JUAREZ, Mexico (KTSM) — Relatives of Alexander Hoffman, one of the 23 people murdered in the Aug. 3, 2019, El Paso Walmart mass shooting, say they continue to be harassed by a former elected official with alleged ties to former El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales.
The alleged harassment has morphed from efforts to control every aspect of their possible testimony in U.S. court to trying to disqualify Hoffman’s longtime partner and mother to his children from claiming standing as his common-law wife in Mexico. The sparring continues as various multi-million-dollar compensatory civil lawsuits are ongoing in connection with the Walmart shooting.
This week, Rosa Maria Valdez Garcia, 71, and her son Thomas told KTSM they believe the former Village of Vinton, Texas, municipal judge Roger Rodriguez is behind a Juarez woman’s claim that she is the real common-law wife of Alexander Gerhard Hoffman. Valdez and Hoffman were divorced, but the ex-wife and her son say they continued to live in the same house until he was shot dead at the Walmart in El Paso in 2019.
Sujey Monarrez Nevarez filed court documents in Chihuahua state court trying to assert her right of concubinato (common-law wife) with Hoffman.
Valdez and Thomas believe this story was fabricated by Rodriguez to discredit Rosa and prevent her from getting her husband’s property along with the expected multimillion compensation from the lawsuit against Walmart.
KTSM has made numerous attempts to contact Rodriguez, without success. Valdez and Thomas say they met Rodriguez in El Paso, and that Rosales presented him as a member of her staff.
As for Monarrez, she listed the address of a vacant property in her court papers. She claims she met Hoffman in 2010 and lived with him for years.
Valdez and Hoffman’s son say that is unlikely because Alexander was fighting cancer at the time. They say a photograph of a woman purporting to be Monarrez appears to have been a model randomly taken off the internet.
They also claim two men bearing a shirt and an ID emblazoned with the “AEI” logo (Agencia Estatal de Investigacion/State Investigation Agency) showed up at their doorstep on Sept. 16 wanting Valdez to sign a contract with an attorney Rodriguez had previously suggested.
Valdez refused and her son believes they were probably imposters because September 16 is a national holiday in Mexico and courts are closed.
KTSM reached out to Chihuahua Deputy Attorney General Carlos Manuel Salas and was told by his assistant that state police officers do not serve civil court papers. The assistant said Salas has overseen the Juarez office for only a few weeks, as he was called to replace the former deputy AG, Manual Carrasco.
Valdez and Thomas showed KTSM court documents stating that a Chihuahua judge sided with her claim of concubinato, but fear Monarrez or whoever is behind her will appeal.
They are now proceeding with the legal action against Rodriguez with the Chihuahua AG’s Office to prove their claim that Rodriguez fabricated the story.
