In their pursuit of justice, the family of a La Palma lady who was reportedly slain by her ex-boyfriend earlier this year is not giving up. In court on Tuesday, Aaron Romo, the defendant charged with killing 24-year-old Mirelle Mateus, entered a not-guilty plea.
On March 17, Mateus’s body was discovered inside an apartment in Anaheim’s 1900 block of S. Union Street. The unfortunate finding was made by her mother, Alice Mateus. “Homicide detectives responded to the scene and determined that Mateus was murdered and identified Romo as the suspect,” read a press release issued by Anaheim Police at the time.
Mateus’ mother and sister were among the family members present at the court appearance on Tuesday, where the judge refused to set Romo’s bail. “God is good,” said Mateus’ sister Sandy Caceros.
“We feel amazing. This is what we were hoping for; this is what we want to happen for him not to get any bail. No reduced, nothing, not to get any bail.” Detectives discovered Romo and Mateus had once been romantically involved at the time of her death.
According to the police, he was free on bond following a domestic violence case that began in December 2022. Romo may have previously abused other women, according to investigators. As the case was presented, Mateus’ family and a number of supporters sat with bated breath.
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“It was hard. If you guys caught our reaction, it was really, really hard to hear a lot of that because there’s a lot of facts that we didn’t know, we weren’t aware of, so to hear that for the first time is heart breaking,” said Caceros.
Aaron Romo, the man accused of killing 24-year-old Mirelle Mateus of La Palma, made a court appearance today where he was issued no bail. https://t.co/ytAKTis48c
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 3, 2023
Mateus’ mother testified before the court about using an interpreter to locate her daughter’s body. “These images do not leave my mind,” the mother said. “I can’t even sleep, every day thinking about my little girl and how she’s no longer here.”
Romo’s subsequent court appearance is scheduled for July, and Mateus’ family has said they will attend. “We’re going to continue to show up,” said Caceros. “We’re going to continue to make our presence felt, our friends and family will be here until justice is served.” There are resources available if you or someone you know has experienced domestic abuse.
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