Family of deceased Colorado girl dismayed by release of man convicted of killing her: "Hopefully he'll admit what he did"

After more than two decades in prison, a Colorado man is a free man. In 2005, Willie Joe Gonzalez was convicted in southern Colorado of killing 2-year-old Esperanza Ontiveros and got a life sentence. New science cast doubt on that conviction and Gonzalez was released from incarceration in December.

Ontiveros' family is now speaking about that release. They say they want the world to know about their little girl and the pain that exoneration has caused them.

More than 20 years after Esperanza's death, her paternal grandmother Brigit Ontiveros still visits her grave, along with other family members. They say they miss her spirit.

"She was a feisty little thing. If the kids were fighting, I guarantee you she'd be at the top of the bunch," said Ontiveros.

In 2005, Esperanza and her older brother, who was 4 at the time, were in the care of Gonzalez, their mother's then-boyfriend, in El Paso County. He said he was in his garage when he heard a noise. He said he rushed into the house to find Esperanza at the bottom of six carpeted stairs and badly injured. He called emergency services and Esperanza was taken to the hospital, but she later died from her injuries.

Ontiveros' family says they have never believed his story and think he killed Ontiveros.

"Three different occasions, he's had three different stories of what happened that tragic day," said Ontiveros.

Investigators didn't believe Gonzalez's story either and he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison based on the idea that Esperanza's injuries were too serious to be caused by just a fall.

The new scientific evidence cast doubt on the idea that he must have harmed her. At a court hearing last year, the original coroner in the case testified that his previous testimony was wrong given what he knows today. As a result, Gonzales took a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to negligence and received credit for time served and was home before Thanksgiving last year.

Esperanza's family has been involved in every part of the case and says they think they got a raw deal.

"We walked out of that courthouse broken. But we're a Christian family. And we decided you just let it go. Let him be on his merry way. And hopefully he'll admit to what he did and have a better life," said Ontiveros.

They say now they feel like they need to get justice for the little girl all over again.

"In a death, nobody wins. He didn't win. We didn't win. We definitely didn't win. We missed out on everything for her growing up. And this is what we have, to come and see her here at the cemetery," said Ontiveros.