ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — Wednesday marks a year since 2-year-old Savanna Roque was murdered in a heinous act of violence in Orange.
Her father, Yovahnis Roque, is facing a capital murder charge in her death. On the anniversary of her death, first responders gathered for a candlelight vigil to honor her memory and cope with the haunting case an entire year later.
Savanna, or 'Baby Savi,' was killed on February 19, 2019. Her father was indicted in April 2019.
Investigators say she was killed with a hammer in one of the 'most gruesome' crimes Orange County has seen.
Her short life was honored with a moment of silence during the vigil. She was laid to rest in Florida, but the community in Texas is still trying to heal from the tragedy.
12News spoke to Savanna's grandmother Delia Foster on the phone ahead of the vigil. She said she wishes she could be at the vigil to thank the men and women who worked on the murder case, and for continuing to honor Baby Savi.
Desiree Scales, a City of Orange dispatcher, was working on the day of baby Savi's murder. She took the call from the sheriff's office about the crime.
"What was going through my mind was that I have a child at home as well, and to think something like this could happen to someone so innocent, it's not fair," Scales said. "And someone needed to be a voice for her."
She says the officers and first responders with the department are still healing from the case a year after the murder.
"You have to stay composed during the whole thing, but when it was all cleared and done for the day, we all started crying," Scales said. "We went outside and we cried."
Scales said several people in the department sought outside help to process the emotions that followed the horrific day.
"There was help offered to those of us that worked it," Scales said. "Because sometimes you have emotions that you're not sure how to deal with it."
Logan Holland was the first patrol officer on the scene the day of the murder. "As soon as I made it on scene, I knew immediately, that it was going to be one of the most horrific things I've seen in my life.", said Holland.
Holland says trying to hold it together while working the scene for six to eight hours was one of the most difficult things he's had to do. "I got home to my wife and my three little girls, because that was my first thought process...I could see all three of my girls in Savi that day, so it was heartbreaking. So when I got home, I held them as much as I could, told them I loved them, and it became an emotional rollercoaster at the time.", added Holland.
Yovahnis Roque is awaiting trial. His attorney, Ryan Gertz is fighting to get the dealth penalty off the table. The defense is hoping to prove Roque was insane at the time of the crime.