In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Kate Steinle's family spoke out about the not guilty verdict jurors reached in the San Francisco woman's shooting death.
Steinle’s father says the case has been tough not just because it has been going on for the past two-plus years, but because he was there, on Pier 14, when his 32-year-old daughter died in his arms.
"When you have a broken heart and grief in your life, if you have never had it, it’s awful," Jim Steinle said in the Chronicle interview.
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, the Mexican man believed to have killed Kate Steinle, was found not guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
"The outcome of this trial doesn’t change the fact the system, both on a city and federal level, miserably failed in protecting Kate," Brad Steinle, Kate's brother, said in the Chronicle interview.
Kate Steinle was killed by a bullet that riocheted off the ground as she walked with her father on Pier 14 in San Francisco in July 2015. The defense argued the gun discharged after Garcia Zarate stumbled upon it. But Kate’s mother told the newspaper she believes, based on the foresenic evidence, Zarate is a killer.
"I do think he did shoot towards them," Liz Sullivan said in the interview.
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The family also expressed frustration with how Kate’s death was politicized into arguments against illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. Now, with he verdict read, Jim Steinle told the Chronicle it's time for his family to heal.
"Our family, we have not had moment of anger, vengeance," he told the newspaper. "We had no room in our hearts, in ourselves for any of that. And we just want to go back to being our family."
