Courtroom Erupts in Brawl as Suspect Pleads Guilty to Killing 16-Year-Old Diamond Alvarez

(ReliableNews.org) – Diamond Alvarez walked outside of her Houston home with her dog, Peanut, on January 11, 2022, for the last time. A few blocks from her house, she was shot 22 times. First responders pronounced the 16-year-old girl dead on the scene. Her killer has been sentenced to decades in prison, but at his hearing, a massive brawl broke out.

On Monday, October 16, Frank DeLeon Jr. failed to show up to the first day of his trial for killing Alvarez, his girlfriend at the time of her death. The 19-year-old allegedly got into a car accident on the way to court. Police arrested him while he was at Ben Taub Hospital. The Harris County judge overseeing the case scheduled a hearing for the next day to decide if DeLeon should have his bond revoked.

The judge offered DeLeon a plea deal in exchange for 45 years in prison, and he accepted it. Alvarez’s family approved.

During the victim impact statements, Alvarez’s mother, Anna Machado, took the stand to speak. Afterward, she left the stand and started walking toward her daughter’s murderer. The bailiff quickly stopped her, but at that moment, another one of Alvarez’s family members jumped over a barrier and attacked DeLeon. Her uncle landed some blows before they both fell to the floor, and security pulled them apart.

DeLeon’s mother then attacked Machado. They were broken up, but one of Alvarez’s female family members pounced on DeLeon’s mother and started beating her after taking her to the ground.

After the hearing, Machado spoke to reporters and said DeLeon laughed at her while she was on the stand. Still, she apologized and said she shouldn’t have gone after him.

DeLeon shot Alvarez nearly two dozen times in the back after she discovered he was cheating on her. He waited until she walked her dog before murdering her near her home. Her family found her a few blocks away from their home, in a field, riddled with bullets. Her mom tried to perform CPR on her but wasn’t able to help her.

The killer won’t be eligible for parole for more than 20 years.