HOUSTON – Day two of testimony in Tony Earls Jr.‘s murder trial is set to resume Thursday morning, following emotional testimony from the father of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez.
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Earls is accused of shooting and killing Arlene while she was sitting in the backseat of their truck on Valentine’s Day in 2022. Her father, Armando, was the first family witness called on Wednesday, and as he entered the courtroom, the gallery fell silent.
He told the judge before taking the stand, “I’m good. I’m ready to go.”
He described in heart-wrenching detail how his daughter had just handed him a Valentine’s Day gift when he got home from work that evening. Hours later, she was killed as their family drove past a Chase Bank in Gulfgate.
“I was trying to get her out of the vehicle and try to render aid to her as much as I can,” Alvarez said on the stand on Wednesday. “Wendy was screaming at me for me to give her CPR, and I just couldn’t.”
Armando Alvarez is expected to return to the stand when the trial resumes Thursday at 9:30 a.m.