Texas brothers that allegedly killed stepfather to face trial together

Two brothers from South Texas will reportedly face trial together for the death of their stepfather in January 2022. Christian and Alejandro Treviño, who were both teens at the time, allegedly killed Gabriel Quintanilla after he allegedly sexually abused their sister, according to previous reporting by MySA. 

A pretrial hearing for the brothers is set for May 16, according to a report by KRGV TV. Both brothers have plead not guilty to their charges. 

Alejandro and Christian were 18- and 17-years-old respectively when police say they beat Quintanilla at a trailer park in Pharr, in the Rio Grande Valley. Officials said the three teens chased the 42-year-old to an apartment complex where they assaulted him again. The trio allegedly left, changed vehicles to a pickup truck, and returned, where they attempted to beat him to death with brass knuckles. 

They reportedly loaded Quintanilla’s body into the truck and drove him a few miles to McAllen, where they allegedly left the man to die in a field. Police said at the time of the brothers’ arrest that Quintanilla had an arrest warrant for sexually abusing another child at the time of the killing. 

Christian and Alejandro have remained in custody since they were arrested in January 2022. Christian is facing charges of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Alejandro is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

Pharr police also arrested Juan Eduardo Melendez, a family friend of the brothers, and he was released on bond in August 2022. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 28.