Background: The 1300 block of Wembley Drive in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the victim died (Google Maps). Inset: Christian Caraballo (Mecklenburg County Sheriff”s Office).
A man from North Carolina faces accusations of fatally assaulting and strangling his uncle in the backyard of their family residence in Charlotte.
Christian Heredia Caraballo, aged 19, has been charged with the homicide of his 50-year-old uncle, Ernesto Caraballo Toledo, according to a statement from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Although the arrest took place on Tuesday, the incident itself occurred in October.
In the early hours of October 18, just before 2 a.m., Caraballo, Toledo, and two additional family members were present at their home located on the 1300 block of Wembley Drive in Charlotte, the state’s largest city. While Caraballo and Toledo were outside in the backyard, the other family members were asleep inside.
As detailed in an affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Caraballo returned indoors and informed the family members that “something happened and they needed to come outside.” He exhibited “numerous cuts on his hands and a possible ear injury,” for which he had no explanation.
When police officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Toledo on the ground outside, suffering from head trauma. Despite the quick response from paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the location.
Near Toledo’s body, a “broken rock-like paver” was found in two halves, according to the affidavit. The backyard furniture was disrupted, some pieces broken and overturned. Additionally, “[b]lood drops and handprints were located throughout the rear of the house, in the kitchen and the living room.”
The other two family members at the scene gave “consistent statements” that they were inside in bed when Caraballo told them they needed to go outside, authorities said. The suspect, however, “had a different story.”
Caraballo claimed Toledo was outside by himself for about five minutes when he went to check on his uncle and found him dead. He said, “He did not know how the blood got everywhere and did not know how the furniture got broken.”
An autopsy performed on Toledo determined that, in addition to trauma to his head, “he also had been strangled.” According to the police, Caraballo’s DNA “matched swabs taken from the murder weapon, under the victim’s fingernails, and on a suspected bite mark on the victim’s arm.”
Authorities have not released what they believe led to the alleged violent confrontation.
Caraballo was placed in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center and is being held without bond. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 23.
