Gabriel Quintanilla was a sexual offender who was on the run. His stepchildren attacked and killed him after he assaulted their sister.

Last year, two brothers from Texas and a friend were arrested for allegedly beating their stepfather to death because he was accused of sexually abusing their nine-year-old sister.

When their sister said that their stepfather had touched her in a way that made them uncomfortable, the brothers were “enraged.”

Quintanilla has been on the run since 2019, when a warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion that he sexually abused a minor.

When the brothers heard what their sister said, they are said to have confronted Quintanilla in an RV park.

The fight was stopped, but it started up again later that day at an apartment complex nearby.

Police say that the friend of the brothers joined the second fight.

The three people left the complex, but not long after, they came back with a truck and found Quintanilla hurt and alone on the road.

Gabriel Quintanilla, 42, was beaten by Alejandro Trevino, 18, his brother Christian Trevino, 17, and their friend Juan Eduardo Melendez. They then left him in a field.

Police say that the three teens then beat him with brass knuckles until he was bloody.

He was allegedly put in the back of a pickup truck and dumped in a McAllen field, where he was found later.

Even though Quintanilla’s head was hurt pretty badly, police think he was still alive when he was left in the field.

The three teens were charged with murder with the death penalty.

“Capital murder,” said Pharr Chief of Police Andy Harvey. “He was kidnapped when he was put in the back of the F-150 and dropped off somewhere else.”

“Then, at the place where they dropped him off, the Trevios took some of Quintanilla’s things and left.

“This investigation was complicated because there were several scenes,” he said.

“I’m proud of how quickly our detectives were able to put it all together.”

Public Agitation

Yet, hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition asking Texas Governor Greg Abbott to let the teenagers go.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed an online petition saying that the three should be freed because they defended their sister.

“We want the state of Texas to let these teens go, because they could spend their whole lives in jail for protecting their sister.”

Signers say the teens are “innocent” and did “what the law failed to do” after their sister was “failed.”

“They are heroes,” someone else said.

He Was Wanted By The Police

He was wanted in Pharr, Texas, for persistent sexual abuse of a child and family violence that had nothing to do with each other.

A young person said he sexually molested her between 2014 and 2016.

When the detectives went looking for Quintanilla, they couldn’t find him.

“They went to his mother’s house several times and to his last known address, but they couldn’t find him. He was able to avoid being caught.

Quintanilla’s name was put into a national database, but since then he has been on the run.

Charges

Melendez and Trevino were both charged with murdering someone to death and hurting someone very badly.

Alexandro Trevino is accused of serious assault and being a part of a gang.

Melendez got out of jail that same year in August after putting up $362,000 in bonds.

Christian and Alejandro are still being held in jail on $150,000 bonds each.

Recent Development

A little over a year after their 42-year-old stepfather was killed out of revenge, the Pharr brothers went to court earlier this year, according to myrgv .

His lawyer, Carlos Garcia, requested more time from state District Judge Fernando Mancias because evidence was still being entered and indicated that Christian’s brother, Alejandro Santos, 19, had a hearing near the end of March.

Garcia proposed waiting until Alejandro’s hearing to decide what to do next with the lawsuit, and Mancias agreed.