When Kaitlin Hernandez left her San Antonio home Tuesday evening to hang out with friends, she had bright, indefinite dreams as she prepared to graduate from high school.
“Now we have to bury her,” Crystal Rodriguez, the 17-year-old’s aunt said Wednesday, after her niece was found dead under a bridge only a few hours after leaving home, according to KENS-TV.
Hernandez’s family reported the girl, who had dreams of becoming a veterinarian, missing at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers found her naked, trauma-covered body an hour later.
“I actually saw two males standing next to the ditch shining like a light down there,” a neighbor told KENS. The station did not use the neighbor’s name.
PLEASE SHARE | Kaitlin Hernandez was found deceased early this morning after going for a walk with a friend in her Northeast Side neighborhood. Now, police are on the lookout for the person of interest: https://t.co/uwHuVbwZoX pic.twitter.com/FeXubKzv5S
— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) March 14, 2024
“After a couple of seconds of that I then heard a female shout “Hey!’ I want to say it was in the ditch. It echoed like it was in the ditch. But then after that it just kind of went quiet,” the neighbor said.
Searchers found the teen’s phone in the ditch, and a blue jacket there as well. Her body was then found under a bridge.
Officials said she was strangled to death.
Will Hernandez’s killer be found?
Police said a man who was with Hernandez Tuesday night has been questioned, and that they are seeking a second person.
“She was innocent,” Rodriguez said of the senior at Roosevelt High School. “She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
On Thursday, Angie Hernandez visited a memorial set up for her daughter.
“I don’t know what this person was thinking, why they took my daughter, why they targeted her, I don’t understand,” Angie Hernandez said, according to KENS-TV.
“The kid’s never been in trouble, she’s always been a good child so how they could do this is beyond me,” she said. “We’re hurting so much, I don’t know how to put it into words. We’re trying to stay strong for one another but it’s just killing us, killing us.”
Rodriguez said her niece’s family expected Kaitlin to be back in an hour and began to worry when she was late.
“These neighborhoods are dangerous. We would never let a 17-year-old walk around with a friend late at night,” she said.
Rodriguez said she believes someone saw something, and vowed she will not let the case grow cold without an arrest.
HEARTBREAKING PLEA 💔 | Kaitlin Hernandez’s aunt, Crystal Rodriguez, shared a heartbreaking plea with the public to help find the suspect responsible for her niece’s tragic death. https://t.co/5KjkpMfLiB pic.twitter.com/uVPuNkXNUQ
— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) March 14, 2024
“I’m the one that’s going to speak for her until the day I die. I will find justice for my niece,” Rodriguez said.
San Antonio Crime Stoppers has posted a $5,000 reward for information that will help police catch whoever killed Kaitlin.
