Shooting Victim’s Body at Coroner’s for 27 Days as Family Waits

On Friday, 27 days after Dennis Paul Gonzales was shot to death by Garden Grove police, his body remained at the Orange County coroner’s office, to the bewilderment of his family.

“I don’t understand why it takes so long. It’s obvious how he died,” his mother, Dolores Gonzales, said. “They filled his body full of bullets. I don’t even know what’s left.”

Gonzales, 20, died around 12:15 a.m. on Jan. 29 shortly after being shot by two Garden Grove police officers responding to a disturbance call at the house of his friend Jerry Joseph Wilson.

Police said the officers fired at Gonzales after he showed up at the scene of a domestic disturbance and threatened them with what turned out to be a toy gun. Since then, other witnesses have contended that Gonzales never pointed the gun at police. The district attorney’s office is investigating.

The police went to the home in response to a 911 emergency call made by Gonzales’ girlfriend after the two got in an argument.

Efforts were unsuccessful Friday afternoon to get an official explanation about the status of Gonzales’ body. The coroner’s office, the district attorney’s office and the Garden Grove police said they didn’t know for sure and referred calls elsewhere.

The mother said she and another son have left numerous phone messages at the coroner’s office. The calls have not been returned. She said the only thing she was told after the shooting was that the coroner’s office would call when the body was ready to be released.

Deputy Coroner Cherry Vanstee declined to comment about the case Friday. She would not say whether or not tests are still being done on the body. She said all questions about the body should be directed to Garden Grove police.

Garden Grove Police Sgt. August Ricca said his department has nothing to do with the decision to release the body and referred questions back to the coroner or to the district attorney’s office.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Goethals said he had no knowledge of the body still being at the coroner’s. “I have not read all the reports,” Goethals said. “I just don’t know why they still have it.” He added that the investigation of the shooting should be completed next week.

Meanwhile, the mother has filed a $5-million claim against the city, her attorney, Kurt Kupferman, said. The claim was filed Feb. 10 and cited negligence on the part of Garden Grove police as resulting in Gonzales’ death.

Kupferman said the family at one point considered having another autopsy done, but none of that was ever discussed with the coroner’s office or other officials. That would not explain the delay in returning the body, he said. Dolores Gonzales said Friday that the family had decided against another autopsy.

“It hurts me that he is just lying there,” Gonzales’ mother said. “I’m just sitting here hanging in limbo. I mean I’m trying to handle this the best I can. I try not to bother them. I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”

When the body is released, she said, it will be cremated and the ashes will be scattered in the ocean.