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Marcelo Lucero’s Mother Stranded in Ecuador While Trial for Her Son’s Alleged Killer Nears

Posted March 10, 2010 by Ted Hesson
Categories: Hate Watch

Jury selection has been underway for more than a week in the trial of Jeffrey Conroy, the 19-year-old Medford resident accused of stabbing and killing Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in November 2009. When the trial starts—possibly sometime in the next week or so—Marcelo’s brother, Joselo, who lives in Patchogue, will certainly be there.

But barring any dramatic turn of events, Marcelo and Joselo’s 60-year-old mother, Maria Rosario Lucero, will not be able to attend.

Maria, along with Marcelo’s sister and nephew, is stuck in her hometown of Guayaquil, Ecuador, waiting for an April 3 visa interview with the U.S. Consulate. Meanwhile, in Riverhead’s criminal court, the trial for her son’s accused killer may be little more than one week away.

According to Joselo, his mother, sister, and nephew had an interview with the consulate in Guayaquil on March 3, but they didn’t have all of the necessary paperwork. The consulate wanted a letter from Judge Robert W. Doyle, who is handling the case, along with newspaper articles about the trial, in addition to other paperwork.

After their interview was rescheduled for April 3, Joselo tried to intervene on their behalf, stressing the urgent nature of their visit, but he was told there are no exceptions. “They don’t give you any options,” he said.

Aside from the fact that his mother might miss a sizable portion of the trial, Joselo said one of the worst aspects of their situation is that his family can’t buy airline tickets until they’re sure that the visas have been processed. Flights from Ecuador are considerably cheaper if you buy tickets in advance, he said.
Tickets bought in advance might cost a little as $500 a piece, versus $800 or $900 if you wait until the last minute.

Even when Jeffrey Conroy’s jury selection was set back in January, there was little certainty in the district attorney’s office that Conroy’s jury selection would actually start when scheduled (originally March 1, then moved to March 2), so planning a trip around the impending trial would not have been easy, even without the problems at the U.S. Consulate.

Right now, the Lucero family in Ecuador has no choice but to wait until April 5, and to receive updates from Joselo.

Tags : ecuador, guayaquil, hate crimes, marcelo lucero

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