Newly obtained court paperwork lays out, in granular detail, how a 32-year-old mother of five was killed in Del Rio, Texas — and confirms that a Justice of the Peace set bail at $5 million for each of the three women charged in her death, a combined $15 million across all three defendants.
The woman who died was Caroline Peña, known to those close to her as "Caro." Prosecutors have charged sisters Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya "Cookie" Diaz, 19, along with their friend Kyandra Renee Faz, in her killing.
Amaya Reportedly Strikes First, Then Kitty and Finally Kyandra
A criminal complaint obtained by The 830 Times, drawn from a Del Rio police detective's own written account, describes Peña pulling up to a residence on East 10th Street in a black pickup truck before violence broke out. Investigators say footage from the property shows Amaya Diaz getting out of a Chrysler 300 and striking Peña first, with blood becoming visible on the back of her shirt; Kitty Diaz then joined in, followed shortly by Faz.
That account is a departure from what circulated right after the attack. Zelina Ochoa, a friend who says she's known Peña since they were teenage mothers together, initially told a local outlet the stabbing happened out in the open near a busy corner of town, not on someone's property.
Police say the timeline began just after 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, when officers were called to Val Verde Regional Medical Center over a patient with multiple stab wounds. Because of how serious her injuries were, Peña was flown to a trauma center in San Antonio, where she was pronounced dead that night around 9 p.m. A close friend, Christina Salinas, has said the wounds reached Peña's stomach and back and punctured a lung.
Detectives Make Arrest Just Two Hours After Initial Call
Detectives built the case quickly — pulling nearby surveillance video, gathering physical evidence, and canvassing for witnesses. By roughly 4 p.m. that day, officers found Kitty and Amaya Diaz at a residence and took them into custody without incident; Faz was picked up a short time later.
Court records include an unflattering wrinkle: by the time police reached the Diaz sisters, they'd already showered and changed out of the clothing seen on camera. A search of the home turned up the outfit Kitty Diaz had allegedly worn during the attack sitting inside a washing machine.
$5 Million Bail Set For Each Defendant
Once Peña's death was confirmed, prosecutors upgraded the charges against all three suspects to murder, and they were booked into the GEO Correctional Facility. The following morning, Justice of the Peace Jesse James Trevino set bond at $5 million for each defendant, and all three requested court-appointed attorneys.
No motive has been made public. Police say they still don't know what triggered the confrontation and haven't ruled out further arrests as the investigation continues.
For the people who loved Peña, the legal process hasn't softened the loss. Ochoa remembers her as someone with an easy laugh who was, in her words, "born to be a mom" — the kind of friend who'd give away her last dollar if someone needed it.
Peña leaves behind five children — the oldest a 17-year-old son nearing graduation — and a twin sister. A GoFundMe set up for the family notes that two of her children are autistic, and had raised only a small fraction of its goal within the campaign's first day. (People, via Yahoo News)
All three defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
