Christy Camara is haunted by the loss of her 10-year-old son, Wyland Gomes.
Wyland was shot to death by his father, Victor Gomes.
“How could somebody take a gun and put it to their child's head and pull the trigger?” Christy asked.
In 2016, she served Victor with divorce papers and gained sole legal custody of Wyland, which triggered a chilling response.
According to court documents, Victor stated, “Christy thinks that I want to hurt her. I do not want to hurt her; I would rather hurt myself and take Wyland with me so that Christy can feel guilty for the rest of her life.”
Christy quickly filed for a restraining order at the Superior Court in Kings County, California.
But Joseph Alioto Jr., her attorney, says Victor Gomes then purchased a pistol, something he says should not have been allowed under the restraining order.
"Ultimately, that failure is what allowed Victor to go out and buy a gun and then use that gun to do exactly what he promised he would do,” Alioto said.
Victor took his own life after shooting Wyland.
Now, Christy Camara is suing the California Department of Justice, which denied her requests for details about the gun sale and the background check on Gomes, and Kings County, which is where her son was murdered.
"The Department of Justice and State of California should have come out and said the state made a mistake,” Alioto said.
Instead, he says the California Department of Justice decided to pick a fight with Wyland’s mother by refusing to hand over documents about how Victor managed to buy the gun despite the restraining order.
In 2020, Christy moved back to Oceano, a place her son used to love.
“I would have loved to have moved him out here,“ she said.
She's channeled her grief into words, writing a book titled, “Can I Still Be Funny After My Son’s Murder?”, something she says allowed her to keep her son’s memory alive and share her story with the world.
“Just navigating my life of ups and downs in hopes that there's somebody out there that would read it, that could connect with my stories and hopefully stop this from happening to their family,” Christy said.
Meanwhile, court proceedings continue. Her legal team is now working to move the case out of Kings County, as Alioto believes it’s inappropriate for the county they’re suing to be the judge.
“She understands that the value of what she's doing not only with what she's doing with her advocacy but also with her lawsuits, there's going to be good that comes out of this ultimately,” Alioto said.
KSBY News reporter Olivia González-Britt also reached out to the Department of Justice for information and comment on the case but has not received a response.
