She was a great mom That’s how loved ones are remembering 32-year-old Caroline “Caro” Peña after the mother of five lost her life in a violent daytime attack that has shaken the Del Rio community
She was a great mom
That’s how loved ones are remembering 32-year-old Caroline “Caro” Peña after the mother of five lost her life in a violent daytime attack that has shaken the Del Rio community.
Three women have now been charged in connection with the case, but investigators say the story may not be over yet.
With the investigation still unfolding and authorities warning that additional charges could still be filed, many are asking what investigators have uncovered—and whether others may have played a role
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Friends of a Del Rio mother of five who was fatally stabbed Thursday are remembering her as a devoted mother, loyal friend and someone who showed up for others when they needed her most.
Caroline Peña, known to loved ones as “Caro,” died Thursday night after police say she was stabbed multiple times in broad daylight. She was 32.
Three women — Kitty Mia Diaz, 21; Amaya “Cookie” Diaz, 19; and Kyandra Renee Faz, 21 — have been charged with murder in connection with Peña’s death, according to the Del Rio Police Department.
Police said officers were called to Val Verde Regional Medical Center around 2:10 p.m. Thursday after receiving a report of a woman suffering from multiple stab wounds. Investigators determined the assault had happened in the 800 block of East 10th Street.
Because of the severity of her injuries, Peña was flown to a San Antonio hospital for emergency treatment. Police said investigators were notified around 9 p.m. that Peña had died.
Credit: Edits by Lucinda
Caroline “Caro” Peña
Investigators said surveillance video, evidence collected in the case and numerous witness interviews led detectives to identify the three suspects.
Police said officers located and arrested Kitty Mia Diaz and Amaya Cookie Diaz around 4 p.m. Thursday without incident. A short time later, officers located and arrested Faz. All three were taken to the Del Rio Police Department for booking and processing before being transported to the GEO Correctional Facility, where police said they remain pending magistration.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. Police have not released a motive. They also have not confirmed whether anyone else may have been involved, but said additional charges may be filed as investigators continue gathering evidence and determining the full circumstances of what happened.
For Peña’s friends, the grief is mixed with anger, heartbreak and unanswered questions.
Credit: Zelina Ochoa
Caro Peña
Friends said images and videos circulated online before later being removed, including one they said showed Peña standing in a bloodstained pink shirt while facing three young women surrounding her. The posts have deepened the pain for those who loved her and raised questions about why more was not done to help.
“This wasn’t something that happened in a back alley,” said Zelina Ochoa, Peña’s childhood friend. “This happened at the corner near Sonic on one of our busiest roads in broad daylight.”
Ochoa said she and Peña met years ago while both were teen mothers attending Cradles in the Classroom, a program for young parents. The two had transferred from traditional high school and were learning how to navigate school and motherhood at the same time.
“Me and Caro, we go way, way back,” Ochoa said. “We got to take our sons to school and we did the school thing together while we had our kids to school with us.”
Ochoa said Peña helped her learn how to be a mother, from changing diapers to offering support when she felt alone. She said Peña would watch her son while she caught up on schoolwork and later gave her baby clothes, a television, a VHS player and videotapes for her first apartment.
“If you needed something and she had it, even if it was her last, she’d give it to you,” Ochoa said.
Another childhood friend, Lupita Garza, echoed that sentiment, describing Peña as someone who never hesitated to help those around her.
“Caro was one of a kind. She helped everyone who was in need,” Garza said. “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.”
Garza said Peña’s impact on those who grew up with her will never be forgotten.
Credit: Lupita Garza
One of many memories shared by friends remembering Caroline “Caro” Peña as someone who “brought so much light” to those around her.
Peña was a twin and a mother of five, friends said. Ochoa said Peña’s oldest son is 17 and close to graduating.
“She was one of those people, she was born to be a mom,” Ochoa said, fighting back tears. “She really loved to be a mom.”
Ochoa described Peña as funny and loyal, someone who could reconnect with an old friend years later as if no time had passed.
“She was everybody’s bubbly person,” Ochoa said. “She had this infectious laugh.”
Christina Salinas, Peña’s best friend of eight years, said the two were inseparable.
“We were like sister-in-laws slash best friends,” Salinas said. “She was there for me for everything, not just for me but for my kids as well.”
Credit: Christina Salinas
Caro Peña and Christina Salinas
Salinas said Peña would text her in the morning asking what their plans were for the day. She said she could call Peña at 5:30 a.m. and Peña would answer.
The two had been together the night before the stabbing, Salinas said, making sopa de fideo with Peña’s daughter.
The next day, Salinas said she missed a call from Peña shortly before the confrontation. She said the call came in at 1:35 p.m.
“I feel like if I would have answered that call, honestly I would have been there with her,” Salinas said. “It wouldn’t have gotten like that.”
Salinas said she later saw a photo on a community page of a woman with a bloody shirt and immediately recognized Peña.
“Her hair was in the same bun. When I saw that, that’s all I needed to see was the back of her shirt. I knew it was her right off the bat,” Salinas said. “That girl, she was a fighter. She was still standing her ground.”
Salinas said Peña was still talking when she arrived at the hospital, before she was sedated. She said she gave Peña a kiss before Peña was flown to San Antonio.
Salinas also shared Ring camera video with KENS 5 showing one of Peña’s last visits to her home — a visit she said she did not know would be among their last.
“It’s like a part of me got ripped out and that’s something I’m not going to get back,” Salinas said. “No matter how much justice is being served, I still don’t have my friend here alive with me.”
KENS 5 obtained video showing Del Rio police escorting the Diaz sisters out of a home in handcuffs and into patrol vehicles following their arrests. One of the suspects smiles toward the camera before stepping into the patrol car.
Ochoa said the arrests do not undo the loss for Peña’s children.
“Those girls are in jail. Eventually they’ll see [their kids], but Caro is a memory now,” Ochoa said. “Those kids were left without a mom.”
Ochoa said the case has shaken Del Rio and left many in the community grieving.
“Everybody’s lives were changed in a matter of minutes,” she said.
Friends said they want Peña remembered not only for how she died, but for how she lived.
“I want to show everyone what a good person my best friend was,” Salinas said. “She had a past just like we all did. We made our mistakes when we were young, but she came back around. She got her house, she got her truck, she had her daughter. She was a great mom.”
“You know how they say it takes a village to raise a family?” Ochoa said. “She was the village.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Del Rio Police Department as the investigation continues.
SOURE: https://www.kens5.com/article/news/crime/true-crime/texas-crime-mom-kids-del-rio-fatal-stabbing-3-women-arrested/273-4be1da8e-7049-48ca-81fb-786d2b4f5023
