On Wednesday, Oct. 30, a court hearing was held to determine whether a 16-year-old alleged suspect would be charged as an adult for the murder of 15-year-old Eriya Ruiz.
During the hours-long proceeding, several witnesses took the stand in person and virtually including former Nueces County Medical Examiner, Dr. Timothy Fagen, the alleged suspect’s probation officer, a Nueces County victim’s advocate and one of Eriya’s siblings.
Eriya’s family grew emotional throughout the hearing as they listened to the examination of the autopsy that described Eriya’s fatal injuries. The court was informed that Eriya was stabbed with a kitchen knife at least five times and had several bruises on her body, including her face.
In the end, the results of the hearing were pushed to another day.
“This is just more anticipation, more nerves,” Rita Allen, Eriya’s grandmother said, “It’s like every time a court appearance is canceled, its like a build-up, then the bottom is dropped out from us. We have to keep waiting.”