Texas teenagers accused of murdering man who allegedly sexually assaulted young relative: Police

Three teenagers were taken into custody in connection the murder of a man who allegedly assaulted a young child, police said.

On Jan. 20, a young relative of Gabriel Quintanilla, 43, accused him of sexual assault. Two other relatives, Alejandro and Christian Treviño, heard about the allegation and confronted Quintanilla at a residence in Pharr and got into a fight with him.

After the fight, Quintanilla left the home and Christian Treviño, 17, chased after him and allegedly assaulted him a second time.

Police said AlejandroTreviño, 18, and a friend, Juan Eduardo Melendez, then caught up to the pair and allegedly also began fighting Quintanilla.

After the second assault, police claimed, the trio left but then returned to Quintanilla and beat him for a third time before putting him into the bed of a pickup truck and dumping him in an open field in McCallen.

Investigators believe Quintanilla was beat with brass knuckles and was alive when the suspects allegedly left him in the field, where he was found dead later that day of apparent blunt force trauma to the head.

All three teenagers were charged with aggravated assault and engaging in criminal activity. Christian Treviño and Melendez also face one count of capital murder, KVEO-TV reported.

The suspects were each being held on $500,000 bond

Before his death, Quintanilla was wanted on a charge of continuous sexual assault of a child and assault, police said.

“This investigation was complex having multiple scenes,” Pharr Chief of Police Andy Harvey Jr. noted. “I am proud of how our detectives were able to put the pieces together in such a short time.”