The gruesome testimony of the former stepdaughter of Jesus Armando Ochoa Sanchez, 41, played a key role in certifying the case to a grand jury in Pittsylvania County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Wednesday.Â
The 15-year-old testified during a preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon that she witnessed Sanchez, her stepfather at the time, attack her mother, Xochil Ochoa, with a knife in their home on Mt. Cross Road on June 11.Â
"He cut her in the face," the girl testified through tears at Wednesday's hearing. Sanchez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, was present.Â
The hearing resulted in Judge Turpin certifying Sanchez's two charges of first degree murder and assault of a law enforcement officer to Pittsylvania Circuit Court. Commonwealth Attorney Bryan Haskins reported the charges will go before the February Grand Jury next year.