SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police responded to several civil disturbance calls involving the murder suspect in the hours leading up to the death of Stephen Sanders, according to the incident report.
A makeshift memorial filled with flowers and candles has formed in Sanders’ front yard.
“He was a good guy, a good heart, just very genuine. Wanted to be everybody’s friend,” said Carla Sanders, reflecting on the life of her brother, Stephen. “It’s just really comforting people care about him the way that they do.”
Anna Orourke, 58, was arrested and charged with murder. She’s accused of using her vehicle to run over Sanders, 56, just before 2 a.m. on Monday.
Carla’s brother-in-law informed her over the phone about what happened to Sanders.
“I said what, what and he said Stephen’s dead and I said what do you mean, what do you mean Stephen’s dead, what happened,” Carla said, recounting the phone call with family. “Anna ran him over with her car and I just jumped up and screamed and cried because yes it was completely unexpected.”
As Carla grieves, she’s also searching for answers on whether authorities could have done anything to prevent the tragedy. She said Orourke was known by numerous neighbors for her unpredictable and odd behavior. The interactions weren’t limited to her brother.
“Screaming and the yelling, if you were awake, she was gonna taunt you. I don’t know if that’s the right word but she was going to interact with you in a very unusual way,” Carla said. “Why wasn’t this situation handled previously is the biggest question, why was something not done about her.”
According to police documents, officers had been called out to the residential area of Putman Farm Street and Big Meadows Lane at least six times regarding civil disturbances involving Orourke and Sanders.
Police noted in the report that during previous calls, officers advised Orourke to stay inside her home to avoid escalated disturbances and to not engage with Sanders. Orourke refused to go back inside her home, saying she felt safer outside her residence, according to the report.
SAPD said Orourke and Sanders had been arguing throughout the day on Monday, although the content of their dispute was not made known in police documents.
Carla is now letting the justice system take over.
“I want her (Orourke) to be somewhere that she is safe to never hurt another person again," Carla said.
A GoFundMe has been setup to raise money for Stephen Sanders’ funeral expenses.