JOCELYN RODRIGUEZ-GUZMAN - 2 yo - Floyd VA

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Toddler killed in Floyd County; man charged with capital murder

By Mike Gangloff | The Roanoke Times

Updated 8:00 p.m.

FLOYD — ­ A Floyd County man faces a capital murder charge after the death Wednesday night of a toddler.

Eder Rodriguez-Guzman, 29, was being held without bond Thursday in the New River Valley Regional Jail.

Neighbors identified the slain 2-year-old girl as Rodriguez-Guzman’s daughter Jocelyn, and said they could not imagine him harming her.

“He was calm, always joking,” said Marcella Morales, who lived next to Rodriguez-Guzman, his wife and their daughter in Longview Court, a small mobile home park just outside the town of Floyd.

Morales, who said she often babysat Jocelyn, recalled the family as friendly and religious.

“What do you call the people that come to your door and want to talk about Jesus? They were like that,” Morales said Thursday.

Rodriguez-Guzman was from Mexico and had lived in Longview Court for about a year and a half, Morales said. He worked at a Christmas tree farm and his wife at a restaurant in Blacksburg, Morales said.

Nelson Morales, Marcella Morales’ cousin, said he’d known Rodriguez-Guzman for years through soccer circles. He also recalled Rodriguez-Guzman as religious-minded and level-headed, calling him “just a really good guy.”

Rodriguez-Guzman also seemed to be a devoted father, Nelson Morales said. “He used to always have her with him,” he said of Rodriguez-Guzman and his child.

The Moraleses said they had no idea what happened Wednesday night. Like other neighbors, they said they heard no commotion and had no indication anything was wrong.

Authorities gave out little information on the circumstances of the toddler’s death. A news release from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office did not name the victim and said only that officers were called to a home in the 100 block of Lance Drive at 9:39 p.m. and found a girl dead.

Virginia law allows capital murder charges in a number of situations, including when a victim is younger than 14 and the suspect older than 20. Rodriguez-Guzman also was charged with assault and battery of a member of his household. The sheriff’s office did not say if the assault victim was the toddler or someone else.

On Thanksgiving afternoon, the porch light was still on at the Rodriguez-Guzmans’ trailer. A brightly colored child’s seat sat in the back of a car parked next to a pickup truck in front of the home, and a child’s swing dangled from a tree behind the house. A climbing toy sat on the porch.



Updated 4:30 p.m.

Neighbors around Longview Court, a mobile home park with 10 trailers where Eder Rodriguez-Guzman lived, expressed shock this afternoon.

They identified the child who died as Jocelyn Rodriguez-Guzman and said the accused man was her father.

Nelson Morales, whose cousins live next door to Rodriguez-Guzman, said he had known Rodriguez-Guzman for years through soccer circles and from the neighborhood. Rodriguez-Guzman was friendly and religious, and drove to Galax to attend a church there, Morales said. "He's just a really good guy," Morales said.

He seemed incapable of harming his daughter, Morales said. "He used to always have her with him," Morales said.

Marcella Morales, Nelson Morales' cousin, said she had babysat Jocelyn numerous times and also could not imagine Rodriguez-Guzman hurting her. "He was always calm, always joking," she said of Rodriguez-Guzman.

Marcella Morales said Rodriguez-Guzman was from Mexico and had lived in Longview Court about a year and a half. He worked at a Christmas tree farm and had recently married Jocelyn's mother, who lived with him at Longview.



Posted 12:04 p.m.

The Floyd County Sheriff's Office and Virginia State Police have charged a 29-year-old man with capital murder in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl Wednesday night.

In a news release, chief investigator Jeff Dalton of the sheriff's office said officers were called to the 100 block of Lance Drive, just outside the town limits, at 9:39 p.m. Wednesday and found the dead child.

Eder Rodriguez-Guzman, who lives at the same address, was charged with capital murder and assault and battery on a household member.

He is being held without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail.

http://m.roanoke.com/mapp/story.aspx?arcID=301568

Floyd County officials await reports on toddler's death
Saturday, November 26, 2011
It could be more than a month before authorities receive autopsy and toxicology reports on 2-year-old Jocelyn Rodriguez-Guzman, who was found dead Wednesday night in Floyd County, an investigator in the county sheriff's office said Friday.
Investigator Steve Graham confirmed that the toddler was the daughter of Eder Rodriguez-Guzman, 29, who has been charged with capital murder and assault and battery of a member of his household. Graham declined to say if Jocelyn or another family member was the victim of the alleged assault and battery, adding that more details would be made public as the case moves forward.

Neighbors expressed shock Thursday at the charges against Rodriguez-Guzman, saying they did not think he would hurt his daughter. Graham said Friday that as he learns more about Rodriguez-Guzman, he agrees that the acts with which Rodriguez-Guzman is charged were uncharacteristic.

Rodriguez-Guzman, who neighbors said is from Mexico and worked on a Christmas tree farm, probably will appear in court in a week to be arraigned, Graham said.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/301620