Grieving Family Alleges a Previous Attempt on Porfiria Morales’ Life

Porfiria Morales

Tonight, there are additional details being shared about the deadly chopping incident that claimed the life of seventy-one-year-old Porfiria Morales.  The elderly woman was hacked to death by a neighbor on Saturday morning, following a brief exchange of words while Miguel Angel Gomez was reportedly trimming the hedges outside of his home.  According to Morales’ son, a previous attempt had been made on his mother’s life with a machete and it was only because a bystander had observed what was about to take place that she was able to escape grave injury. As we reported on Monday, there has been a history of enmity between Morales and Gomez.  We also spoke with Gomez’s younger sibling who said that his brother surrendered himself to Benque Viejo police without incident, following the fatal chopping.  Esduit Morales told News Five that on a previous occasion, Miguel Angel Gomez swung at his mother with a cutlass and narrowly missed her neck.

Esduit Morales

Esduit Morales, Son of Deceased

“He saw when the guy just came to the side of the fence there and he swung the machete at my mother.  He hollered at my mother, “Watch out Moncha” because that was her nickname, and my mother had to duck down and he also had to swing his head to the side.  If not, he would have been caught with it.  So we reported it and he reported it and then they arrested him. And so the magistrate only ended up charging him a hundred and fifty dollars and he set him free, only telling him that he cannot be with a machete at the creek because he isn’t even working with the town council to be there doing anything with the machete.  But he was still out there with the machete, he went to the river with a machete.”

Jorge Gomez

Jorge Gomez, Brother of Suspected Murderer

“I didn’t expect this to happen…he didn’t resist.”