DENVER—An 11-year-old girl killed by an apparent stray bullet early New Year’s Day was remembered Thursday as a child who was always smiling.
Angelica Martinez and her adult cousin, Rebecca “Becky” Yanez, were killed by a single bullet allegedly fired by a man aiming at a streetlight while celebrating the new year.
Yanez died instantly, while Angelica died a short time after the large-caliber slug tore through a wall and hit the two.
Pedro Cortez, 25, faces two counts of first-degree murder, extreme indifference, possession of a weapon by a previous offender, and illegal discharge of a firearm. He appeared in court Thursday where he was advised of the charges.
“I saw her every day,” Hans Kayser, principal at Lake Middle School where Angelica was a student, said during her funeral. “I saw her in the lunch room. I saw her in the halls.
“And she always had a smile on her face.”
Angelica’s funeral at St. Cajetan Catholic Church was presided over by Rev. Thomas Farley, who baptized her 11 years ago in the same church.
“Young people shouldn’t be buried by violence,” he said. “But this is life, and this is the society we are living in.”
