Juanita Gomez, who was 51, was found guilty of murder in the first degree. 2018 started in January. In August of 2016, she killed her daughter Geneva Gomez, who was 33 years old, in Oklahoma City.

Geneva Gomez’s death was horrible. Her mother, Juanita, beat her up and shoved a crucifix and a religious medallion down her throat until she started bleeding from her mouth. She was beaten so badly that her boyfriend at the time, Francisco Merlos, didn’t recognise her body.

On the day Geneva was killed in a brutal way, Merlos went to her house to try to fix things between them. The couple was going to get married, but Geneva broke up with him a week before the wedding because her mother told her to. He asked where Geneva was when he got to the house. Juanita told him where she was lying dead.

After seeing Juanita’s lifeless body, Merlos made an attempt to leave the room, but the door was locked and there was no way around Juanita. Juanita locked Merlos in a headlock whenever he tried to get around her so that he would stay within the house. Merlos was attempting to leave the house. Thankfully, he was able to evade her grasp and make his escape before she could kill him. Merlos called 911 and waited for the police to arrive at the scene.

When the police came, they saw Geneva Gomez posed in the shape of a crucifix with a huge cross positioned over her chest. It was clear that she had been cut severely around the head and face, as evidenced by the presence of blood.

They quickly noticed indicators that there had been a violent altercation. Juanita’s hands were swelled, and her arms were covered in bruises when the officers arrived, which Juanita stated were caused by her daughter’s attempts to fight off the exorcism that was being performed on her.

Juanita’s claims that her daughter was under the control of Satan prompted her to perform an exorcism on the child. She reported to the authorities that Geneva had acted threateningly towards her the night before, as well as spoken in tongues and rolled her eyes into the back of her head.

No Sign Of Remorse

The fact that Juanita Gomez never expressed any remorse or sorrow for her conduct after the murder is one of the aspects of this crime that is one of the most upsetting. Juanita was said to have given off an impression of being dispassionate and collected to Merlos, the ex-boyfriend of Geneva who found her dead.

Juanita did not show any regret when she appeared in court for the first time; rather, she griped about the lack of toilet paper in her her cell.

The homicide detective who was in charge of the investigation remarked that Gomez’s level of composure and calmness during her statement was “unnervingly” impressive. The only time Juanita sobbed was when she was being transported from the courtroom to the county jail.

Pretense To Escape Justice

The defence team for Juanita Gomez made an early attempt to argue that their client was insane when the case was still in its preliminary stages. She was questioned by a forensic psychologist, who was able to see through her lies with relative ease.

They saw that Gomez “overstated her memory problems in order to appear incompetent.” It didn’t take long for Juanita’s legal team to decide against using the insanity argument and instead enter a not guilty plea to the charge of first-degree murder, arguing that their client did not mean to kill Geneva.

What Made The Case Even More Worrisome

The Gomez family’s neighbors and close friends recalled how devoted they were to one another. They usually visited the beauty parlor together and both had jobs as massage therapists.

The ex-boyfriend stated that the two were “as close as sisters.” Those who knew them were even more shocked by the crime because of their closeness.

Trial And Sentencing

Despite the three-hour length of Juanita Gomez’s trial, the jury returned their decision in just under twenty minutes.

Gomez was found guilty of killing her daughter, and the jury also recommended that she be given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The case’s presiding judge gave his blessing.

Oklahoma City Assistant District Attorney, Suzanne Lavenue said:

“We think it was a just verdict. It was an incredibly heinous murder. The victim suffered quite a bit before her life was ended. The crime scene was horrific. It was obvious that there’d been an extensive struggle all over the house.”