SAN ANTONIO — Lorraine Carmona recalls wishing her brother happy new year just a day before he was found shot to death in Atascosa County.
She's now pleading for justice after authorities arrested two suspects who've been charged with murdering 24-year-old Lucio Carmona.
“I feel hurt. It really sucks because my brother didn’t deserve this, he didn’t deserve to die," Carmona said.
Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward announced the arrest of 25-year-old David Castleberry and 21-year-old Clarissa Guillen during a Friday press conference. Soward said the suspects knew Lucio through a third-party acquaintance.
The suspects and Lucio are all from San Antonio, according to authorities.
Law enforcement discovered the suspects in a stolen car outside a motel off Old High Way 90 West in San Antonio days after the murder. Castleberry reportedly shot and killed Lucio in Pleasanton around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Soward said the suspects confessed to the murder while being questioned by investigators.
At a Friday-night vigil for Carmona, family and friends gathered to celebrate his life, bringing a large cross, flowers and candles to leave on the roadside in his memory. Carmona's favorite song played as loved ones released balloons into the mild Pleasanton air. On them were written personal messages to a young life lost, and attendees said a quiet prayer, furnished by the thought that he is now reunited with his parents.
"Now he's with his mom, he's with our dad," said Lilly Carmona, another of his sisters. "The Carmona family, I would like for them to remember us. He was the third one; two of them are gone. The only one left is our grandpa."
Carmona's sisters shared their favorite memories of him, recalling how he was so protective over them but still loved to dance and sing. They called him a family man with a big heart.
An ongoing investigation
The sheriff's office noted the charges against Guillen and Castleberry could be upgraded to capital murder. But many questions remain surrounding the incident.
“Right now that’s one of the things we don’t know is why or how they ended up in Pleasanton. We’re still working on that," Soward said.
Lorraine Carmona misses hanging out and dancing with her brother. She noted he "went downhill" after the death of their mother one year ago.
“I hope they suffer and I hope they live with that guilt," she said.
The bond for the suspects' release is set at $800,000.
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