Southwest
Texas police hunt killer after teen found dead in ditch 'like an animal'
Texas police are searching for the person who killed a 17-year-old San Antonio girl who was found dead in a ditch on Tuesday evening, about an hour after she was reported missing, according to her family and local authorities.
San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officers located Kaitlin Hernandez’s body just before 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a “drainage ditch” beneath a bridge on the 7600 block of Dell Oak Drive, SAPD said in a Wednesday Facebook post.
“We need to find out who did this, because she didn’t deserve to be left there like an animal. It’s just very ugly and cruel,” Angie Hernandez, the victim’s mother, told FOX San Antonio. “I don’t know what this person was thinking, why they targeted her. I don’t understand.”
On Thursday, SAPD announced that they had detained a person of interest, who is “cooperating and assisting in the investigation.”
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Kaitlin Hernandez was about to graduate high school in May. (family handout)
“Detectives are still investigating. This is an active and ongoing investigation,” SAPD told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The person of interest shown in our previous social media post is cooperating with the investigation. There have not been any arrests at this time.”
Hernandez died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, according to FOX San Antonio.
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San Antonio Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in the case.
San Antonio, Texas, teen Kaitlin Hernandez was found dead beneath a bridge after she went missing on Tuesday evening. (Google Maps)
Crystal Rodriguez, Hernandez’s aunt, organized a GoFundMe for the teenager’s grieving family, saying they are in a “state of shock” after Hernandez was “found murdered” just four months after her sister died.
“[T]his feels so unreal to us. We ask that you help out with anything,” Rodriguez said in a description of the GoFundMe page. “We’re trying to have a proper funeral service for her. As we just laid her sister down to rest [four] months ago, now they’re together in heaven.”
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San Antonio, Texas, police are looking for the person who brutally murdered Kaitlin Hernandez on Tuesday evening. (GoFundMe)
On the night she went missing, she left home to go on a walk with a male friend, Hernandez’s family told FOX San Antonio. The friend returned home, but Hernandez did not.
Police detained the friend for questioning, in addition to the person of interest, but authorities have not made any arrests so far.
Hernandez was about to graduate from Roosevelt High School in May, her aunt said.
Kaitlin Hernandez’s family are desperate for answers after the 17-year-old high school senior was found dead on Tuesday evening. (family handout)
“She was funny, always making other people laugh. She loved her family so much and we loved her. She loved her dogs, she always slept with them. We miss her dearly,” Rodriguez wrote.
Any information leading to the identity of this person of interest, please contact the SAPD Homicide unit at 210-207-7635 and provide them with case number SAPD24055687.
A vigil for the teenager will be held on Friday at 6 p.m. at 118 Ashland Drive.
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Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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