Prosecutors: Brothers filmed, taunted victim’s dead body

A 14-year-old who is accused of helping his teen brother
commit murder could be tried as an adult, the Pierce
County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday.

The office also released information about new evidence in the case, which allegedly includes video of the defendants taunting the victim’s dead body and a plan to kill a witness.

Brothers Luis Arroyo, 16, and Cristobal Arroyo, 14, have
been charged with first degree murder in the death of 15-
year-old Hector Hernandez-Valdez. Both have pleaded not
guilty.

Prosecutors will charge the 16-year-old Arroyo as an adult
in accordance with state law.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist has filed a legal
brief, urging the court to treat the 14-year-old Arroyo as
an adult as well.

“This is a brutal adult-sized crime that calls for adult-
sized accountability,” Lindquist said in a statement.
“Justice and common sense calls for the defendants to be
tried together as adults.”

The brothers are accused of stabbing Hernandez-Valdez to
death on June 1.

According to charging documents, their mother came home in
the afternoon to find blood and a recycling bin in her
living room. When she noticed towels and “reddish-brown”
stains on the floor, her sons claimed to be cleaning up
“chili” that they had spilled while making lunch.

When the mother went upstairs to find a boy’s body lying
on a sheet, she walked to a nearby police station to
report the crime.

Meanwhile, police say the boys wrapped the victim’s body
in a blanket and placed it in a recycling bin in the alley
behind the residence.

Prosecutors say the victim had come to the home to meet
with the older defendant, who subsequently attacked him in
an attempt to steal his marijuana and cash. While the
elder of the two stabbed the victim with a knife, his
younger brother attacked him with a “large nail” in the
back and neck, according to prosecutors.

“The brothers then moved the victim into the bathtub to
‘drain him,'” according to court documents. “The victim
was still alive and making noises. One of the brothers cut
his throat to kill him.”

Investigators say the victim suffered more than 34 stab
wounds, and the blade of a knife “appeared to be broken
off in the victim’s head.”

A cell phone video uncovered by investigators, that prosecutors say was recorded by one of the brothers, allegedly depicts the Arroyos taunting the victim after his death. It shows the victim’s body lying face down in the bathtub, according to prosecutors.

“The brothers’ voices can be heard in the video, swearing at and taunting the lifeless body,” according to prosecutors.

Based on a hand-written note found at the scene, prosecutors also believe the teens planned to kill a witness as well: their 7-year-old relative.

The note, according to prosecutors, included a series of check boxes labeled: “lay out bags, shut her up, hammer her bones, cutting off limbs, cutting off head, cutting open,” and “done.”