In a tragic turn of events on San Antonio's Southwest Side, 6-year-old Hosanna Sancho's life was cut abruptly short. She was found dead in an apartment complex last Wednesday. The girl's mother, Nephiterea Sancho, age 36, has been arrested and charged with her capital murder. Notably, Nephiterea previously had a 2010 conviction for injury to a child, as reported by KSAT.
Over the weekend, a vigil took place at Woodlawn Lake Park organized by the Sancho family and Eagle’s Flight, to pay tribute to the young girl whose smile and warmth quickly endeared her to people around her. Over a hundred individuals came together to mourn and to celebrate Hosanna's short but impactful life. "Hosanna was somebody that was full of life," her uncle Kenny Vallespin told KSAT in a heart-wrenching interview.
The disturbing circumstances around her death were further compounded when her mother, according to reports by Fox San Antonio, claimed that she was instructed by God to sacrifice her daughter. At the time of the incident, the little girl was visiting her mother—who had a history of violence against children and was supposedly pregnant at the time.
At the gathering, emotions were palpable as friends and family shared photos and cherished memories of Hosanna. "She’s my baby," Billie Jo Sancho, Hosanna’s aunt, expressed to KSAT. "She loves so many people. She loved everybody. She was always happy." In these times of unspeakable loss, the Sancho family extended their thanks to the community for their overwhelming support and the prayers which they desperately need to find a way to go on.
This case has resonated throughout the community, sparking conversations on mental health and child safety. The investigation into Hosanna's death is ongoing even as her family seeks to comprehend the incomprehensible, coping with a void that can never quite be filled.
