Texas Woman Who Fell into Sewer Was Found Dead 9 Miles Away, Says Daughter: ‘Nobody Should Have to Go Through That'

Mar. 15, 2025

Teresa Gonzales fell into Dallas' sewer system.Photo:Getty

Getty

The daughter of a Dallas woman who was reportedly killed when she fell into a sewer system wants answers about what happened to her mom.

The body of 66-year-old Teresa Gonzales was discovered on Oct. 25, around nine and a half miles away from where she fell through an open manhole cover on Oct. 22, according to her daughter Cynthia Gonzales and attorneyRamez Shamieh.

Cynthia and Shamieh shared alive news conference to Instagramin which she tearfully said she wants justice for her mom.

“It just hurts because nobody should have to go through that, nobody,” Cynthia said in the video posted Wednesday, Dec. 11. “I don’t care who you are, nobody should have to feel that … not that kind of tragedy.”

Shamieh told local outletNBC DFWthat Teresa was walking in the 1600 block of Record Crossing Road when she walked over an open manhole in a construction zone and fell into the city sewer system.

The attorney added that her body was discovered three days later and more than nine miles away at the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in southeast Dallas, reported NBC DFW.

“I didn’t understand why it happened. I couldn’t wrap my head around it I still can’t,” Cynthia said at the news conference, wiping away tears.

“That’s nothing that any family should go through to learn that your mom fell and then is nine-and-a-half miles away,” she added.

Generic image of a police patrol car at night.Getty

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Shamieh shared that he plans to file a lawsuit but is waiting on a public records request to collect more information. He also showed a photograph taken a week after the accident, which he claimed showed gaps in the metal covering the manhole.

“We believe one of the main reasons is unreasonably dangerous conditions at the site and that’s why she fell in,” he said, adding that foul play is not suspected.

A spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department shared the following written statement with PEOPLE: “On October 25, 2024, at about 9:40 a.m., Dallas Police responded to a call for service in the 1000 block of Sargent Road. The preliminary investigation determined that officers were called after a body had been discovered at the location. The individual was later identified as 66-year-old Teresa Gonzales. This is being investigated as an unexplained death, documented under case number 162007-2024.”

source: people.com