COCOA, Fla. — Red flowers were Maria Godinez's favorite, so they are what her family members bring when they visit the young woman’s gravesite.
The Godinez family took Channel 9 anchor Nancy Alvarez to her grave after they spoke in their home in Cocoa, where candles are always burning under photos in Maria's room.
“I lost my sister. My only one. My friend. My best friend,” said Maria’s sister, Martha Godinez.
Martha Godinez told Alvarez her 22-year-old sister was the heart of their big, tight-knit family. She dreamed of being a lawyer and having children.
But it all ended in August at Vixen nightclub in downtown Orlando, when investigators say Kody Roach, 23, threatened people at the bar with what turned out to be an unloaded gun.
But Orlando police officer Ed Sanguino didn't know that, officials said.
He fired nine shots at Roach during a confrontation outside the bar while many patrons were inside. A bullet went through the door, struck Maria in the arm and pierced her heart.
Through her tears, Maria’s mother, Eva, told Alvarez the weeks after her daughter's death were filled with grief.
Now, there is also anger. Even though he never fired a shot, Roach has been charged with Maria's murder.
Officer Sanguino is back on the job, cleared of any wrongdoing.
“In your heart who's to blame for this?” Alvarez asked Maria’s sister.
“The police,” said Martha Godinez. “That cop just took my only sister away.”
Maria's family members told Alvarez they don't believe officer Sanguino belongs on the force.
“Why did he have to fire so much? Nine times,” the woman’s mother told Alvarez in Spanish. “It's like the police officer was crazier than the person who was causing the problem inside.”
A statement that Orlando police provided last week said, “There are no words that can be said to take away the Godinez family's pain. Due to the ongoing investigation the Orlando Police Department cannot discuss the case.”
The city has offered the family a $300,000 settlement and it paid for funeral expenses.
But family members said it hasn't helped because nothing will bring Maria back.
“I can't still believe she's not here with me anymore,” Martha Godinez said. “Still don't accept it.”
Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the $300,000 settlement is the maximum allowed by state law.
The family also wonders if Vixen could have done more to protect its customers as the situation escalated outside.
The family is considering legal action against the club.
WFTV
