ERIN RIOS CASTRO

Hello friends and family.

I would like to thank y’all for all the prayers and support my family has gotten in this nightmare. I started this page to share my sweet Erin’s tragic story and my path to get justice for her. I also like to spread awareness about teen domestic violence. This is a serious problem in Bexar County that was just made aware of. Ok here goes , I’ll start from the beginning.Erin is my youngest of four children but ruled the house like she was the oldest! She definitely was the spice in our life – without her life would be bland!   

She brought so much joy to all our family and friends.Erin had such a beautiful smile, she was loving and had a contagious laugh that she couldn’t hold in so silly and fun to be around.She was very smart and could do anything she put her mind too. She was fearless, and never afraid. She always carried herself with so much confidence.  You could feel that confidence that moment she walked into a room.  It was radiant – she was radiant. 

She had dreams and goals for the future, and a strong passion and love for animals and one day she hoped to become a veterinarian.     

Erin’s freshman year she befriended a boy named Josh. At first, she only wanted him as a friend and truly didn’t see him as much more than that, but Josh didn’t give up, and he kept pursuing her, and by sophomore year they had started dating. The relationship was innocent at first, but slowly it started to change, he began to isolate her from her friends, and then came the verbal abuse, the name calling and the body shaming.  

Erin’s confidence, grades, and self-esteem began to drop. And, my baby slowly started to pull herself away, even from me.  Erin and I were so close, some nights she would still sleep in my bed, and we’d spend some weekends watching movies together just being girls.  Right before my eyes, my brave, fearless girl was changing.   

When you think of high-school for your daughters, you think of homecoming, prom, the drama of picking out the perfect outfit, but not for my Erin.  She started having problems with Josh at school, the harassment, and jealousy.  He would yell at her in school hallways. He stole her backpack with her make-up so she couldn’t wear it – his rage sparked fast. He broke the nose of one of her guy friends – he didn’t want her to talk to anyone but him. Charges were pressed against him for theft and assault – this is when I began documenting and doing everything I could to put it on record.  

Josh had a way of manipulating Erin, and he once again persuaded his way back in her good grace. One afternoon, he had picked her up, and his jealousy had only gotten worse.  He started fighting with her, and then became violent, he broke her nose and threw her out of his moving car, and ran over one of her legs. His sick mind put her back in the car and tried to clean her up and put makeup on her bruises.  He dropped her off several blocks near our home, leaving her to walk home bruised and battered. 

Erin was scared – girls at this age don’t know how to handle this type of behavior.  She didn’t know what to do and wanted to cover for him.  But I wouldn’t let her – I had to fight for my daughter. I immediately called the police and pressed charges against him.  

Josh eventually was sentenced to three months in jail and one-year probation. This light sentence scared her into silence.  

As time went by, Josh did what he did best – he began manipulating her once again. 

 It was the morning of her 19th birthday –  Erin was so happy!  She woke up extra early and was singing loudly as she was getting ready for work!  Erin worked as a waitress at our family owned diner where all the customers loved her!  They showered her with birthday wishes, and extra tips as she proudly wore the money corsage that I had made for her.  

The day started great, my fiancé, Alex, bought her a cake with a zoo type theme because of her love for animals. She smiled her beautiful smile as we sang happy birthday to her at work. Later that evening she had made plans to go out and celebrate with her friends who came over to the house to kick-off the birthday festivities. I remember hearing the music and that laugh of hers, as she came to my room and kissed me and her brother, Jesse and said, “ Bye.. I’ll see you later!”  with a big smile on her face.  Sadly, that was the last time I saw my baby, Erin alive.  

Through the night we kept in touch by text and a couple phone calls.  

At some point in the evening, she ended up in a car with Josh.  You see, Erin had a big heart, and she thought if she showed someone love, she could actually change them.   I know that is what Erin felt for Josh – she always tried to see the good in someone.  Tragically there was no good in Josh. 

As the timed passed that evening, Erin’s texts and phone calls became very scary!  I asked her to get out of the car!  “Just get out of the car and I will go pick you up.”  I can remember her frantically yelling because she couldn’t get out and didn’t know where she was. As I listened on the other end of the line, with my keys in hand -  I was out the front door with nowhere to go!  It’s a mother's worst nightmare. 

I heard my daughter's horrible screams – with my heart racing I ran to the neighbors to call 911. I stayed on the line hoping to hear something but the scream was the last time I would hear of Erin’s voice. The police tracked her phone, and found my baby off Camp Bullis Road where she had been left for dead.  Josh had stabbed her and ran her body over and backed up to run her over again. This was all witnessed by his older brother I later found out. Josh also told his mother about what he had done. No one called the police! It was not until the police went to question josh and his family that they confessed to what he had done. 

I came across a article written in the San Antonio Current in October of 2017 with the headline “Bexar Named One of the Deadliest Counties in Texas for Domestic Violence”, according to this article in the past two years, the number of women killed by a domestic partner in Bexar County has more than doubled; and is steadily rising.  It is heartbreaking to hear that our city is losing it’s beautiful women to domestic violence.  I truly believe that early education is key to helping these young victims. Erin was so young and naive and didn’t see the early signs of abuse before it was too late. It’s our job as a community to educate young women on unhealthy relationships.  

By sharing Erin’s story, her life still has purpose. If we as community can save one girl, one life, then Erin lives on, in each one of us, because love never dies.