Families divided after 15-year-old charged with murder in connection with father's death

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A 15-year-old accused of killing his father during a family disturbance is facing a murder charge, dividing relatives over whether his actions were self-defense or if the charge is warranted.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the teenager put his father, 35-year-old Samson Hernandez, in a chokehold during an altercation in the early morning hours of May 5 at a home in the 21400 block of Sagrantino Court.

According to the sheriff's office, Hernandez, who no longer lived at the home, was involved in a fight with his estranged wife's boyfriend that spilled into the front yard. Hernandez's son intervened and held his father in a chokehold until law enforcement arrived, authorities said.

But Hernandez died, and the teenager was charged Thursday with murder.

The teenager's great-aunt, Kandice Stofel, said the teen was trying to protect his mother, not kill his father.

"We figured and thought it was a clear-cut case of self-defense for his mom," Stofel said Friday. "I'm still wrapping my head around that it is murder."

Stofel, who declined to appear on camera because of privacy concerns, said she believes the teenager intended only to restrain Hernandez until officers arrived.

"He was hoping he would just hold him there until the police got there," she said. "He didn't, I guess, realize the adrenaline and his own strength."

INITIAL REPORT: 15-year-old boy charged with murdering his father; family says it was self-defense

But Hernandez's older sister, Chasity Salazar, said she supports the murder charge. She contacted ABC13 after our initial report to share her family's perspective.

"We want complete justice for him," Salazar said.

In her view, the teenager should be tried as an adult and receive an adult sentence.

Neither Salazar nor Stofel witnessed the confrontation. Salazar said her support for the charge is based on information she received through conversations with the sheriff's office.

"I am totally on board with him being charged with murder," she said. "What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. He took the life of his father."

Because the defendant is a juvenile, court records were not available for review, so ABC13 could not examine the additional details that led the district attorney's office to pursue a murder charge.

Whether the teenager will be charged as an adult remains unknown. A legal analyst ABC13 spoke with said that decision would depend on several factors, including the teenager's background and the facts of the case. Based on the information currently available, the analyst said he does not believe the teenager will be charged as an adult.

For Hernandez's sister, the legal disagreement is amid profound grief.

"Our family is grieving terribly," Salazar said. "Losing him has taken so much out of me, and to be taken by his own blood hurts even worse."