‘Your husband died a hero:’ Family of burglary suspect pen letter to wife of slain Utah officer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The sister- and brother-in-law of a burglary suspect, who killed a South Salt Lake police officer over the weekend, penned an open letter to the slain officer’s wife, apologizing for their brother-in-law’s actions and promising to teach his children to honor the officer as a hero.

David Romrell, 31, was killed Saturday evening when he responded to reports of a burglary on West Temple in South Salt Lake. When police arrived, two suspects were attempting to escape the scene in a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, later identified as 32-year-old Felix Calata, accelerated toward the officers, striking Romrell.

One of the officers fired a gun toward the vehicle as it accelerated, hitting Calata who died on scene. Calata leaves behind two children, ages 10 and six. Romrell died a few hours later in a hospital, leaving behind a wife and 4-month-old baby.

Claudia Lopez, Calata’s sister-in-law, said the 32-year-old wasn’t always this way. He met her sister, Sonia, while they were still in high school and the two began to date soon after the pair graduated.

“We all approved of him right away. We said, ‘He’s awesome, he’s funny, he’s hilarious, he’s so sweet to you. Give him a chance,’” Lopez said.

In the years that followed, the couple had a daughter and son together and were joined in a common-law marriage.

“Nobody would ever say he was a horrible person or that he had his demons or anything like that and, to be honest, I don’t know what the trigger was … but something along the way just clicked and he started acting differently and being hostile,” she said.

Soon after, a severe illness landed Calata in the hospital. Lopez believes that may have been when an addiction to prescription pills caused him to spiral out of control. In February, her sister finally decided to leave with her two children.

It was late Saturday night when Lopez woke up to hear her sister screaming.

“I ran in the room and asked, ‘What’s going on? What happened?’ And my mom is on the floor holding (Sonia), and my mom just looked up at me and said, ‘Felix is dead. Felix is dead.’”

Not long after, the family learned a police officer had also been injured in the incident.

“I ran and woke up my brother. … My mom led us in prayer. We were praying for him,” Lopez said. “We love Felix, but he’s gone, and there was still this glimpse of hope for this other life to be spared. … My cousin found his social media. We were looking at his pictures, looking at pictures of his baby, and I could not stop praying for this police officer’s life and this baby.”

When Lopez heard of Romrell’s death, it was the “most horrific outcome,” she said. And while her family is hurt by the many “horrible and hateful” comments people have posted about her brother-in-law, Lopez said she understands the anger.

“We needed to change the narrative … because it was our family member who caused this pain,” Lopez said. “Our father — he also passed away a couple years ago — he was always very wise and always taught us that if you make a mistake, you say you’re sorry.”

In the letter Lopez posted on Facebook, Calata’s brother-in-law also mentions the connection he had to Romrell as a brother in arms.

“I, too, am a marine veteran and it hurt me to see a brother fall in such a way,” the post to Romrell’s wife reads. “We want to reach out and let you know, we are with you. We know what Felix did was inexcusable. His mental illness took over, and we never got him back. Felix’s kids are here in the room as I write this, and they are also innocent lives that have forever been changed. We want you and your baby to know, our sister and our family will make sure to raise them knowing that your husband was the ‘good guy!’ Your husband, died a HERO! Our niece and nephew don’t have to know the horrendous things their father has done, but they WILL honor your husband.”

Lopez also hopes that even as Calata’s children grow and learn what happened to their father, they’ll be able to remember the man he used to be.

“There was no helping him, no matter how much we wanted to, no matter how much anyone else wanted to. His demons won, but we want his kids to know there was this amazing person inside of him. There was this amazing man who loved their mom and loved them.”

A GoFundMe campaign was set up Sunday to help raise money for Romrell’s family.