On May 13, 2023, at about 4:03 a.m. deputies responded to a residence in Cameron Park near Brownsville, Texas, and found 22-year-old Jose Alejandro Coco Castillo Villarreal dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators quickly identified a 16-year-old male suspect who had fled the scene; deputies apprehended him shortly thereafter and charged him with first-degree murder.

A Cameron County grand jury later indicted the juvenile, identified as Manuel Faustino Martinez, on murder, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for threatening two people, and deadly conduct for firing toward four people, including Castillo. Martinez was held first at the Darrel B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center and later transferred to the Cameron County Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center with bonds totaling more than $500,000; arraignment was set for late January 2024.

No motive has been disclosed and the investigation remains active. If anyone has information about Castillo, his movements that night, or the shooting, please come forward.