Teen brothers told mom victim’s blood was ‘chili’

Two teen brothers have been charged with what prosecutors
call the brutal murder of a 15-year-old in Tacoma.

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

On the afternoon of June 1, the boys’ mother came home to
find blood and a recycling bin in her living room,
according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s
Office. 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 a press release from the
prosecutor’s office. “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.”

Prosecutors will charge the 16-year-old Arroyo as an adult
in accordance with state law. A judge will determine at a
later hearing whether to try the 14-year-old Arroyo as an
adult as well.