her story he got her a cellphone and put her on his family plan.
Padilla and Bowley and Arevalo will never forget Nov. 4, 2006.
"It touched us, and we bonded. Stay in touch with her. Make sure she was OK," says Padilla.
Katty did better than OK in gifts from her deputy guardian angels. In addition to the iPhone, she also got a laptop, Tiffany necklace and a $1,000 gift certificate from the Carson City Council.
Ramon reports three people were convicted of the double homicide.