Devastated Texas family mourns grandfather, 66, and his four grandkids after Mexican Mafia hitman escaped prison bus and slayed them
- Community of Centerville, Texas is reeling following the slayings on Thursday
- Escaped inmate serving life for murder killed a grandfather and four grandkids
- Slain were Mark Collins, 66, Waylon, 18, Carson, 16, Hudson, 11, and Bryson, 11
- The family members were visiting Mark’s ranch from the Houston suburbs
- Friends and family mourned the loss at a vigil on the outskirts of Houston
- Killer Gonzalo Lopez died late on Thursday in a shootout with police
- He was a Mexican Mafia gang member and contract killer for two cartels
The loved ones of a grandfather and his four grandkids killed by an escaped convict in Texas this week are reeling following their senseless deaths.
On Friday night, community members turned out for a vigil in the Houston suburb of Tomball to mourn the deaths of grandfather Mark Collins, 66, brothers Waylon, 18, Carson, 16, and Hudson, 11, and their cousin Bryson, also 11.
The five family members were slain on Thursday soon after arriving on a weekend visit to the family’s ranch in Centerville, about 100 miles north of Houston, where Mexican Mafia hitman Gonzalo Lopez was apparently hiding out after escaping from a prison transport van in the area three weeks ago.
Lopez killed the family, stole their truck as well as a pistol and AR-15 rifle, and was killed late on Thursday in a shootout with police after an all-points bulletin was issued on the stolen vehicle.
‘These precious people who loved and were loved by so many, will never be forgotten,’ the Collins family said in a statement.
Waylon Collins, 18, played baseball at Tomball High School, where he had just graduated, and also worked as an umpire for Little League games
Brothers Waylon, 18, Carson, 16, and Hudson, 11, (together left) and their cousin Bryson, also 11 (right) were killed alongside their grandfather at the family’s Texas ranch on Thursday
Grandfather Mark Collins, 66, was taking the four boys out to the family ranch for a weekend of fishing, boating, and target shooting
Collins family pastor Steve Benzer described the the family as one of ‘the greatest character, the deepest faith, and unrelenting kindness and love.’
‘They have treated me, my family and this church with deep generosity as long as they have been here, they have been pillars in this church, and in this community now for over 40 years,’ he added.
‘And we are heartbroken with them over this tragedy that has struck their family,’ he said.
The murders occurred in the small town of Centerville, about 100 miles north of where the family lived in the northwest Houston suburb of Tomball.
‘This is something that you can´t imagine ever to happen in a small community like this,’ said Tuffy Loftin, 61, a pastor in Centerville who knew the family.
Centerville residents had been worried ever since May 12, when Lopez overpowered the officer who was driving him and 15 other prisoners near their community between Dallas and Houston.
Lopez had been the subject of an intensive search since his escape. He was shot dead by officers in Jourdantown, Texas, on June 2
The crashed prison bus that Lopez was traveling in when he escaped on May 12. Lopez was on the loose for three weeks, and may have been hiding on or near the Collins ranch
Mounted police are seen searching the area for Lopez after his escape from a prison bus. Officials said that ‘a serious incident review’ is underway with regard to Lopez’s escape
Following his escape, law enforcement vigorously patrolled Highway 7 and other roads in Centerville, escorting many of the city´s nearly 1,000 residents to their homes to ensure they felt safe.
Jean Davis, 70, who owns a feed and fertilizer store on the east side of town, said her husband wanted her to take a rifle and pistol to work, but she refused.
‘The town has really been on edge, especially that first 10 days when he was out missing and nobody knew where he was,’ said Davis, who lives about 15 miles away in Buffalo.
State troopers, Texas Department of Criminal Justice officers, the U.S. Marshals service and sheriff’s deputies from Leon County – which includes Centerville – searched the area for Lopez for weeks with no luck.
Concerns over his whereabouts were justified: Lopez’s long criminal history included convictions for capital murder, attempted capital murder, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
Lopez was serving two consecutive life sentences when he escaped
A Wanted poster provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Gonzalo Lopez. Authorities say that Lopez escaped from a prison transport bus on May 12
Authorities said he belonged to the Mexican Mafia, which is a prison gang, and was a contract killer for at least two drug cartels.
In a confession to authorities, Lopez said he had been on his way to Laredo to kill a restaurant and bar owner for the Mileno drug cartel from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in 2004 when he became embroiled in a shootout with deputies who tried to stop his vehicle.
Lopez escaped to Mexico with the help of the Mexican Mafia.
In March 2005, Lopez said he was contracted by La Mana drug cartel from Tamaulipas, Mexico, to kidnap a man named Lupe Ramirez from Weslaco in South Texas because he owed the cartel $40,000, according to court records.
Lopez and another person kidnapped Ramirez and left him ‘hog tied in an outside room of my mom´s residence’ as they went to pick up money and marijuana that Ramirez´s family had left for them, according to court records.
Lopez later bludgeoned Ramirez’s head with a pickaxe and buried his body in a desert.
Lopez had been serving a life sentence for capital murder for Ramirez´s death and a life sentence for attempted capital murder for the 2004 shootout with deputies, when he escaped from the prison bus.
Grandfather Mark Collins was taking his grandkids to the family ranch when they were ambushed and killed
Authorities maintained nearly 40 roving patrols, believing he remained in the area around Centerville, possibly entering unoccupied structures to look for food, water and clothing, said Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
At around 6 p.m. on Thursday, authorities went to a home near Centerville for a welfare check and discovered five bodies.
In a statement, their family identified the dead as 66-year-old Mark Collins, and his four grandsons: Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; Hudson Collins, 11; and Bryson Collins, 11. Waylon, Carson and Hudson were brothers and Bryson was their cousin.
Waylon graduated from high school last week, according to the grandfather’s brother-in-law, who posted on Facebook about the murder.
He described the loss of his family members as ‘unbearable.’