TX - Stepfather Fatally Shoots Teen Sisters Before Shooting Himself

Shocked and grief-stricken mourners, friends and guests continue to flock on Sunday to the home of slain teen sisters who were horrifically found shot to death alongside their stepfather in their home in Katy, Texas.

Initial reports from authorities say the heartbreaking incident could be a case of murder-suicide. The teen sisters have been identified as Isabella, 15, and Maria Perez, 14.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rest In Peace, Isabella &amp; Maria Perez. 🙏🏻 Deputies say their stepfather, Victor Portillo, shot them to death before turning the gun on himself. There’s a growing memorial outside their Katy home. Details on the investigation -&gt; <a href="https://t.co/VHX4pAL1RK">https://t.co/VHX4pAL1RK</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/abc13?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#abc13</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hounews?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hounews</a> <a href="https://t.co/I0qZFQDOqC">pic.twitter.com/I0qZFQDOqC</a></p>&mdash; Steve Campion (@SteveABC13) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveABC13/status/1059511505572544512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The horrible murders were discovered after the teens’ mother, Reyna Isabel Perez, returned home from a night out at around 3:30 a.m. and became alarmed when she was unable to find her daughters and husband at home. She then sought the help of the police.

Responding deputies discovered the tragedy when they found the teens and their stepfather, Victor Portillo, shot to death in the bedroom.

County Sheriff Ed Gonzales said the slayings were “likely a murder of two and a suicide.” Gonzales also added that such a tragedy could have arisen from a possible act of domestic violence. He, however, declined to elaborate for now on the nature of the said domestic violence.

The exact motivation for the slayings remains unclear.

Isabella’s best friend, Jessica Hernandez, also said that at times the teen hinted that something was not quite right in her family, but always held back in sharing details about whatever it was that was bothering her about her family.

Jessica shared: “She always said there were problems but she could never really talk about it. It was too hard for her. I didn’t force her to tell me anything.”

A next-door neighbor of the family said she did not hear any gunfire coming from the fatalities’ home during the night or until the wee hours of the morning when the shocking discovery was made. She only realized something was wrong when she woke up in the morning and saw police investigators outside.

Harris County records show that Portillo owned the home where deputies found the dead bodies. It is not yet fully established, however, where exactly the three were shot. Gonzales would only say the slayings likely occurred inside the home. Before that, he said that it was “wide open in terms of what could have occurred.”

The teens’ shocked friends continue to express their sympathy and love to the sisters they lost too soon and in such tragic circumstances by visiting the teens’ home, leaving letters and flowers there, as well as posting messages online.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today we shed shed tears for 2 beautiful souls that were taken away from us María Fernanda Perez and Isabella Perez 💗….all the beautiful smiles and laughs we had are memories I will forever cherish….Rest Easy Girls😭💗</p>&mdash; Alisha Montoya (@alishaamontoya) <a href="https://twitter.com/alishaamontoya/status/1059288406017130496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Carrying flowers, toy soccer balls and cards, more than a dozen teens have come to the Katy home where their friends, Maria Perez and her sister Isabella, were shot and killed this morning. <a href="https://twitter.com/keribla?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@keribla</a>’s story from earlier: <a href="https://t.co/RtfCJsK3Ik">https://t.co/RtfCJsK3Ik</a> <a href="https://t.co/tAlq7c7xpc">pic.twitter.com/tAlq7c7xpc</a></p>&mdash; Nicole Hensley (@nkhensley) <a href="https://twitter.com/nkhensley/status/1059208398804267008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jessica Hernandez learned on social media that hours earlier, her best friend had been killed: &quot;“Everyone was posting about it in Snapchat and Instagram. I didn’t believe it … I cried, mostly yelled, not believing that it was true.” <a href="https://t.co/mEtec68y75">https://t.co/mEtec68y75</a></p>&mdash; Nicole Hensley (@nkhensley) <a href="https://twitter.com/nkhensley/status/1059285578607403009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Source:

https://www.wgal.com/article/sheriff-stepfather-two-teenage-girls-dead-from-likely-murder-suicide/24659200