A tragic report of the death of a young mother of three surfaced over the weekend. Initial reports stated that she had been assaulted by her husband, her two sisters-in-law and her husband's alleged other girlfriend.
Today, 23-year-old Jessica Itch Choc's family wanted to clarify that her husband did not hit her, and that Jessica told them she was only attacked by his two sisters. An eyewitness to the incident had the same account.
Courtney Menzies travelled west today and spoke with them both about what really happened on Friday night in Armenia Village. Here is her story.
Three children are left without their mother after 23-year-old Jessica Itch Choc took her final breath on Saturday night. Her untimely death is believed to have stemmed from being brutally beaten the night before, allegedly by two of her sisters-in-law.
The attack happened in Armenia Village, and on Saturday morning, Jessica went to her mother's house and told her what happened.
Voice of: Ephifania Itch, Mother
"When she came, she told me they were drinking, two sister in law and with her husband sweetheart then she gone see her husband, they were fighting, then after she went to see her husband and when she reach, the two sister in law, they catch she and they beat up my daughter."
"Two sister in law, not the husband. One sister in law lied down on her chest. Two sister in law were fighting but one kneel down on her chest."
After that, Jessica went to make report at the Roaring Creek Police Station, but when she returned, her mother noticed something off about her. She told us that Jessica refused to eat or drink anything, saying her throat was in pain.
It wouldn't be long before Jessica would take her final breath in front of her mother.
Voice of: Ephifania Itch, Mother
"She was right there, then like ten o clock then she wake up then she come talk to me right here then she tell me make I have her phone and make I take care of her kids. Only that she tell me then after that she went to lie down on the hammock then twenty minutes she lie down on the hammock, I'm lying down too, then she call me mom, mom and I hurry run and see she right there. She hold my hand, then she take a breath three times, then she gone. Pass away, only that."
Itch stressed that Jessica's husband, Albert Choc, did not hit her, and his sister-in-law corroborated this story. She was an eyewitness to the entire incident, and told us it started when Albert, his two sisters, another woman named Petrona Peck and her husband were drinking in front of this house. Peck and her husband then got into a fight, and Albert tried to separate them, but the husband turned on him.
Yesenia Coc, Sister In Law
"Me and Jessica was sitting over that side, after that Jessica told me they will beat my husband so I will go and try to separate them, so she came and she tried to tell her husband what are you doing here let's go home but the husband paid her no mind. But the sister, Maria Choc, came and slap Jessica. She told Jessica, oh Jessica, she said, you're the one I want, you're here, she said. She slap Jessica and Jessica didn't like when they slapped her so she grabbed Maria on the blouse and after that, Ms Alberta Choc came and both of them tried to fight with Jessica, they beat Jessica."
"My husband came and he told Jessica to go on that side but the sister of Albert Choc, Ms Alberta Choc, she grabbed Jessica and slammed her on the floor and Maria took off her skirt, I guess they wanted to leave her naked, so Alberta Choc and Maria Choc, they get on top of Jessica and Albert Choc climbed on top of her and choke her and she slammed her head on the floor. My husband see that, my husband came and he take off his sister on top of sister in law, which is Jessica."
And Yesenia Coc says there had always been friction between Jessica and her sisters-in-law - something Jessica was wary of:
Yesenia Coc, Sister In Law
"Jessica is a nice person, she's a kind person, she's not that type of person that would put herself in trouble because every time she tell me, I'm not that type of person, I don't like trouble because my mother always told me that trouble is not good, leads to death, leads to dangerous stuff that might happen to me so I don't like trouble, she always tell me that."
Coc told us that their family is saddened by Jessica's death, and will feel no pity if the postmortem reveals that she died at the hands of the sisters.
Yesenia Coc, Sister In Law
"We don't feel any kind of way for them because they need to go pay for what they did if that is what killed Jessica because Jessica, I don't really know if it's the fight that killed her, because when she came in the morning she only had a swell on the mouth and some scratches on her neck but she already have heart problem and she already have back problem."
Both sisters and Jessica's husband have been detained by police. Coc told us that Peck and her husband are also in their custody.
Jessica's family said that she had never indicated that she was in a physically abusive relationship. Jessica has two sons, ages 6 and 1, and one daughter, age 5.
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