This is an update. El Tejano first told this story on September 13, 2026. El Tejano told more of it on September 19, 2026.
Deputies say a man shot and killed four people. It happened inside a home in San Benito. This was earlier this month. The man charged is Christian Joel Maldonado Pacheco. He is from Honduras. He faces a capital murder charge. That is the most serious murder charge in Texas. It can mean life in prison. It can also mean the death penalty. Pacheco also faces three charges of child endangerment. That means deputies say he put kids in danger. A judge already said no to bond. Pacheco must stay in jail until trial.
El Tejano first told the story of the killings and the arrest on September 13, 2026. Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/four-family-members-shot-dead-near-san-benito-suspect-caught/
Now court records show new facts about that night. An arrest affidavit says Pacheco called 911 himself. He called around 3:18 a.m. That was the day of the killings. This was after a night of drinking, the affidavit says. Dispatchers stayed on the phone. Pacheco kept talking. They heard kids crying. They heard gunshots too. The affidavit says so.
Dispatchers say Pacheco told them he used a Glock handgun. That is a type of pistol. He also said he was about to shoot another person. That person is only called "Ma" in the affidavit. Deputies with the Cameron County Sheriff's Office rushed to the home. They arrested Pacheco that same day. It was Sunday, September 13.
Court records say Pacheco confessed. That means he admitted he did it.
Court records also say Pacheco lived in that home for about four years. Leticia Vargas Fernandez is 67 years old. She had rented him a room there. Her family said she treated him like a son. El Tejano told that story in full on September 19, 2026. Read it here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/san-benito-woman-takes-in-a-stranger-four-years-later-he-is-charged-with-killing-her/
Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.
