Affidavit: Young boy witnessed his father kill mother, shoot sister

"Daddy shot mommy,' boy told investigators

SAN ANTONIO – A young boy told investigators "daddy shot mommy" after witnessing his mother's murder, according to new details in an arrest affidavit.

The boy's father, James Cardona, 31, is behind bars in the Bexar County Jail and is charged with killing his common-law-wife, Tamara Martinez, 31, and shooting their 13-year-old daughter on Mar. 28 in their 21300 block of U.S. Highway 281 South.

Bexar County Sheriff's Office investigators said Cardona killed Martinez in the South Bexar County home they share with their three children. The whole family was home at the time of the murder, the affidavit said.

The couple's young son told investigators Cardona came in through a window and fought with Martinez. The boy said his 13-year-old sister tried to help their mother before "daddy shot mommy."

Cardona then shot the 13-year-old, the boy told investigators.

A deputy responding to the home found the teenage girl injured and standing by the highway, the affidavit said. She told the deputy her father had shot her and had also shot and killed her mother.

The girl was taken to University Hospital.

Cardona called his father about 15 minutes before that, and told him someone had shot Martinez and he should call an ambulance. Cardona told his father he had been at the house and then left, the affidavit said.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said Martinez died from multiple gunshot wounds. Her mother, Delores Gonzales, said Martinez was buried in Lubbock on Friday morning.

Gonzales said she forgives Cardona, as he is the father of some of her grandchildren. It's for their sake as well that she wants justice. She also wants answers.

"I just want to talk to him," she said, speaking by phone. "I want to visit with him, and I want to know why. I want to know why he took my daughter, why he shot my grandbaby. I want to know why he just did this to the babies."

Gonzales said all three children were in state custody, and the last she had heard, her 13-year-old granddaughter was still in the hospital.

Cardona was arrested in Fentress, about 15 miles southeast of San Marcos. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail on Thursday evening.

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About the Author:

Garrett Brnger is a reporter with KSAT 12.