Teen brothers allegedly beat stepfather to death for abusing their sister

Two Texas brothers have been arrested for beating their stepfather to death after he allegedly sexually abused their 9-year-old half-sister.

Alejandro and Christian Trevino flew into a rage when they learned of the disturbing allegations against their 42-year-old stepfather, Gabriel Quintanilla. Police said the brothers traveled to a trailer park in Pharr, where they confronted Quintanilla inside his mobile home, according to an affidavit obtained by People.

All three left the residence, but violence again broke out at a nearby apartment complex. This time, the brothers were joined by a friend, 18-year-old Eduardo Melendez. The group of teens then left the apartment and changed vehicles, only to return again to viciously beat Quintanilla, who they found walking outside on the sidewalk.

Police said Quintanilla was then placed into the bed of a white Ford F-150 and taken to a field in McAllen, where he was left to die. His body was later discovered by a farmer on Jan. 20.

According to the complaint, he suffered severe trauma to the head.

At a press conference Tuesday, Pharr Police Chief Andy Harvey said Quintanilla had been accused of abusing a different child in an unrelated case between 2014 and 2016. And while detectives had enough evidence for a warrant, they were ultimately unable to locate and arrest the suspect.

“The detectives went out to look for Quintanilla at that time and were unable to find him,” Harvey said. “They searched his last known residence, they went to his mother’s residence multiple times.”

All three suspects were arraigned on Sunday. Christian Trevino and Melendez have been charged with capital murder, aggravated assault, and engaging in organized criminal activity. Alexandro Trevino has been charged with aggravated assault and engaging in organized criminal activity.

They are each being held on $500,000 bond.