FL v. Alexander Deltoro: Fatal Family Birthday Trial

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida man is standing trial on charges he killed his mother while fighting with his father after a birthday party.

Alexander Deltoro is charged with manslaughter in his father’s death. (Broward County Sheriff’s Office)

Alexander Deltoro Jr. is charged with manslaughter for the death of his mother, Cindy Deltoro, and battery for allegedly striking his father, Alexander Deltoro Sr. The trio, who all lived together in Margate, had gone out to dinner to celebrate Deltoro Jr.’s birthday on Dec. 14, 2019, when a fight broke out in the car on the way home.

Police have accused Deltoro Jr. of elbowing his father in the face while driving after he was irritated by his father’s singing in the car. But Deltoro Jr.’s attorneys have painted a very different picture of the incident, saying that their client’s elbow accidentally made contact with his father during a turn. The two began to argue, which escalated into a physical fight once the family arrived home.

Once inside their house, the younger Deltoro lost his glasses and wound up pinned by his father against a concrete wall, according to arrest records reviewed by Court TV. When Cindy tried to physically insert herself between father and son to break up the fight, police say Deltoro Jr. pulled out a gun and fired, striking his mother in the face.

Deltoro Jr. claims that he had seen his father with a gun earlier in the evening, and has accused the elder Deltoro of leaving his dying mother to hide it. Police never found a second gun in the house.

Deltoro Jr.’s attorneys have said he was acting in self-defense and to protect his mother. A judge denied his “Stand Your Ground” motion, which argued that “Alex is, and always has been, scared of his father, and has never raised a hand to him physically, ever in his lifetime.”

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Sept. 3, however that morning the trial was moved to Sept. 10 due to scheduling conflicts with witnesses.