Oklahoma City schoolchildren remember classmate with words, pictures, balloons

A child in Evelyn's kindergarten class holds a balloon close to her face. A tear rolls down her cheek as the school choir begins to sing.

Police say Evelyn's father, Juan De Los Santos, 46, shot Evelyn, 5, and her mother, Claudia Aguilar, 35, before turning the gun on himself March 13 at their home, 1925 NW 15.

Last week at the house, a yellow and red toy car is overturned in the yard. Mail is in the mailbox. A silver slipper lies on the ground in front of a rundown porch.

The events that occurred there are too painful for family members who live in the neighborhood to talk about, they said. Relatives told police Juan De Los Santos and Aguilar were estranged, going through a divorce at the time of the shootings.

Evelyn's death devastated the close-knit school of 537 prekindergarten through fifth-grade students.

“This is a neighborhood school, and she had several family members here,” said Principal Paige Bressman. “It did not just affect her class, it affected the entire school. The kids were very sad. They talked about it a lot.”

The students and staff at Eugene Field, 1515 N Klein Ave., wanted to honor Evelyn.

All of the children who attend the school qualify for federal nutrition programs based on family income. But in early May, they collected more than $900 in a penny drive to donate to Positive Tomorrows, an Oklahoma City organization that educates homeless children. The money also was used to purchase a plaque to place on a bench in memory of their classmate.

Vicky Watson's class of 22 learned how to read and write this year, said the veteran teacher who had Evelyn in her class. Watson said the 5- and 6-year-olds are a close group that included two of Evelyn's cousins. It's made the loss particularly hard.