Alexandre Hochstraser was in a Santa Clara County courtroom
Wednesday afternoon facing a murder charge for the grisly death of
Hollister native Dolores
”
Dee
”
Gonzales, whose dismembered body was found Sunday by Santa Clara
police.
San Jose – Alexandre Hochstraser was in a Santa Clara County courtroom Wednesday afternoon facing a murder charge for the grisly death of Hollister native Dolores “Dee” Gonzales, whose dismembered body was found Sunday by Santa Clara police.
Hochstraser, a 46-year-old employee of De Anza College in Cupertino, was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of murder after Santa Clara police officers found Gonzales’ remains in his 1994 maroon Volkswagen Jetta parked at an apartment complex on Malabar Avenue in Santa Clara Sunday night. Police arrived after a caller requested that authorities check on the man’s 2-year-old son, Santa Clara police Sgt. Kurt Clarke said.
Police believe the two were living together, but would not comment on a possible motive for the crime.
“We believe Mr. Hochstraser is responsible,” Clarke said.
Hochstraser will be back in court June 22 to enter a plea, said Ted Kajani with the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office.
Dolores Gonzales was born in Hollister in 1961, the fourth of 10 children. She played in the San Benito High School band before graduating in 1979, then went to work for the San Benito County Library for two years. Later she worked as an administrator at Mission College in Santa Clara for over 20 years, her sister, Beatrice Gonzales, said.
Mission College President Frank Chong remembers Gonzales as being a valuable part of the college and a dedicated mother with an uplifting smile and spirit.
“Dee Gonzales was a beacon of light. She was a great employee,” he said. “Her smile was infectious. Her laugh was infectious. She took work seriously, but she didn’t take herself seriously.”
Gonzales’ parents still live in Hollister, and family members are coming from throughout the state and from as far as North Dakota for a service that will be held at 10am on Friday – which would have been Gonzales’ 44th birthday – at Mission San Juan Bautista.
In lieu of flowers, Gonzales’ family requested that donations be made to the Dolores Gonzales Memorial Fund through any San Benito Bank, First National Bank or South Valley Bank location. Donations will be placed in a trust for Gonzales’ son Daniel.
“She was so full of life,” Beatrice Gonzales said Tuesday. “She was so alive, and she enjoyed being a mother.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Luke Roney covers politics and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at
lr****@fr***********.com
