Today the two teenage brothers accused of raping and then murdering a Lord's Bank domestic spent their first full day on remand in Boot Camp at the Hattieville Prison. The brothers are charged for last Friday's ruthless murder of 20-year-old domestic Mara Noemi Garcia with what police now say was a samurai sword. Police say that using the razor sharp blade, the teens almost cut the young woman's head off. It's a shocking crime but even more shocking is the age of the suspects who are 15 and 16 years old. So what would make two teenagers commit such a cruel murder? It's the question those who knew the brothers are still asking and Keith went to them looking for answers today.
Keith SwiftReporting, Email - [keithkswift@gmail.com]
The arrest of two brothers for the horrific murder of Mara Garcia is a tale of two brothers whose only thing in common may be the mother they never knew.
Rose Hall, Paternal Grandmother of Accused
"I didn't know Robert to be around his brother too much because when he was living here he used to go to this school and his brother was in jail so how would he have been a bad boy with him."
Keith Swift,
Can you describe the relationship they had?
Rose Hall,
"I don't know the relationship because I haven't seen them together yet. I don't know Robert's brother, I only saw him one time."
Rose Hall is the paternal grandmother of the 16 year old. He suffered brain damage at age 7 but next week he was due to graduate from a vocational school to become a mechanic. Instead he is sitting in a jail cell, awaiting trial for a beastly murder, and hall, who has raised Robert for the past 4 years says he doesn't belong there.
Rose Hall,
"Robert is loving and when you tell him something he listens. He listens, sometimes he gets vex, but he still listens; he considers it and he listens."
Keith Swift,
You told me you haven't visited Robert yet, you can't face him, why is that?
Rose Hall,
"Because I couldn't believe he could do something like that and I don't believe he did it. I can't believe Robert would do that because Robert could be loving when he is ready and so everybody loves Robert. Anything Robert wants he gets. Robert has his own room, has everything in his room, and he has a dad who gives him anything he wants, and me as his granny also gives him anything he wants. I don't know. He has no reason to go thief. Its very distressing to me because I couldn't think about something like that."
Keith Swift,
Tell us about the fact that he was in school and was going to graduate.
Rose Hall,
"Well he was going to school, everyday he told me was going. I don't know if he really was going to school or what but he told me he was."
Keith Swift,
What do you think happened?
Rose Hall,
"I just think friends lead Robert because he is weak in his brains."
Investigators say that friend was his younger brother 15-year-old John. He dropped out of school at standard 4. More recently he went to live away from his brother - in this house with his father after he was released from Boot Camp. Tiffany Clark has been his neighbor since. In this closely-knit community - she finds it hard to believe a murderer was among them.
Tiffany Clark, Neighbor of Accused
"I just get to talk to him and get to really know him. He didn't really talk violence and thing to me about people. We were hanging over there on Sunday and he acted no kind of way to me, he acted the same way."
Keith Swift,
Were you here when he was arrested?
Tiffany Clark,
"I was right in my house cooking, because he was hanging out with me the same Sunday, and I saw the policemen and then he ran."
John ran out of places to run when cops finally closed in on him on Monday. Desperate and confused as any child would be, he then turned in his older brother. It's a sad tale of two brothers and one tragic murder which this grandmother and this neighbor are still trying to grasp.
Rose Hall,
"I don't believe he killed anybody. I don't believe he killed the lady."
Keith Swift,
Why not?
Rose Hall,
"Because I don't think Robert is capable of killing anyone."
Tiffany Clark,
"I don't know that John, the one they say did this murder. I still feel scared right now because I didn't know someone so young could do something like that."
Keith Swift,
Deep down, do you think he did this?
Tiffany Clark,
"No."
The brothers' mother is in Greece. Her mother, who originally raised the brothers until 3 years ago, told us today that her daughter has yet to be informed.
As for the investigation, police have tallied what was stolen and they say the brothers made off with $4,370 in cash and other valuables from the home of Garcia's employer, Floyd Brown. In addition we also understand that police are preparing to charge the brothers with three more burglaries committed over a 5-day period in the Ladyville area.
For some perspective, we note that earlier this year two young brothers, in their early teens, were charged with murdering 4-year-old Oscar Velasquez. After a week of searching, the 4 year old was found stuffed in an old refrigerator. Similarly police solved that case after one of brothers turned on the other.
Related Stories
. Teen Brothers Charged for Hollywood Murder
. Domestic Raped and Murdered in Hollywood
