Benevolence fund hearing

Some could say Rosy Marquez is holding up the benevolence fund from being paid out, but it's for good reason, the attorney handling the fund's distribution said.

More than a year after Cpl. Abel Marquez, Cpl. Arlie "Lee" Jones and Cpl. Scott Gardner were shot to death on Sept. 8, 2007, the officers' families haven't seen any of the $492,752.08 compiled in a benevolence fund.

A hearing is set Thursday in 244th District Court Judge Stacy Trotter's courtroom.

Rosy Marquez, the ex-wife of fallen officer Marquez, said she's against someone other than herself being appointed over money earmarked for the two children she and Abel had together.

"I'm their mother. I'm their guardian," she said. "That only makes sense to me."

Cal Hendrick, the attorney over the benevolence fund, said because the three officers didn't have wills it's taken time to determine how and where to send the money.

"That's why we didn't just write checks," Hendrick said. "Who do we write the check to?"

And the best way to determine how the funds are distributed, he said, is for a judge to decide.

Another factor that has delayed the process, Hendrick said, was the fact that it was tough to get all the families and their attorneys together at the same time.

Another delay in the process was that the benevolence fund kept getting donations until it was closed in March 2008, Hendrick said. Not having a specific amount made it impossible to split.

Hendrick said he prepared an agreed order that would have split the benevolence fund into thirds. The money would have then been put in each officers' estate, each of which have an administrator.

Hendrick said his office has been in contact with Rosy Marquez, and only recently did she hire Richard McKeek as her attorney.

For her part, Rosy Marquez said several people initially advised her that she wouldn't need an attorney. She was also told the money would be placed in a trust fund for Isaac and Sandra - the children she and Abel had together.

She wants the money to go into a guardianship separate from Abel Marquez's estate. She said that's why she didn't sign the agreed order.

"She's just saying I have a different idea of what's in the best interest of my children," Hendrick said. "She has the right to present that to a court."