It Will Haunt Me Forever’: The Tragic Missed Call Minutes Before a Mother of 5 Was Brutally Murdered
Blood on the Streets, Smiles in the Patrol Car: The Chilling Murder of a Texas Mother of Five
DEL RIO, Texas — A Texas community has been left reeling following a horrific, daylight knife attack that claimed the life of a 32-year-old mother of five. While the sheer brutality of the crime has shocked the public, it is the chilling, unbothered behavior of the young suspects following their arrest that has sparked nationwide outrage.
Now, three women face upgraded charges of murder, leaving multiple families shattered and five young children without a mother.
A Desperate Cry for Help
The tragedy began with a heartbreaking missed connection. Minutes before the deadly altercation, the victim, Caroline “Caro” Peña, desperately called her best friend of eight years, Christina Salinas. The call went unanswered.
“I feel like if I would have answered that call, honestly I would have been there with her,” Salinas later shared in an emotional statement. “That missed call will haunt me forever.”
Shortly after that final, unanswered cry for help, reality turned into a nightmare. Around 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, police responded to a chaotic scene near a busy Sonic Drive-In in Del Rio. Surveillance footage captured a harrowing sequence of events: Peña, already covered in blood, was seen approaching her attackers before the situation violently escalated.
Peña was rushed to Val Verde Regional Medical Center. Though she was conscious and speaking when first responders arrived, the severity of her stab wounds forced doctors to sedate her. She was airlifted to a trauma hospital in San Antonio in critical condition.
“Mouths Wide Open, Tongues Out”
As doctors fought to save Peña’s life, the Del Rio Police Department moved quickly to track down the suspects. By 4:00 p.m.—just two hours after the assault—police arrested sisters Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, and Amaya “Cookie” Diaz, 19. A third suspect, 21-year-old Kyandra Renee Faz, was taken into custody shortly after.
It was during the arrest of the Diaz sisters that the case took a disturbing turn.
As the young women were loaded into the back of a police cruiser, they showed absolutely no remorse for the bloody scene they had just left behind. Caught on video, both sisters were seen smiling brightly, laughing, and even sticking their tongues out at onlookers and cameras through the patrol car window.
“How does someone do this to another human being?” an emotional community member questioned online, echoing the sentiments of thousands who viewed the viral footage of the smiling suspects.
Charges Upgraded to Murder
The levity displayed by the suspects would soon collide with grim reality. At approximately 9:00 p.m. that evening, authorities were notified that Caroline Peña had succumbed to her injuries.
With Peña’s passing, the District Attorney’s office immediately upgraded the charges against Kitty Diaz, Amaya Diaz, and Kyandra Faz from aggravated assault to Murder. They are currently being held at the Val Verde County Jail.
Suspect
Age
Primary Charge
Kitty Mia Diaz
21
Murder
Amaya “Cookie” Diaz
19
Murder
Kyandra Renee Faz
21
Murder
A Devastating Aftermath
As the investigation continues, a clear motive for the attack has yet to be released by officials. Police confirm that additional charges may still be filed as they continue to interview witnesses who turned out in broad daylight to witness the horrific scene.
What is certain, however, is the catastrophic human toll of that Thursday afternoon. Caroline Peña leaves behind five grieving children. In a tragic twist of irony, the young suspects are also mothers, meaning their reckless actions have effectively stripped multiple children of their parents on both sides of the tragedy.
For the loved ones of Caroline Peña, justice will be pursued in the courtroom, but the void left by her absence—and the memory of a final, missed phone call—will never be filled.
