Two sisters accused in the fatal stabbing of a cherished mother of five changed clothes and showered soon after the shocking daytime attack, authorities said.
Caroline “Caro” Pena, 32, died Thursday after being stabbed repeatedly during an assault involving three women in Del Rio, Texas.
Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, her sister Amaya “Cookie” Diaz, 19, and their friend Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, were taken into custody Thursday in the border city, roughly two hours from San Antonio.
All three women have been charged with murder in connection with Pena’s death and are expected to remain behind bars, with bond set at $5 million each, according to criminal complaints obtained by the Daily Mail.
According to investigators, Kitty and Amaya appeared to realize police would likely arrive soon and allegedly showered and changed their appearance after the bloody assault.
“While speaking with Kitty and Amaya, it was observed that they were no longer wearing the clothing originally seen on the video footage, and they had recently showered, as their hair was wet,” police stated in the complaint, referring to video that allegedly captured the attack on Pena.
Video showing the trio being arrested showed the suspects smiling while wearing different outfits.
Kitty had allegedly swapped the pink top and blue jeans seen in footage of the attack for a revealing black romper featuring a graphic of hands covering her chest.
Caroline Pena was stabbed to death on Thursday in broad daylight. She leaves behind her five children
Amaya Cookie Diaz smirks as she is arrested in connection with Pena’s death
Kitty Mia Diaz, 21, appeared to smile for a moment as she looked at the ground while walking to the patrol car
Amaya smiled and smirked as she was led away by police in a different outfit as well.
While the reason Pena met up with her attackers at a home on the 800 block of E. 10th Street remains unclear, the victim’s uncle has revealed that the women all knew each other.
‘It’s a small town. I knew one of their uncles. Their family, everyone has a connection, so it’s even harder. I worked with (the uncle) 30 years. They were close to us. What can you do,’ the unnamed uncle said in a phone interview with the Daily Mail from Del Rio.
The uncle did not speculate on the motive behind the attack, however, police revealed the whole confrontation and killing was captured on video from cameras at Faz’s house.
‘Carolina was observed arriving at Kyandra’s residence and exiting a black Dodge pickup truck,’ the criminal complaint stated.
‘Shortly after, a black Chrysler 300 arrives on scene, to which Amaya and Kitty exit and confront Carolina. Within the video footage, Amaya is observed exiting the front passenger seat of the vehicle and approaching Carolina.’
Kitty (left), 21, and Amaya Cookie (right), 19 have both been arrested
Another woman, Kyandra Renee Faz, 21, was also arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing
Amaya – who smirked and smiled as she was being arrested – arrived with a knife in her hand, police alleged.
‘Within the video footage, Amaya is observed with an object believed to be a knife in her right hand. Amaya and Carolina get into an altercation, and Amaya is observed striking Carolina in the back, where blood can be observed on the back of her shirt,’ the complaint reads.
Kitty and Faz later joined in in allegedly assaulting Pena. After that, all four women separated and left.
A photograph taken of the women after the attack was posted on a local Facebook page before later being removed.
The image shows Pena’s white top covered in blood.
Zelina Ochoa, the victim’s friend, said the image was especially difficult to process because she believes it illustrated the imbalance between the alleged attackers and the victim.
‘It’s a very powerful picture because it shows, you know, these three girls showed up with their weapons and Caro showed up with nothing but her hands,’ Ochoa said.
Pena went to a local hospital before she was taken to a hospital in San Antonio due to the severity of her wounds.
She died hours later.
Pena’s devastated friend said she would drop anything to help others, even when she had five children of her own to take care of
Her family spent Tuesday making funeral plans for her while caring for her kids ages 3-16.
‘Her kids are the ones that are taking it the hardest,’ Pena’s uncle told the Daily Mail. ‘The youngest one, she was going on three.’
Two of Pena’s kids are autistic. They’re being cared for my relatives in the wake of their mom’s death.
