The father of two young boys is accused of killing them before allegedly texting a photo of the younger child’s dead body to their mother. According to friends of the mother, Gabriel Armandariz, 28, of Graham, Texas, sent pictures of himself on a bed with two-year-old Gatlin and eight-month-old Luke with the message ‘We love u goodbye’.
He then texted a final message to his ex-girlfriend with a photo that is claimed to show their younger son dead with a piece of frayed fabric wrapped around his neck like a noose. Colleagues of the boy’s mother, Lauren Smith, said she rushed into work on Wednesday ‘frantic and hysterical’ after receiving the text messages. Cindy Bradley, who works with her at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, Sudan, Texas, said Armandariz had been calling her and saying strange things before allegedly sending the disturbing photos. ‘About four o’clock he sent her a picture message of the youngest boy hanging,’ she said.
Unsure if the photo was real or not, they immediately called the police to check on the boys who were staying with Armandariz in Graham. After a 10-hour search through the night, officers found both Luke and Gatlin dead. Armandariz was arrested and charged with their murders. Armandariz also allegedly posted a photo of his sons on Facebook with the caption ‘love forever’. Cynthia Bradley said the children’s mother was living with a relative in the Texas Panhandle, about 250 miles northwest of Graham. She said she was unsure why the couple had broken up. Douglas Ames, the woman’s boss at the Chuck Wagon restaurant, said: ‘Never expected anything like this to happen to anybody. Gabriel Armandariz is charged with capital murder and jailed on a $1.5 million bond. In Texas, a defendant convicted of capital murder can face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
