Thousands join petition to free Texas teens who killed stepdad for raping their sister
A petition on Change.org titled 'Justice for Alejandro, Christian, and Juan' has gained more than 227K signatures within two days. The petition demands that the teenagers be freed after they were charged with murder for reportedly killing their stepfather when they found out he was raping their nine-year-old half-sister.
The petition reads, "Alejandro Trevino (18), Christian Trevino (17), and Juan Eduardo Melendez (18) are facing capital murder charges for beating and killing Gabriel Quintanilla (42) after discovering that he was actively abusing Alejandro and Christian's 9-year-old sister. The three teenagers are currently in custody and have their bonds set at over 1 million dollars each. If convicted of capital murder, they face a minimum sentence of life imprisonment without parole. We ask that the state of Texas release these teenagers, who could possibly spend the rest of their life in prison for protecting their sister."
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The brothers are reported to have beaten their 42-year-old father Gabriel Quintanilla to death in Texas when they found out he was raping and sexually abusing their nine-year-old sister. Reports also indicate that Quintanilla was a serial sexual abuser who had a 2019 arrest warrant for sexually abusing another minor. Christian Trevino and Alejandro Trevino, 17 and 18, were taken into custody for the deadly beating of their stepfather, who had been accused of sexually assaulting their nine-year-old half-sister last Thursday. The two brothers, and their friend, Juan Eduardo Melendez who also joined them, are now facing capital murder charges.
"Investigation revealed that Quintanilla was beaten with brass knuckles and suffered severe head trauma. Quintanilla was found dead in the open field on Thursday at 3 pm by McAllen police. The department then notified Pharr police of the incident and turned over the investigation. The three teens who were arrested were charged on Sunday afternoon," reported Concho Valley.
"The Pharr police said a fight ensued between the three men before Quintanilla took off running. Authorities said that Christian Trevino ran after Quintanilla and cornered him in an apartment complex. Alejandro Trevino was joined by Melendez in the second beating of Quintanilla. The three teenagers left the scene of the assault to changed their vehicles and later went back to look for Quintanilla, who was spotted walking down a road. The Trevino brothers and Melendez then attacked Quintanilla for the third time and placed his body in the pickup truck," reports Daily Mail.
Alejandro Trevino faces charges of aggravated assault and engaging in criminal activity, while Christian Trevino and Juan Eduardo Melendez are charged with aggravated assault, capital murder, and engaging in criminal activity. As per the petition, their bond has been set at $1million each. "This investigation was complex having multiple scenes. I am proud of how our detectives were able to put the pieces together in such a short time," Chief of Police Andy Harvey said in a statement.