‘He shot her once in the head and once in the stomach’: 3 killed on Mother’s Day, victim’s brother wants their names remembered

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Their names were Stephanie, Aurora and Celeste Cruz.

Stephanie was an Army veteran. She was a proud and private woman from a loving family, excited about the birth of her second child, Celeste. She named her oldest daughter, Aurora, because of the magical displays above her newly adopted state. Celeste means “heavenly” or “celestial.”

Stephanie’s brother, Angel Cruz, says she was into mystical meanings and was a spiritual person.

“She was fantastic, every day she would... sorry,” Cruz stopped his answer and began to cry.

Then, on May 12, 2024, the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage Fire Department responded to a home fire on the 2600 block of Easthaven Circle. An AFD press release said two bodies had been found inside, adding the fire had been set on purpose.

“APD Detectives say 46-year-old Esteban L. Pope fatally shot a 32-year-old pregnant female (seven months gestation) and a two-year-old female inside the home before turning the gun on himself,” the report reads.

Angel Cruz says his sister was nine months pregnant and due any day. Aurora was going to celebrate her third birthday in 14 days. Both events meant Stephanie’s extended family planned a trip to Alaska to celebrate, tour glaciers and try the seafood, especially snow crab, in Downtown Anchorage.

But Stephanie and her girls were killed before the trip could happen.

“I think what he did was absolutely heartless, across the board, even more on Mother’s Day and I think that was actually intentional to prove a point,” Cruz said.

What was the point?

“She’s not in charge,” Cruz said.

Cruz says Pope shot Aurora, then shot Stephanie in the face.

“He shot her once in the head and once in the stomach, purposefully,” Cruz said.

Afterward, Cruz said, Pope set the house on fire and then shot himself.

Eight Anchorage children have been victims of homicide this year; Celeste and Aurora are two of them. That’s double the number of children who were killed last year, according to APD data obtained by Alaska’s News Source Investigates.

Data shows they were either killed by a parent or a caregiver, or died in the womb when the mother was murdered.

The Alaska Children’s Alliance reports when a mother faces intimate partner violence, 35% of the children report they have also been harmed.

News outlets and police don’t usually release names because they are domestic violence victims.

Angel Cruz emailed Alaska’s News Source to talk about his sister, and her children, because he didn’t want their names to be forgotten, and only known as unnamed victims.

“I want people to know who she was a hardworking mother, parent, you know, that she dedicated ... part of her life to the military,” Cruz said. “She’s always eager and she’s always ‘There is no path backwards, there’s always a path forward,’ for her.”

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