A Texas teen has been arrested on murder charges, accused of the grisly slaughter of his parents and two siblings — including a 5-year-old brother — because he believed they were all “cannibals” planning to eat him.
Cesar Olalde, 18, was arrested after a standoff with cops Tuesday in suburban Texarkana and charged with capital murder of multiple people — punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Police in the town of Nash — with a population of about 3,800 — went to Olalde’s home after getting a report that a man had harmed his family and was threatening to kill himself.
When they arrived, they learned the teen was holed up, and family members were inside.
According to an affidavit by Nash Police Officer Craig Buster, the teen, while barricaded inside, had called police, saying “he had pulled the trigger, and shot his family.”
After persuading Olalde to end his standoff and surrender, police went inside the home and found the bodies of his parents, Reuben Olalde and Aida Garcia, older sister, Lisbet Olalde, and 5-year-old brother, Oliver Olalde — all in a bathroom.
“It appeared as if the victims had been shot at various places in the residence and [had been dragged] to the bathroom,” according to the affidavit. Multiple spent cartridge casings were found throughout the home, and “blood spatter on multiple surfaces.”
The affidavit said Joseph Flieder, a colleague of Lisbet Olalde, had gone to the house because she’d missed work that day. He knocked on the door but got no response.
Flieder, together with a family member who had also arrived to check on the family, forced his way inside, where he was confronted by Cesar Olalde. The teen allegedly pointed a gun at the man several times and brandished a knife.
Flieder told responding police officers that Cesar Olalde said “he had killed his family because they were cannibals, and they were going to eat him,” the affidavit states.
Olalde was ordered jailed on $10 million bond.
Neighbor Robert Ward described the victims to station KTBS as a “beautiful family” made up of “extremely nice” and “hardworking people.”
He said the daughter had recently graduated from college and planned to become a teacher, and that Cesar was “such a good kid. He was going to get into an apprentice program to be a plumber.”
Lisbet’s fiancé and fellow Texas A&M University-Texarkana graduate Jeremiah Reynolds on Wednesday posted a heartbreaking message on his Facebook page, declaring: “I’ll love you to infinity and beyond my love.”
