BALTIMORE — He was her uncle and godfather, but Joe Barranco was like a second father to Maria Moore.
At her wedding: "It's the father-daughter dance and I'm dancing with my father. And halfway through, Uncle Joe walks up and he tries to cut in," Moore laughed. "That's a memory. That's Uncle Joe."
Moore is from the Baltimore area but moved to South Carolina a few years ago.
"There's not many places you could go without him walking around, and somebody noticing, "Ice Cream Joe!" His truck, it's just like… everybody knew him," Moore recalled.
'Ice Cream Joe' is how Barranco was known to many.
"He's in paradise right now," Moore said. "It'll just be hard for us left behind."
It was in Roland Park on W. University Parkway on April 21. Barranco lived in an apartment on that block. Police arrested his roommate, 59-year-old Patrick Cromwell.
READ MORE: Charging documents reveal what unfolded moments before a 77-year-old man was killed by his roommate
Documents say Cromwell struck Barranco with a meat cleaver, then, strangled him to death. Cromwell told police it was Barranco who attacked first.
It's unclear what started the altercation.
"We don't want him remembered like that. We don't want that to be his story, because that's not who he is. That's not how he should be remembered. We want him to be remembered for the amazing man he was, and all the love he put out," Moore said.
A celebration of Barranco's life will be held this June.
"He loved to be loved," Moore continued. "He loved to love people and he loved to be loved. He loved to see people smile, and know that he just had a little piece of that was because of him. He loved seeing kids' faces light up because he was coming down the street with his ice cream truck."
Cromwell is being held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 22, just over a month after the incident.
