Two sisters were caught smiling and glancing at a camera as they were handcuffed and led to police vehicles after being arrested for the fatal stabbing of a mother of five in broad daylight in a Texas city.
Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya Cookie Diaz, 19, were taken into custody in Del Rio, around two hours outside San Antonio, on Thursday, hours after Caroline Peña was stabbed multiple times and left fighting for her life. A third woman, Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, was also arrested in connection with the killing. All three have been charged with murder and taken to the GEO Correctional Facility pending magistration, according to the Del Rio Police Department.
Peña, 32, known to those close to her as “Caro,” arrived at Val Verde Regional Medical Center with multiple stab wounds at around 2.10pm. She was transferred to a hospital in San Antonio for emergency surgery but died at around 9pm. Witnesses and surveillance footage led investigators to identify the suspects.
The attack did not happen in a hidden location. It took place on one of Del Rio’s busiest roads in the middle of the day. “This wasn’t something that happened in a back alley,” Peña’s friend Zelina Ochoa told KENS5. “This happened at the corner near Sonic on one of our busiest roads in broad daylight.” Friends said videos of the attack had been circulating online, showing Peña in a blood-soaked shirt surrounded by three women, before being taken down.
Those who knew Peña described a woman of extraordinary warmth and generosity. “If you needed something and she had it, even if it was her last, she’d give it to you,” Ochoa said. Friend Lupita Garza added: “Caro was one of a kind. She helped everyone who was in need. She brought so much light to so many of us, especially her warm hugs and that one-of-a-kind laugh. She always made sure she had a smile on her face everywhere she went.”
Her best friend, Christina Salinas, said she had been with Peña the night before her death and had missed a call from her just before the attack. “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,” she said. Peña was also a twin, and the mother of five children, the eldest of whom is 17 and approaching graduation.
While the arrests have brought some measure of accountability, Ochoa said they offered little comfort to the family left behind. “Those girls are in jail. Eventually they’ll see their kids, but Caro is a memory now. Those kids were left without a mom.”
The motive for the attack remains unclear. Police have asked anyone with information to come forward. Additional charges may be added as the investigation continues.
