A North Texas family wants answers after their mother’s body was recovered at a sewage treatment plant, according to the coroner’s office.
DALLAS — The body of a Dallas woman was found in the city’s sewage treatment plant just weeks ago, according to the coroner’s office. She was identified as 66-year-old Teresa Gail Gonzalez.
“She was my mother,” Cynthia Gonzalez, an only child, exclaimed at a news conference at her attorney’s office Tuesday.
Cynthia, along with her lawyer Ramez Shamy, claimed that a witness saw her mother fall into an open sewer manhole on Tuesday, October 22nd.
“This is not a small sewage hole,” Shamy said. “This is a big hole.”
Shamy presented a photo, said to have been taken a week after the incident, highlighting gaps in the metal cover covering a manhole at a construction site. He said Teresa had poor eyesight and was walking across the street when she fell into a hole.
Shamy told reporters that her body traveled about nine miles through the sewers and was discovered three days later at a sewage treatment plant.
“No one should have to go through that,” Cynthia said through tears. “No one. I don’t care who you are, no one should feel that… it’s not a tragedy like that.”
Shamy indicated that a lawsuit was forthcoming, but said he was awaiting city public records to gather further details about the incident and identify potentially responsible parties.
“We are not yet in a blame game,” he said.
For now, Cynthia hopes her mother’s story will remind others to cherish their loved ones.
“I don’t know how much time I have left to spend with them,” she said. “Or when will be the last time I see you, or when will I be able to say I love you.”
The city of Dallas declined to comment for this story. Dallas police confirmed they were called to the scene at Record Crossing Road and Witch Boulevard when Teresa’s body was recovered around 8:17 a.m. The incident is being investigated as an “unexplained death.” He said it was inside.
