Rio Grande City police arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly stabbing his grandfather multiple times and fleeing the scene after another family member frantically called 911 on Monday, according to Assistant Police Chief Jose Solis.
Andrew Villalon was charged with one count of murder for the death of 81-year-old Joseph Seale.
According to Solis, police received a call about 6:51 p.m. that evening from a “frantic” female family member who was at a residence on Kennedy Street.
Solis said their communications people managed to calm the caller and she explained that Villalon had stabbed his grandfather and “had taken off running” eastbound.
While one group of officers searched for the suspect, officers at the residence found Seale dead from multiple stab wounds.
“So, it went from an aggravated assault to a murder,” Solis said.
Police located Villalon east of the residence on Teodora Drive with the alleged murder weapon on him, but he was taken into custody without incident after he dropped the knife.
Villalon is being held without bond, according to the Starr County jail website.
Solis said the investigation is still ongoing.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to replace a mugshot after the Rio Grande City police informed that the person in the photo, which was taken from the county’s public jail roster, is not Villalon. This story now contains the correct mugshot.
