Texas Man Shot and Killed by Nephew in Dispute Over Pet Roosters: A Shocking Tragedy

A Texas fam­i­ly is in mourn­ing after a roost­er own­er­ship dis­pute led to a fatal shoot­ing in the Rio Grande Val­ley. The trag­ic inci­dent high­lights the dan­gers of esca­lat­ing argu­ments and has left the com­mu­ni­ty grap­pling for answers.

21-Year-Old Charged with Cap­i­tal Murder

Accord­ing to the Hidal­go Coun­ty Sher­if­f’s Office, 21-year-old Aaron Cer­vantes has been charged with cap­i­tal mur­der after alleged­ly shoot­ing and killing his 54-year-old uncle, Fer­nan­do Madrid, on Thurs­day morning.

Con­fronta­tion at Rur­al Mis­sion Home

Fam­i­ly mem­bers resid­ing at Madrid’s rur­al Mis­sion home report­ed that Cer­vantes, accom­pa­nied by anoth­er rel­a­tive, arrived to reclaim two roost­ers he claimed belonged to him. The sit­u­a­tion report­ed­ly esca­lat­ed quick­ly when Madrid con­front­ed Cer­vantes as he attempt­ed to take the birds.

Author­i­ties allege a phys­i­cal alter­ca­tion ensued, cul­mi­nat­ing in Cer­vantes draw­ing a hand­gun and fatal­ly shoot­ing his uncle inside the residence.

Death Penal­ty on the Table

Offi­cers arrived at the scene around 4:00 AM to find Madrid deceased in a bath­room from a gun­shot wound. Pros­e­cu­tors in Texas have the option to seek the death penal­ty or life impris­on­ment with­out parole in cap­i­tal mur­der cas­es. Cer­vantes is cur­rent­ly held on a $2 mil­lion bond in the Hidal­go Coun­ty Jail.

Fam­i­ly in Grief, GoFundMe Launched

The tragedy has deeply impact­ed the fam­i­ly. Lynette Garzaa, Madrid’s step­daugh­ter, has cre­at­ed a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his funer­al. In a heart­felt Face­book post, Garzaa expressed the fam­i­ly’s grief, stat­ing, “My step­dad Fer­nan­do Madrid was mur­dered at his own home. We are ask­ing every­one for help to give Fer­nan­do Madrid a prop­er funer­al; any­thing will be great­ly appreciated.”