SAN ANTONIO – Delores Gonzales describes feeling numb and lost in the days after the murder of her daughter, Tamara Martinez, 31.
Martinez and her 13-year-old daughter were shot Tuesday night at their home in south Bexar County in the 21300 block of South Highway 281.
Gonzales and her family gathered outside University Hospital on Friday to see Gonzales’ daughter, who remains in intensive care.
“I’ve been praying. I’ve been praying to keep me strong,” said Gonzales, who found out about the shooting via Facebook.
“They were putting San Antonio news reports on Facebook and it said that two were shot and it had my daughter's address on there,” she said.
The family drove to San Antonio from Lubbock looking for answers, while investigators are looking for the suspect, 31-year-old James Cardona, who is now wanted for murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said Martinez was Cardona’s common-law wife.
The family said the couple's 5-year-old twins were in the home at the time of the shooting and are now in state custody.
"It destroyed us ... My daughter is gone and nobody knew about it. And then to have my grandbaby in ICU, I felt so helpless. I couldn't get to them,” Gonzales said.
Cardona is believed to be driving a black Chevy Avalanche with license plate number BT09880.
The victims' family is hoping their story will compel someone to come forward.
“I’m hoping that somebody turns him in. If anybody knows where he's at, turn him in,” Gonzales pleaded. “If he's watching this, James, turn yourself in.”
If you have any information on Cardona’s location, you’re asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000.
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