Three women, including two sisters, have been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of a 32-year-old mother of five in Del Rio, Texas, authorities said.
Caroline “Caro” Peña arrived at Val Verde Regional Medical Center shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, with multiple stab wounds. Because of the severity of her injuries, she was transferred to a medical facility in San Antonio for emergency treatment but died later that evening.
The Del Rio Police Department said detectives reviewed surveillance footage, collected physical evidence and interviewed witnesses while investigating the attack, which occurred near a busy commercial area on East 10th Street.
Police identified the suspects as sisters Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya “Cookie” Diaz, 19, along with their friend Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, as per Fox News.
The Diaz sisters were arrested without incident at approximately 4 p.m. Thursday, while Faz was detained, a short time later. All three were booked and transported to a correctional facility.
Authorities have not publicly announced a motive, and the investigation remains active. The murder charges are allegations, and the suspects have not been convicted. Peña’s friends said the attack happened in a highly visible area during the afternoon.
“This wasn’t something that happened in a back alley. This happened at the corner near Sonic on one of our busiest roads in broad daylight,” her friend Zelina Ochoa told KENS 5.
Ochoa said she met Peña when they were both teenage mothers attending the Cradles in the Classroom program. She remembered Peña as a generous friend who helped others with childcare, baby clothes and household items when they were struggling.
“If you needed something and she had it, even if it was her last, she’d give it to you,” Ochoa said. Another close friend, Christina Salinas, said she had spent time with Peña the night before the attack. The following afternoon, Salinas missed a call from Peña at 1:35 p.m., shortly before the fatal confrontation.
“I feel like if I would have answered that call, honestly I would have been there with her. It wouldn’t have gotten like that,” Salinas said. Salinas later saw an image posted on a community page showing a woman in a bloodstained shirt and immediately recognized her friend.
“Her hair was in the same bun. When I saw that, that’s all I needed to see was the back of her shirt. I knew it was her right off the bat,” Salinas said. “That girl, she was a fighter. She was still standing her ground,” she added.
Salinas rushed to the hospital and said she was able to speak with Peña and kiss her goodbye before Peña was flown to San Antonio. Friends and relatives are now mourning her death and seeking answers as investigators continue working to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack.
