Two teenage brothers and their friend were arrested after they reportedly beat their stepfather to death for allegedly sexually abusing their sister at their trailer park home in Pharr, Texas, KGRV reports. Alejandro Trevino, 18, and Christian Trevino, 17, were taken into custody along with 18-year-old Juan Eduardo Melendez, and all of them are now facing assault and murder charges.
Hidalgo County Court Records
- The brothers were “enraged” by the abuse allegations. Authorities say that when they learned what their 42-year-old stepfather, Gabriel Quintanilla, had allegedly done to their 9-year-old sister, they confronted the man at his home.
- Quintanilla had an arrest warrant for sexual abuse. The warrant pertained to another child, but he was also accused of inappropriately touching the Trevinos’ younger sister, which prompted the violent and ultimately deadly confrontation.
- The fight ended, but two more broke out. After confronting Quintanilla at the trailer park, the brothers and stepfather all left before fighting again at a nearby apartment complex. At this point, Melendez joined in on the fight. All three teenagers left the complex but came back soon after and re-launched their attack on Quintanilla.
- Quintanilla had been injured in the previous two fights. On the third occasion, they’re said to have found him wounded and walking alone on the road. It was at this point that they beat him with brass knuckles before putting him in the bed of their pickup truck and dumping his dead body in a field nearby.
- Now, the boys may spend the rest of their lives in jail. Christian Trevino and Melendez were charged with aggravated assault and capital murder, police said, while Alexandro Trevino was charged with aggravated assault and engaging in organized criminal activity.
