A man in El Paso, Texas has been arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault after shooting two married attorneys, and taking the life of the wife.
The charges come almost a year after the incident took place.
El Paso's ABC-7 reported on the arrest of Joseph Angel Alvarez on September 9, revealing he was arrested just outside of the Papa John's Pizza restaurant where he had been working as a delivery man.
On November 14, 2020, police arrived at Copper Street in the Manhattan Heights neighborhood of El Paso, where they found 50-year-old Georgette G. Kaufmann shot dead in her garage and her husband, 47-year-old Daniel L. Kaufmann, who was badly wounded, at the home of a neighbor.
As reported by CBS-4 news, Alvarez spotted Georgette when she pulled into the detached garage at her home, shooting her dead before making his way into their backyard, where he attempted to enter their house through the back porch.
The door to the house proved to be locked, but hearing noises, Daniel made his way to the back porch, believing it to be his wife.
Upon seeing Daniel, Alvarez shot through the wrought-iron door.
Daniel was shot at five times. Despite being injured, he managed to escape out the front door to a neighbor's house where he called 911.
A Google geofence search warrant—which can find all mobile devices used within a specific area—helped locate Alvarez who was reportedly living only ten minutes away from the Kaufmann's.
The geofence warrant also helped investigators discover Alvarez had been present in the neighborhood on November 10, 2020 in addition to the day the murders took place, suggesting this attack may have been premeditated.
This was subsequently confirmed by The El Paso Times, as a discovered manifesto written by Alvarez which he sent to a US Army email address, revealed Alvarez targeted the Kaufmanns because they voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, which occurred just days before the attack.
The manifesto claimed the Kaufmanns had a Biden flag as well as a "doll of Trump hanging" displayed outside their house.
The manifesto also included several photographs, including four near or at Kaufmann's driveway, as well as a number of the nearby Memorial Park.
In addition, the manifesto was filled with extremist, antisemitic views, claiming Memorial Park was a "ritualistic satanic ground to conduct abortions by manner of magic."
Additionally, Alvarez claimed in the manifesto all those who were pro-choice were members of the "Jewish Satanist Party" and called abortions "Jewish Child Sacrifice."
A police officer included a statement regarding Alvarez's bigoted manifesto in an affidavit.
"The defendant's belief was 'to end the Satanic activity' near the crime scene (Memorial Park) and acted out his manifesto by killing and shooting the Kaufmanns and by mentally fabricating the connection he believed the four corner houses on Raynor and Copper to have been involved in 'satanic activity,' because of their relative geographic location to the park."
The affidavit also claimed Alvarez believed he was "executing and exterminating the pro-choice Jewish Satan worshippers" when he targeted the Kaufmanns , as well as three other houses on their corner which had Democratic or LGBTQ+ rights signs and flags displayed.
Alvarez had been let go from his job at General Aviation Terminal, a contractor for United Airlines, at the time of the incident after reportedly stalking and assaulting a female colleague.
Daniel Kaufmann told CBS-4 news he was relieved to hear someone had been charged for his wife's murder, though he won't be satisfied until someone is "fully convicted."
Several took to Twitter to express their relief in Alvarez's arrest, pinpointing the all-too-common occurrence of supporter's of former President Trump taking to violence and extremism.
There were a number of people who expressed their disappointment this was viewed as politically motivated more than it was an antisemitic hate crime, particularly after all of the antisemitic rhetoric in Alvarez's manifesto.
Alvarez currently remains in the El Paso county jail, with his bond set at $2.5 million.
