North Texas children stuck in Las Vegas after their mother's murder
MESQUITE (CBSNewsTexas.com) – A North Texas woman says she's facing an uphill battle. Last month, her sister was murdered while on vacation with her three kids. Two of the kids haven't been able to return home to Mesquite, causing major emotional distress.
Late last month, Nydia Lopez-Garcia went on vacation with her three kids to Las Vegas and never returned home. Her ex, 42-year-old Fernando Gomez, is now charged with her murder.
"Her ex followed her here.. or was here.. I'm uncertain on that, but he found her and her did murder her," Lopez-Garcia's sister, Candace Garza, said. "The children were in a different hotel room. My sister did fight to get back to the children. It was a brutal murder due to domestic violence."
Garza said this happened at the MGM Grand, where her sister was staying, and CPS took possession of the kids. Then Garza got on a flight.
"They were released to me, but we're not allowed to leave Clark County until the jurisdiction details get sorted out between Las Vegas and Dallas," Garza said.
Garza said Gomez still has parental rights of the two youngest children, so now she's stuck in what seems to be an unusual situation.
"I'm told that the judges in Las Vegas need to communicate with the judges in Texas and they have to transfer jurisdiction," she said. "A Texas CPS worker tells me that they haven't been in touch with the judges here. I think it's just the legal system and it's just not designed to handle these sorts of situations."
For more than two weeks, Garza hasn't been able to work. She's missing wages while paying for her bills, her sister's bills, expenses for the kids, a hotel room and her sister's funeral costs.
"It's honestly.. and I don't say this lightly.. it's the most difficult, challenging that I've ever dealt with in my entire life," she said. "Your sister is taken from you in a brutal murder, there's orphans that can't go home."
She said she's been told it could take up to two months before they're granted permission to return home and every day is getting harder.
"They're not even allowed to go to their mother's funeral," she said. "We're trying to delay her funeral so we can get them home to attend and time is running out. They're grieving with just one person instead of a family supporting them, surrounding them with love."
Garza says right now, donations from her employer, Imagine360, as well friends and family are helping them get by. They've also created a GoFundMe.
She said she won't be able to sustain long term. She's hopes given the situation, this whole process will be expedited.