CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The family of a woman who was found dead in a home on Crews St. said they want justice for their loved one.
"I want the people to know that my sister was a caring person, she was a loving person, gosh, she trusted too much and she always looked for people to have a second chance and they took that from us," Amber Cornado, the sister of Melissa Hernandez said.
Hernandez was found dead by Corpus Christi police after her family asked officers to perform a welfare check on her last Friday. Family members told officers it was unusual for the 46-year-old to not contact them often.
The man at the home, identified now as 62-year-old Hector Davila, would not let officers inside to perform the welfare check, officials said in a statement, and that led officers to believe the woman was in danger.
A search warrant was issued for the home and Hernandez was found dead inside, the statement said. The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office said Hernandez died from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds.
Davila was arrested and charged with murder.
Hernandez's family said she was Davila's primary caretaker and spent most of her time at the home. They said Hernandez previously told them Davila could be possessive at times but she did not think he would hurt her.
A couple of weeks ago, Hernandez told her family that Davila was on parole for a murder he was convicted of in the early 1990s. We searched Nueces County criminal records and found he was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1992, but was transferred to the parole division's custody in 2013.
Hernandez told her family she was going to leave and had plans to move to San Antonio the weekend her body was found.
Her family is in disbelief but hopeful justice will be served.
"I don't need the best lawyer, I could have the lowest of the low and I'm telling you, Jesus Christ is going to come through for me," Melissa's daughter, Jacqueline Hernandez, said.
Her sister Amber wants to make sure Davila can never tear apart another family again.
"We are going to fight for the justice system to change, so that this never happens again, that he does not have a chance ever again in his whole life to do this to another family," Cornado said.
They said they are grateful for the law enforcement that helped put Davila behind bars and for getting their loved one's body out of that home so she could be laid to rest.
Donations are being accepted for funeral expenses for Hernandez.