California 9-year-old dies days after being shot in head by father who killed his mom, 3 brothers in grisly murder-suicide
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A nine-year-old boy who was left in a critical condition after he was shot in the head by his father during a quadruple-murder suicide that left his mother and three brothers dead has passed away, his family has confirmed.
MEAWW previously reported that José Valdivia, 31, had killed his wife Sabrina Rosario, 29, along with three of their four sons, Enzi, 3, Zuriel, 5, and Zeth, 11, at their home in Flintridge Drive in the Paradise Hills neighborhood of San Diego on November 16.
Valdivia, Rosario, and Enzi were declared dead at the scene by authorities who were called to the home by a neighboring relative, while Zuriel and Zeth died after they were transported to the hospital.
Ezequiel, 9, had been in a critical condition and was declared dead just before 11:30 pm on November 23, his uncle Karl Albright told Fox5. Doctors said he was brain dead and not responding to any tests.
"God wanted him to come home," his uncle told the channel. "If he wanted him to stay, he'd be here. But he's home with his family; they're playing, they're rollerblading, skating around, chasing Pokemon up in heaven."
He revealed the family had decided to let the nine-year-old be an organ donor. "It's a tragic thing for us, but if we can turn that around for anybody else that's all we ask," he said.
The family said the murder-suicide was a violent domestic assault, with court documents obtained by the Daily Mail showing that Valdivia and Rosario separated around a year ago after the former cheated for a second time.
Having been married for 11 years, the couple separated in December 2018, with Rosario officially filing for divorce this past June. The dissolution of marriage was set to be finalized in December 2019, something Valdivia was not pleased about.
He had reportedly started stalking and harassing his wife after the filing, becoming obsessed with the idea she was with someone new and repeatedly arriving at her house unannounced. Just 10 days before the tragic shooting, he sent her a picture of a handgun with the message, "It's sure happening."
He also harassed her over texts, with one including a picture of a handgun with beer cans and a bottle of alcohol in the background. Just one day before he shot and killed his family, Rosario had sought and obtained a restraining order against him.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise donations to cover the costs of the funerals has raised over $57,000 of a possible $50,000 goal at the time of writing.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that hundreds of mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil for the family this past Friday, November 22, at the United Church of Christ in Paradise Hills.