Trial to start in Brownsville family's slaughter

BROWNSVILLE - A federal trial begins this week in West Palm Beach, Fla., for two men charged with the murders of a Brownsville couple and their two young children.

Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez Jr. could face the death penalty if convicted.

Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, Jose Luis Escobedo and their two sons were killed execution-style off a Florida highway on Oct. 13, 2006.

Investigators found Yessica's arms wrapped around 4-year-old Luis Damien and 3-year-old Luis Julian.

The family was buried in Brownsville in October 2006, but their relatives continue to mourn, waiting for the Escobedos' killers to be sentenced and for some closure to the case.

"My mom ain't the same no more," said Miguel Guerrero, Yessica's adult brother. "That sparkle in her eyes is gone."

But the trial is about more than the savage slaying of the Escobedo family. It's about a string of drug-related crimes that occurred between Brownsville and Palm Beach, Fla. Court documents allude to an arsenal of firearms and the presence of crack cocaine found at the homes of the defendants.

At the Escobedo family's home, evidence suggested that Jose Luis Escobedo was "likely involved in cocaine trafficking before his murder," according to a criminal complaint.

He was arrested on cocaine charges in 1997.

Both he and Yessica Guerrero Escobedo were graduates of Rivera High School, where they were high school sweethearts.

According to The Palm Beach Post, the family had moved to South Florida from Brownsville months before their killings, possibly to escape a problem involving drugs.

In addition to the trial of the two murder suspects, Danny Varela and Liana Lee Lopez will stand trial on drug charges that could bring a life sentence for each if convicted. Because the case has received national media attention, more than 2,000 jury notices were sent out and hundreds of potential jurors have been dismissed from service, according to the Post.

Yessica Guerrero Escobedo's family plans to await news in Brownsville as the trial progresses.

"It's hard to function without their presence," Miguel Guerrero said of the slain family. "It's about time for justice."

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 Kevin Sieff is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.