A Cobb County man accused of killing the mother of his child in a jealous rage, shooting her teenage son and leading police on a high-speed chase will spend at least three decades in prison after pleading guilty to the woman’s murder.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, 33, fatally shot 38-year-old Oralia Melo Meza and wounded her 16-year-old son in December 2019 after the woman told him she was leaving him because of his drinking problem, prosecutors said.
The couple lived together on Spring Valley Road with their 4-year-old daughter and three of Melo’s older children, said Kim Isaza, spokeswoman for the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office. About a week before the woman was gunned down in her home, Gonzalez learned she was seeing someone else.
The deadly shooting happened four days before Christmas when Gonzalez arrived to pick up his daughter, authorities said.
“Melo gave him the child’s car seat, then closed the door,” Isaza said. “Enraged, Gonzalez opened fire with a handgun through the door and windows of the home.”
Melo told her friend, who was visiting at the time, to hide the children inside a bedroom while she hid in a laundry closet. Gonzalez was able to get in through the back of the home and demanded to know where his ex-girlfriend was, according to investigators. The woman’s 16-year-old son attempted to calm the man down, but Gonzalez shot him in the shoulder before continuing his rampage.
He eventually found Melo inside the closet and shot her repeatedly, prosecutors said.
Her children heard the woman scream before she staggered into the living room and collapsed on the floor. After she fell, Gonzalez fired several more rounds into her body, authorities said. In all, the woman was shot six times as her children hid nearby.
One witness said that after shooting the woman, Gonzalez told her, “If you can’t be with me, you’re not going to be with anyone else,” prosecutors said.
When the first Cobb police officer arrived at the home off South Cobb Drive, Gonzalez fired at his patrol car and shattered his window. He then hopped into a Dodge pickup truck and led officers on a six-mile chase that reached speeds of up to 120 mph in heavy traffic, authorities said. The chase ended when the man collided with another car. He was taken into custody and the murder weapon was recovered from the truck.
Gonzalez ultimately confessed to the shooting, and he wrote a letter to his daughter apologizing for ruining her Christmas and asking for forgiveness, prosecutors said.
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Melo’s son told the judge he still struggles with the physical and emotional trauma from that night and can’t forget what happened to his mother.
“I saw her laying down as I ran toward her, and me seeing that I couldn’t do anything … that image of her affects me to this day,” he told the judge. “We have to live without the person who cared for us, fed us, clothed us and gave us a home.”
Gonzalez pleaded guilty to murder, aggravated assault and aggravated assault on a peace officer. He received a life sentence, but could qualify for parole after 30 years behind bars.
“This defendant’s actions were selfish and evil. He took away the person most precious to these four children — their mother,” Deputy Chief Assistant DA Jesse Evans said in a statement. “I cannot imagine any greater pain. Nothing will ever repair the damage done.”
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