Final Days: A mother of five was seen smiling just days before prosecutors say a grinning group of teens and their friends brutally murdered her in broad daylight
HAUNTING final pictures show a mom-of-five smiling with loved ones just days before she was allegedly stabbed to death outside a home.
One picture captures Carolina “Caro” Pena in a car with a close friend, while another shows the 32-year-old holding her young daughter in a swimming pool.
The heartbreaking photos emerged after Caro was killed during an alleged attack in Del Rio, Texas, on Thursday afternoon.
Amaya “Cookie” Diaz, 19; her sister Kitty Mia Diaz, 21; and Kyandra Renee Faz, 22, have each been charged with first-degree murder over Caro’s death.
The 32-year-old mom was allegedly stabbed to death by the three friends outside of Faz’s home.
Faz had posted a mirror video of herself on TikTok just five days before the deadly confrontation.
Devastated friends shared photos of Caro from the days before the altercation that took her life.
Caro’s friend Christina Salinas shared their final picture from inside a car and revealed that she had missed a call from the slain mom shortly before the attack.
“The last picture we took a few days ago, I miss you so much,” Salinas wrote.
“I’m mad at myself for not being able to answer your last call today at work; God knows why he does things, but I know if I would have been there, none of this would have happened.”
She described Caro as “a sister I never had” and recalled calling her early in the morning whenever she needed support.
“I’m going to miss calling you at 5:30am and telling you ‘B, I need someone to talk to,’” she wrote.
“Your exact words were always ‘Talk to me, B.’”
The friend said Caro would encourage her by saying: “Nah, nah, nah, you don’t settle; you’re a boss-a** b***h.”
She added: “My heart hurts, B; my kids hurt, Alina hurts. You’re gone but not forgotten.”
Another friend, Jamie Amanda Cline, posted the final photo Caro had sent her, showing the mom in a swimming pool with her little girl.
“I am so proud of the woman, mother and friend that you were,” Cline wrote.
“I will cherish our last conversation. It was full of laughs and love.”
She added: “Caro Peña I love you .. rest in peace Mami.”
Caro, whose five children are aged between three and 17, was allegedly attacked outside Faz’s home at about 2pm.
Police were called to Val Verde Regional Medical Center at 2:10pm after Caro arrived with stab wounds, according to criminal complaints obtained by The 830 Times.
Witnesses told officers that an altercation had taken place outside a home at 801 E. 10th St.
Faz allegedly told police that Caro had arrived at her house looking to start a fight.
She claimed Diaz and her sister then arrived at the property before the violence broke out.
Investigators said surveillance footage captured the entire incident.
The video allegedly showed Caro arriving in a black Dodge pickup truck before a black Chrysler 300 pulled up moments later.
Amaya and Kitty then allegedly got out of the Chrysler and confronted her.
Police said Amaya could be seen approaching Caro with an object believed to be a knife in her right hand.
The teen allegedly struck Caro in the back, with blood becoming visible through her shirt, according to the complaint.
Kitty then allegedly began beating Caro before Faz joined the attack, investigators said.
A now-deleted picture reportedly taken during the assault showed the bloodied mom standing and facing the three women.
Her longtime friend Zelina Ochoa told The New York Post, “It’s a photo of her standing up and you see the back side of her, and her shirt in the back is completely filled with blood.
“The three girls are in front of her – they’re surrounding her.”
Zelina said Caro had collapsed before forcing herself back onto her feet.
“She was a fighter,” she said.
“It’s a very powerful picture because it shows, you know, these three girls showed up with their weapons and Caro showed up with nothing but her hands.
“She didn’t show up there thinking that today is my last day.”
Zelina, who met Caro when they were both teen moms, said the picture disappeared from social media after her friend died.
Police said the women separated and fled after the confrontation.
Officers found Amaya’s Chrysler parked outside a home on West Strickland Street less than two hours later.
Detectives said Amaya and Kitty were no longer wearing the clothes seen in the surveillance footage and appeared to have recently showered.
The sisters and Faz were arrested and taken to the police station.
Caro was transferred to a hospital in San Antonio, where she died from her injuries at about 9pm.
Del Rio Police Chief Frank Ramirez told TMZ that the suspects knew Caro and that the stabbing was not believed to be a random attack.
Police have not disclosed a possible motive.
Zelina insisted Caro was someone who tried to calm disputes rather than provoke them.
“She was that one friend that tried to bring peace among everyone, so it’s just so confusing how this even happened,” she said.
“I don’t know if it was just an unlucky day and she happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time — I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
She also questioned how Kitty, who is reportedly a mother, could allegedly help take another mom away from her five children.
“It’s very unclear as to why a mother would do this to another mother and why she herself wouldn’t consider her own son,” Zelina said.
All three suspects appeared before Justice of the Peace Jesse James Trevino on Friday morning.
Bond was set at $5million each, bringing the combined total to $15million.
Amaya, Kitty and Faz each requested a court-appointed attorney.
