Tens of thousands seek release of Texas teens who killed dad accused of abusing sister
Three Texas teenagers are in custody after police say they fatally beat a man accused of sexually abusing his 9-year-old daughter — and a petition calling for their release is growing fast.
The teens, two brothers and a mutual friend, are accused of assaulting the brothers’ stepfather three times, in three separate locations, in the town of Pharr in South Texas on Jan. 20, resulting in his death, McClatchy News reported.
It began when the brothers, 18 and 17, learned their stepdad had “inappropriately” touched their half sister, his own biological daughter, Pharr Police Chief Andy Harvey said at a briefing on Jan. 25., shared by KVEO. Upon hearing this, “a fight took place” between the brothers and the stepdad — the first in an escalating series of attacks.
During the briefing, Harvey also announced that the stepfather had a warrant out for his arrest since 2019 for “continuous sexual abuse” of a minor between 2014 and 2016, but Pharr police weren’t able to find him over the years, despite multiple efforts. The victim in that case was not his 9-year-old daughter.
The family members are not being named by McClatchy News to protect the identity of the 9-year-old girl.
One brother and the friend have been charged with capital murder, while the other brother is facing a lesser charge of aggravated assault.
But many feel sympathy for the teens, believing their actions were justified, or at least understandable given the circumstances.
As of 3 p.m., Jan. 27, 190,000 people have signed an online Change.org petition, imploring Gov. Greg Abbott to have the trio released.
“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,” it reads.
“The system failed this little girl,” one signer commented, adding that the “innocent” teens picked up the slack.
Minutes after the initial fight over the alleged abuse of his daughter, the stepdad left the home on foot. But the younger brother followed, carrying a pair of brass knuckles he would soon put into use, police said.
The older brother and an 18-year-old friend arrived moments later in a vehicle, and together the three young men attacked the stepfather again, according to Harvey.
They left the beaten man and returned to the brother’s home, dropping off the oldest, before driving back to the area of the second assault. It wasn’t long until they found him again, walking alone by the road.
“This time, they severely beat him,” Harvey said, then threw him in the bed of the pickup truck and drove off.
He was unconscious at this point but still breathing, according to Harvey. But by the time his body was found dumped in an open field by police in neighboring McAllen, the stepdad was dead.
“It’s tragic all around. That’s what makes this case so difficult,” Harvey said. “We have three young men in jail, and who knows what their future will hold.”
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