Hollister
– The dismembered body of Hollister native Dolores
”
Dee
”
Gonzales was discovered in Santa Clara more than two years ago,
but her mother, Maria Elena Gonzales, said the emotional wounds
haven’t even begun to heal.
Hollister – The dismembered body of Hollister native Dolores “Dee” Gonzales was discovered in Santa Clara more than two years ago, but her mother, Maria Elena Gonzales, said the emotional wounds haven’t even begun to heal.
“It feels like we’ve been on hold,” said Maria Gonzales, 70.
The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office has charged Dolores Gonzales’ then-boyfriend, Alexandre Hochstraser, with the murder. His trial started this week in San Jose.
Dolores’ sister Beatrice Gonzales-Ramirez, 44, said Thursday the trial has brought many painful feelings back to the surface.
“The last 10 days have just been hell for us,” she said.
Dolores Gonzales was born in Hollister in 1961, the fourth of 10 children. She graduated from San Benito High School in 1979, then went to work for the San Benito County Free Library. After leaving Hollister in 1982, she worked at Mission College in Santa Clara for more than 20 years.
Shortly after Hochstraser’s arrest, Santa Clara police officers told the Free Lance that they discovered Dolores Gonzales’ remains in Hochstraser’s Volkswagen Jetta on June 5, 2005. Police arrested Hochstraser, who was living with Gonzales, later that evening.
Maria Gonzales said Hochstraser was “a part of our lives” for more than five years.
“Nobody has hate for Alex,” Gonzales-Ramirez said. “He’s not even an issue anymore.”
But Maria Gonzales hopes the trial’s conclusion will bring the family some closure.
“We just want it over so we can start grieving,” she said.
Dolores Gonzales’ death didn’t just affect the Gonzales family. Gonzales-Ramirez said that to this day, many Hollister residents want to speak to her about Dolores’ death.
“I see their pain,” Gonzales-Ramirez said. “There are no words to say to console each other, so we just hug.”
Hollister Fire Chief Fred Cheshire was in the high school marching band with Dolores Gonzales. He said her death had an enormous effect, because Dolores and the entire Gonzales family were a big part of the Hollister community.
“It was a real shock,” he said.
Music teacher Joe Ostenson hadn’t spoken to Dolores Gonzales for more than 25 years when he heard about her death. But Ostenson said his memories of teaching her at R. O. Hardin Elementary School have come “flooding back.”
“She loved her music,” Ostenson said. “But it wasn’t just music. She was passionate about life.”
