Son kills stepdad at family gathering and mom tries to take blame, Texas cops say

A Texas woman tried to take the blame for her son after police say he fatally stabbed his stepfather at a family gathering, news outlets report.

Officers responded to a domestic violence call on El Paso’s northwest side at about 4 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, police said in a news release. They arrived to find 40-year-old Angel Martin Herrera wounded, and he was taken to a hospital where he died.

His stepson, Raymundo Morales, 19, is accused of killing him, KFOX reported, citing court records.

However, when police first began investigating the incident, Morales’ mother said she had stabbed Herrera and not her son, the station reported. But after speaking with witnesses, whose accounts pointed at Morales, police say she admitted that she hadn’t killed Herrera.

There was a family gathering at the home the night of the stabbing, and people had been drinking, KTSM reported. Morales became angry at a woman and attacked — hitting and choking her — until his stepdad tried to intervene, and Morales responded by plunging a knife into his neck, police said.

Morales told police that he stabbed his stepdad with a kitchen knife because he was mad at him for pushing his mother during the gathering, the outlet reported. But his story doesn’t match with what witnesses say, as nobody saw Herrera become physical with Morales’ mother, or anyone else, according to police.

Morales was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a charge of murder, police said. His bond is set at $650,000.

This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Son kills stepdad at family gathering and mom tries to take blame, Texas cops say."