Authorities in Texas have arrested two boys, ages 13 and 14, on suspicion of capital murder in connection with a fatal shooting last week.
As Fox News reported, police say the two juvenile suspects staged a robbery at the apartment on the west side of Fort Worth.
When they entered, the victim’s family says 31-year-old Yesenia Gutierrez rushed to protect her 3-year-old son.
The mother and child were alone in the house at the time, according to the victim’s cousin, and Gutierrez allegedly fought with one intruder to prevent him from entering the toddler’s room.
“She fought hard to keep the burglars from entering the room,” her cousin wrote in an online fundraiser established to pay for her funeral.
According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the suspects broke into the home shortly after noon.
A relative of Gutierrez said one burglar shot the woman in the neck a short time later.
“She was a brave dedicated mother of 3 boys, a daughter a sister a cousin and a friend,” the victim’s cousin wrote.
While a Tarrant County medical examiner’s report on Monday confirmed Gutierrez died as the result of a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to her neck and head, police did not offer further details regarding the circumstances surrounding the crime.
The victim’s family remembers her as a caring mother and a kind person to everyone in her life.
“If you had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with her, you know how generous and kind she was,” her cousin wrote.
[Featured image: Yesenia Gutierrez, GoFundMe]