This is an update to a story El Tejano first reported on September 13, 2026, called "Four Family Members Shot Dead Near San Benito, Suspect Caught." Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/four-family-members-shot-dead-near-san-benito-suspect-caught/

Cameron County deputies have filed charges in the killing of four people inside a San Benito home. The man charged is Christian Joel Maldonado Pacheco. He is from Honduras. Deputies say he lives in the U.S. without papers.

Pacheco faces a capital murder charge. That is the worst murder charge in Texas. It can mean life in prison or the death penalty. Texas uses that charge when a crime kills more than one person. A regular murder charge is usually just one victim. Pacheco also faces three child endangerment charges. Those charges mean he put kids at risk, even though the kids were not hurt.

A judge said no to bond on Monday. The judge said Pacheco is a danger to the public. The judge also said he might run. His first court date was at the Cameron County jail. Deputies then talked to reporters.

San Benito is a small city in Cameron County. It sits in the Rio Grande Valley. About 25,000 people live there. Deputies say no one else took part in the killings.

Deputies say Pacheco lived in the home for about four years. Leticia Vargas Fernandez, 67, let him rent a room there. Her daughter, Alba Cortez, said her mom treated him like family.

"About four years ago, he came looking for some help," Cortez said. "My mom offered him a room in her house, and over time we started living together as a family."

Now Vargas Fernandez is dead. She was one of four people killed in the home. It sits in the 32000 block of Road 819, south of San Benito. The other victims were a 50 year old man and a 29 year old man. The fourth was a 28 year old woman. Deputies have not said their names.

A driver called 911 early Sunday. The driver saw someone on the ground near Russell Lane. That person was one of the four victims. About an hour later, deputies got a second call. It came from inside the home. The caller was Pacheco. Deputies went inside and found the other three victims.

El Tejano first told this story on September 13. Deputies had just caught a suspect then. No charges had been filed yet. Now he faces a capital murder charge. He sits in jail with no bond.

Deputies also found three kids inside the house. They were 9 years old, 5 years old, and 2 months old. The kids were not hurt. That is why deputies filed those charges.

Deputies found a gun outside the home. They think it is the gun used in the killings.

Deputies say Pacheco told them he did it. He gave them one reason. Deputies could not check if it was true.

Sheriff Manuel Trevino has run the department since January 2025. He told reporters that reason.

"His motive was that he was tired of being bullied," Trevino said. "There is nothing to corroborate that statement."

Cortez said her family wants justice. She wants to know why Pacheco turned on the woman who helped him.

Deputies have not said what caused the attack. They have not named any other suspects. The case stays open.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.