In January 2022, Diamond Alvarez, age 16, had made plans to meet with her boyfriend at the time, Frank DeLeon, age 19, to “talk things over” after she figured out that DeLeon was having an affair with another woman. The same night they were suppose to meet at a field near her home, shortly after messaging each other, Alvarez was shot twenty two times while walking her dog near her neighborhood in Southwest Houston. Fortunately, DeLeon agreed to plead guilty of the murder for a 45-year prison sentence, as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
The court hearing was on held on Tuesday, October 17th 2023. Anna Machado, the mother of Diamond Alvarez, took the witness stand to give a victim impact statement. As she finished her statement, she began to call DeLeon a monster out of anger, which then lead her to claim that DeLeon’s mother raised a monster. As soon as she was finished with her statement, she walked towards DeLeon, who was sitting at a table with his attorney. A bailiff went and blocked her path before she reached the teen. Shortly after, the uncle of Diamond Alvarez rushed to the front of the courtroom, heading towards DeLeon. The uncle was immediately restrained. Amongst the sudden chaos, the mother of Frank DeLeon ran up and started shoving Alvarez’s mother. DeLeon’s mother was shoved to the ground from another woman who stepped in. Officers then pulled everyone apart and restored order in the court. “I pray to God that he’ll remove that anger from me one day.” Machado stated. Footage of the court hearing can be found at this link, on Abc 13 News. ABC 13 chaos in courtroom
DeLeon’s decided to accept the plea agreement, prosecutors said. “This is a heartbreaking domestic violence case of a young girl who was murdered by someone she dated,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. “Our office has devoted significant resources, including investigators, prosecutors and public service campaigns to raise awareness about the incredible danger of intimate partner violence to try to end horrible cases like this.” Although this is nothing short of an avoidable tragedy, at least justice was served. May the soul of Diamond Alvarez rest in peace.
