Father Shoots Daughter's Girlfriend & Her Mother in Austin, Texas

A Texas man reportedly gunned down a young woman and her mother, in a double slaying that authorities say was prompted by his anger over his daughter's same-sex relationship.

Jose Alfonso Aviles, 45, drove to the Austin home of Norma Hurtado, 24, in the company of another man, where he shot and killed Hurtado and her mother, Maria, 57, news accounts said.

Austin newspaper the Statesman reported that Aviles' daughter--an 18-year-old not named in media accounts--had been seeing Hurtado for some time. The relationship had caused friction between Aviles' family and the Hurtados. On the evening of April 18, that friction came to a tragic head when Aviles and an accomplice drove to the Hurtados' home, knocked on the door, and then shot and killed both Norma and Maria when the door was answered.

Aviles' daughter was also at the house, and heard the gunshots. When she investigated, she found the two women dead. Her father and the other man had fled the scene in a green SUV, media accounts said.

Roselia Martinez, Aviles' wife, told police that her husband was drunk and might have been involved in the shootings, reported Australian newspaper the Herald Sun on April 20. She said that she believed her husband had a gun.

Aviles was arrested the following morning in Bexar County, near San Antonio, and has been charged with capital murder. A relative said that Aviles had confessed to having "done something" after having gotten drunk, the article said.

"This had been an ongoing dispute between these families, and it turned tragic, into a horrific act of violence, with the death of two individuals," according to a spokesperson for the Austin police, Lt. Gena Curtis.

Aviles sent a threatening text message in which he said that he would kill Norma and her mother, according to a friend of the slain 24-year-old. The text was sent about a month before the killings.

"We do know that the father had threatened harm toward Norma previously," Curtis told the press according to an April 19 story at Austin news channel KVUE. "This has been a dispute between these two individuals, and subsequently we have suffered a horrific act of violence in our community." The article said that police were not investigating the incident as a hate crime. Police said that determining whether the slayings were bias-motivated was up to the attorney general's office.

However, because Texas law states that penalties for hate crimes will not be enhanced if the offense in question is a capital crime, prosecutors would not see their case benefit from pursuing such charges, the Dallas Voice pointed out in an April 20 article. If convicted, Aviles may face the death penalty.

GLBT online bloggers reacted with horror.

"My God," posted Kevin Farrell at Unicorn Booty on April 19. "Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Norma and Maria Hurtado, as well as the surviving Aviles daughter, who watched as the family who embraced her were gunned down by the family who rejected her.

"I can't remember a story ever giving me chills like this tragedy," Farrell added.

The city's leaders also spoke up.

"As a leader of our community's newly formed Hate Crimes Task Force, it is clear that we need to work harder than ever to come together as a community to condemn any and all incidents that are motivated by hate, discrimination and prejudice," said Randi Shade, who sits on the Austin City Council, local radio station KUT reported on April 20.

Aviles' reported accomplice remained at large.