A Brownsville man is speaking to Channel 5 News after his sister was killed in Houston and her boyfriend was charged with murder.

Eric Andrade said that, growing up, he and his sister Vicktoria Robles didn’t have a father - so he took it upon himself to try to fill that role for his baby sister.

"It was fun being brother and dad at the same time to her,” Andrade said. “I learned a lot. I learned how to raise my own children, i learned how to smile in different ways."

Andrade found out about his sister's death on Monday, the day police say they found her body inside the apartment she shared in Houston with her boyfriend - James Christopher Ochoa. 

A probable cause affidavit says Ochoa shot Robles and took their daughter to his mother’s house near Austin before turning himself in to police.

A Tuesday news release from the Houston Police Department said Ochoa was charged with murder. 

Andrade says he didn't even know the couple was having problems.

“My mother would continuously tell me, ‘No they're fine, they're a happy couple,’" Andrade said. "And that's why I feel so guilty, because I’m her big brother and I swear, I swear with all my heart I tried to look out for her the best I could but I couldn't see through the words she was saying."

Andrade said he's going to try to get his sister’s body back to the Valley so she can be buried in Brownsville. He also wants his niece – Josephine - to live with him and his family.

"Ultimately, for the safety of my niece to be insured, I would like for her to come home with us where a neutral environment is - where we are family," Andrade said. “I would also like to bring closure to my sister's situation. I would like to bring her home and lay her to rest close to my grandma and close to my family where she's not alone.”