Magdalena and Candelaria Jose remembered their sister Juana Jose Tuesday afternoon following the homicide of Juana and her unborn child late last month.
The two Jose sisters sat together in their family kitchen, joined by Latinos Conservative Organization President Art Gallegos Jr. Together with the help of Gallegos as a translator, Magdalena and Candelaria recalled Juana’s life as a mother.
On Jan. 29 emergency personnel responded to a medical call at 1108 Cooley Drive. Gainesville police reported that 22-year-old Juana Jose was transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center and later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed that Jose died by strangulation and as a result, her unborn child died as well.
Gainesville Police Department then announced Monday evening that 20-year-old Max Rocael Calel Sanic had turned himself in for the alleged murder of Juana and her unborn child. He was allegedly charged with malice murder and felony feticide and is currently being held in the Hall County jail as of last report.
“She was a great person,” Magdalena said. “She was very noble and very humble and very happy. She was a hard worker.”
The unborn child who passed due to the murder would have been Juana’s second child. Her first daughter is now being cared for by the two Jose sisters. According to the sisters, it was the brother who found Juana after the incident.
“[We’re doing] very bad, very sad,” Magdalena said. “Because of everything that has happened, this tragedy — it was not a normal death. She was assassinated. And that hurts the family.”
Both sisters praised Juana’s love for her family and affirmed that her daughter was always her top priority.
“She was a very good mother,” Magdalena said. “She was always attentive to her daughter. She was always there for her daughter. She would always make sure that she was fed meals, her clothing — she always looked after her daughter.”
The primary issue now facing the family is paying for the funeral and the arrangements to have Juana’s body sent back to her home country of Guatemala.
“Right now the biggest need that we have is we need money to pay off the funeral,” Magdalena said. “And also the money that we need and we don't have — appealing to the community to be able to transport the body to Guatemala so she can lay to rest there.”
Gallegos said one of his motivations in speaking with the Jose family is to help them obtain the funding they need to solve these financial issues. The family was able to begin the process of sending Juana’s body to Guatemala by borrowing funds from friends and family, but there is still a sum to pay back.
“Through our organization, LCO, Latino Conservative Organization, we're going to try to open up or establish some type of fund to help them with the cost, but also for the child that was left behind,” Gallegos said.
Juana moved from Guatemala to Gainesville four years ago. It was at that time the Jose family moved into an apartment together.
“We have become a very diverse community in our city of Gainesville and Hall County,” Gallegos said. “And I would love people to not just hear about what happened, but to also put their hand on their heart and say what if this was my culture, what if this was my family?”
Gallegos noted that the fund for the family has not been set up yet, but hopes to get things in motion in the coming weeks.
“The Guatemala community is a community that I feel, and I've seen, that they're very united,” Gallegos said. “They're very humble and they're very hardworking, but they're a community that sometimes is overlooked. And one way or the other, it doesn't matter what community you come from. This affects everyone.”
