CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As Christmas nears, The Cooley family is bracing for their first holiday season without their beloved Gabe.
“We honestly haven’t really even prepared for it," sister Kathleen Cooley said as she began to cry.
“Since we haven’t gone through anything like this it’s difficult to prepare," mother Amy Cooley said, equally teared-up.
Gabe was stabbed to death at the Walmart in the Calallen-area on August 23. The Calallen High School football and soccer player was 18-years-old.
The man accused of killing him in an apparently random attack, 20-year-old Billy Ferguson, was arrested at the scene and remains in the Nueces County Jail on a $1 million bond.
On Tuesday, his attorney Scott Ellison will ask 28th District Court Judge Nanette Hasette to reduce Ferguson's bond.
Amy will testify against that request, and she's backed by more than 2,400 signatures on a petition -- people who also want to make sure Ferguson remains in jail.
“This is a dangerous person," Amy Cooley said of Ferguson. "He doesn’t need to be on the streets, just because his behavior is unpredictable.”
Ellison did not respond to several attempts to reach him for comment on tomorrow's hearing.
It's unclear what will take place at the hearing besides Amy's testimony.
She and Kathleen hope it keeps Ferguson in jail, and that eventually he's convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
But even if that were to happen, she says she expects to live with the grief of losing her son forever.
"Every day is a struggle," she said. "We just miss him. He was a great kid. He’s always on our mind."
