Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Peter J. Skandalakis announced Friday the murder conviction of Alan Turcios-Zapata, 35, of Carrollton. Zapata entered a guilty plea Friday morning to felony murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the first degree for the shooting death of his wife, Teresa Guiterrez.
According to a press release from the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, as part of the plea agreement negotiated by Senior Assistant District Attorney Vincent Faucette, the defendant received a sentence of life in prison plus an additional 10 years to follow the life sentence. By law, Zapata cannot be considered for parole until he serves at least 30 years in confinement. Should he ever be released from prison, he will be immediately deported to Honduras, the country of his birth.
Alan Turcios-Zapata was indicted Jan. 24 on one count of malice murder, one count of felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children charges. Turcios-Zapata was also initially charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of cruelty to children, third-degree cruelty to children and reckless conduct. All charges fall under the Family Violence Act.
Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs said police were called to 103 Fawn Circle on Nov. 4. Officers found Teresa Lara Gutierrez, 42, dead from a gunshot wound to the side. Turcios-Zapata, her boyfriend of 17 years, was found with an apparent self-inflicted wound to the head.
He was taken to Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton and then to an Atlanta hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition. There were two other people in the house at the time of the shooting, including the couple’s 11-year-old daughter and Gutierrez’s 25-year-old son, who now has custody of his sister.
According to the indictment, Turcios-Zapata shot Gutierrez with a .308 caliber rifle. It also shows that he shot in the direction of her son and their daughter.
Dobbs said the couple had a history of domestic disputes, leading to the past arrest of Turcios-Zapata for domestic assault.
During the sentencing hearing presided over by Superior Court Judge Dennis Blackmon, Zapata expressed his profound remorse for his crimes and apologized to his family for the pain he had caused. Speaking on behalf of the victim’s loved ones, Wilfredo Santely conveyed to the court the family’s satisfaction with the plea agreement and their gratitude for the justice of Zapata’s sentence. Mr. Santely then told the defendant that, despite the pain he had caused, the family had forgiven him for his acts.
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