The tragic tale of a grandma who threw her only "apo" to her death continues after a Fairfax, Virginia judge decided there was enough evidence to send the case of Carmela dela Rosa to a grand jury.
The grand jury will decide whether to try the 50-year-old Fil-Am for murdering her 2-year-old granddaughter last Nov. 29.
The case has already drawn wide interest, with the top Commonwealth Attorney in Fairfax leading the prosecution.
Unable to pay for a lawyer, Dela Rosa is relying on public defender Dawn Butorac who is reportedly also a top-notch defense attorney.
A preliminary hearing held last Friday determined probable cause that a crime has been committed. Dela Rosa was initially charged with malicious wounding but it was upgraded to murder after the child died in the hospital.
At least 30 family members were present at the preliminary hearing, reports said.
Dela Rosa has allegedly admitted throwing Angelyn Ogdoc, the only child of her daughter Kathlyn Dela Rosa-Ogdoc, from a 5th floor skybridge connecting the Tyson’s Corner mall with a parking garage.
“Yes, I did it. I threw the baby off,” she was quoted as telling Fairfax County Police officer Anthony Stancampiano who was among the first at the scene.
Various accounts from neighbors and friends said Dela Rosa doted on her “apo” and that two were inseparable.
Kathlyn said the family went to Tyson’s Corner for dinner. Her husband works at a Starbucks there where co-workers say they always looked forward to Angelyn’s visits.
Dela Rosa has been rushed to a hospital at least once for a condition, family members say, is an offshoot of severe depression. She has been seeing a psychologist for the past 10 years, Butorac revealed.
Kathlyn herself admitted she kept a close eye when her mother was with Angelyn because Dela Rosa had previously tried to commit suicide.
Prosecutor Ray Morrogh acknowledged this was a difficult, heart-tugging case but vowed to “do our best to see that justice is done.”
Butorac is reportedly exploring an insanity defense.
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