Name Rosie Alfaro | ||
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Full Name Maria del Rosio Alfaro | ||
Similar Angelina Rodriguez, Christa Pike, Kelly Gissendaner | ||
Maria del Rosio “Rosie” Alfaro (born October 12, 1971) is an American woman convicted of the 1990 murder of 9-year-old Autumn Wallace in Anaheim, California. She is currently on California's death row.
Contents
Autumn Wallace, the victim, allowed Alfaro inside the home since she recognized Alfaro as a past guest from previous occasions and an acquaintance of an older sister. Autumn was at home by herself, waiting for her sister and mother to return home from work when Alfaro arrived and asked if she could come inside to use the bathroom. Alfaro, who was 18 years old, pregnant, (it was not proven that she was "high" since she was not caught and drug tested within 36 hours). She did not expect anyone to be home. When Autumn answered the door, she then realized she would have to kill her in order to rob the house.
Alfaro stabbed Autumn 57 times, and then took whatever she could find that was of possible value. She later changed her original confession and stated that an unidentified male accomplice forced her to start stabbing the girl, and then he finished the slaying. Alfaro has never identified the male and police and the Orange County Prosecutor said he never existed.
Early life
Alfaro was raised in Anaheim, California. She became a drug addict at 13, a prostitute at 14, a single mother at 15, and mother to four children at 18 and also a murderer at 18. She has the notoriety of being the first woman in Orange County, California to receive the death penalty at 20.
Murder of Autumn Wallace
On June 15, 1990, Autumn Wallace (born January 15, 1981), age nine, was home by herself in Anaheim, California; she was waiting for her older sister and mother to return home from work. Alfaro knew the Wallace family very well and was friendly with one of the older daughters. She thought they were out and that she would be able to steal items from the home to sell so she could get her fix.
Autumn opened the door for Alfaro, her sister's friend, who asked to use the bathroom. She took a knife from the kitchen before proceeding to the bathroom, located at the back of the house. She then coaxed Autumn into the bathroom on a ruse, and stabbed her 57 times. Alfaro then raided the house for something to steal, supposedly to acquire drug money. The stolen property was later sold for less than $300.
Alfaro confessed to the crime during a police-taped interview, stating she was high on heroin and cocaine (never proven since she was not arrested and drug tested within the 36 to 48 hours of the murder) when she stabbed Autumn. Later she changed her story and alleged an unidentified man "forced" her to stab the little girl. Still later, Alfaro told police that two men drove her to the Wallace home, and one of the men entered the house and forced her to kill Autumn. She refused to identify the man. The evidence from the crime scene only indicated that members of the Wallace family and Alfaro (based on her fingerprints and a matched bloodstained shoe print) were present in the home that day.
Sentencing
She was tried and convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances. At the end of the penalty phase of the trial, the jury deadlocked 10-2 on the sentence of death. The penalty phase of the trial was then declared a mistrial. A second jury returned a verdict of death. The trial judge upheld the jury’s verdict and sentenced Alfaro to death.
Alfaro holds the distinction of being the first woman to receive a death sentence to be carried out in the gas chamber. At the moment of her sentencing, she was the third woman to be placed on death row in California.
In August 2007, the California Supreme Court unanimously decided to affirm Alfaro's death sentence.