Tears streaming down her face, Vincea Snyder said she couldn’t help but attend a protest Tuesday outside the Schuylkill County Courthouse in Pottsville to show support for the mothers of the two teenage boys slain Oct. 10.
“The people that did this, there is no reason,” said Snyder, 36, of Ashland. “It’s sick, it’s twisted and they need to be caught.”
Snyder has been friends with Tanya Evans, mother of one of the victims, Angelito Xavier Caraballo, for years. She knew Angelito when he was young and said she wishes she would have spent more time with him.
“The families should not be feeling this pain,” Snyder said. “I understand their frustration, I understand their anger.”
The bodies of Caraballo, 16, and Hunter Mock, 18, were found Oct. 10 in a wooded former mining area known as “The Sanchez” about a mile east of New Philadelphia. Mock suffered a gunshot wound to the head, and Caraballo had several puncture wounds and/or cut-type injuries that caused his death, forensic records show.
No one has been charged in their deaths.
Held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with about 30 people present from noon to 1:30 p.m., the protest had been rescheduled from Friday due to the threat of rain. Another protest will occur this weekend, Evans said, giving those who work during the week a chance to attend. A day and time have not yet been set.
Honks in support
Signs reading “We want justice and answers for Angelito Carballo and Hunter Mock’” and “No Justice No Peace” were among those on display.
Bryan Evans, 37, Tanya Evans’ husband and Angelito’s stepfather, said his stepson was a great kid.
“He was funny and outgoing,” he said. “It’s just hard to believe he’s gone, and he did not deserve one second of that.”
Trevor Davis, 18, of New Philadelphia, a brother of Angelito’s, said he was trying to keep members of the family leveled out.
“I try to think about the good times,” he said. “I’m still losing sleep over it.”
Tanya Evans and Kate Mock, Hunter’s mother, attended. They have said they are frustrated that the effort to bring their sons’ killer or killers to justice is moving so slowly.
Mostly friends and family attended Tuesday’s protest, but the support still matters, Tanya Evans said.
Motorists driving on Laurel Boulevard honked their horns in recognition of the protest.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake said recently he believes state police are doing all they can to bring those responsible to justice.
State police Trooper David Beohm, public information officer for Reading-based Troop L, has said the investigation is ongoing and there would be no updates until charges are filed.
Source: Berkshire mont