Pharr brothers accused of killing their stepfather will have separate trials
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Two brothers from Pharr accused of killing their stepfather and dumping his body in McAllen will now be tried separately.
Christian and Alejandro Treviño have been in custody since the January 2022 assault they are charged with occurred. In July, they were given a joint October 27 trial date, but a judge ruled they will now be tried separately.
The Treviño brothers were previously identified as Mexican nationals, and court records show an ICE hold has been placed on them.
Christian and Alejandro were 17 and 18 years old when they were arrested in connection with the death of their stepfather, Gabriel Quintanilla. Quintanilla’s body was found in a field in McAllen on Jan. 20, 2022.
READ ABOUT THE INITIAL ARRESTS HERE
According to previous reports, the brothers and a friend identified as Juan Eduardo Melendez attacked Quintanilla after a minor said Quintanilla touched her inappropriately.
The Pharr Police Department confirmed at the time of the arrests that police had a warrant out for Quintanilla on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child for an unrelated case.
According to police, the trio severely beat Quintanilla with brass knuckles on three different occasions on the day he died before he was dumped in the field he was found in.
Police said Quintanilla may have still been alive when he was dropped off.
Channel 5 News reached out to a criminal defense attorney — who is not affiliated with the case — and asked why the judge may have decided to give the men separate trials.
“One person may be more culpable than the other, so therefore what they will do is they don't want the culpability of one to bias the jury against the person that might be less culpable so, you split the trials,” attorney Patrick Kennedy said.
RELATED STORY: Legal experts weigh in on Pharr homicide case
Hidalgo County court records show Melendez and Christian face charges of capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Alejandro faces an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge.
Court records also show that Alejandro and Melendez have trial dates set for Oct. 27, 2025.
Jury selection for Christian is set for Oct. 29.
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