COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a woman who police say was murdered in Cobb County is speaking out about the suspect’s immigration status.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say Hector Rivas has been in the country illegally since 2021.
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Camillia Williams’s family told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell she was randomly targeted by a stranger late at night and they believe it could have been prevented.
A homeowner told Newell, she found Williams’s body partly concealed in a bush on her property, which is located three minutes away from Riva’s house.
A newly released video of Williams shows the relationship the mother of five, shared with her daughter, Darranisha Banks.
“If I don’t talk to her every day it will be every other day,” Banks said.
Facetimes from Georgia to Louisiana made the distance less painful. But a new void that has formed, can’t be filled with a call or a factime.
“Just sitting here talking about it the tears are forming,” Banks said.
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Banks spoke with her mother the day before she was murdered.
“This is my first time really breaking down because I’m really thinking about it,” Banks explained.
Police say Rivas attacked Williams on Pat Mell Road in the wee hours of the night by choking her, then placed his knee and full body on her neck, killing her.
“You could have chosen anyone else in the world. Why her,” Banks asked.
ICE officials say, Rivas who is from Honduras, has been living in the United States illegally, since 2021. Jail records show Rivas lived in Florida before he moved to Georgia. ICE officials say Rivas was supposed to be deported in 2023.
Lindsay Williams with ICE Media Operations Unit Chief Southern said “he failed to appear at the hearing so he was ordered removed in absentia,” regarding why Rivas wasn’t deported in 2023.
“Documents were signed by the government. Why didn’t they do their job,” Banks asked.
“Did they know he was an illegal? Why he got back out,” Tony Williams, the victim’s brother asked.
“She is very friendly especially if you seem genuine. But that’s people that speak the same language as her,” Banks said.
Williams’s funeral is scheduled for April 13, in her hometown of Louisiana.
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