Gabriel "Pelón" Granillo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 1, 1990, United States[1] |
| Died | June 6, 2006 |
| Resting place | Candelaria de la Frontera, El Salvador |
| Nationality | American[1] |
| Known for | Being killed in a gang fight |
On June 6, 2006,[2] a teenage boy named Gabriel Granillo also known as Pelón was stabbed to death at Ervan Chew Park, in the Neartown district in Houston, Texas.[3] His killer, Ashley Paige Benton, underwent a criminal murder trial which resulted in a hung jury. Benton's lawyers and the assistant Harris County district attorney agreed to give Benton probation[2] in exchange for Benton pleading guilty to aggravated assault.[3] Her probation was ended early in 2009,[2] and her criminal charge was to be dismissed as part of terms of successfully completing her probation.[3]
In 2008 Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly referred to Benton as "Houston’s most famous teenage killer" and stated that the fact that the stabbing took place in the central city, and the fact that Ashley Benton was a white, Anglo teenage girl involved in gangs shocked Houstonians.[3] The Houston Press wrote that the resulting murder trial "fascinated Houston".[4] In 2014 Andy Warren of the Houston Chronicle listed the Granillo stabbing among the "infamous crimes in the Houston area".[5] A 2011 novel, The Knife and the Butterfly, is based upon the incident.
- ^ a b Peralta, Eyder; Claudia Feldman (2006-12-02). "The Butterfly and the Knife". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
Except for two years in Los Angeles when he was a baby, Gabriel spent most of his life within a few square blocks.[Referring to an apartment in Houston, so that logically means he was born in the United States] [...] Gabriel's dad told them he had three children to take care of, all of them born U.S. citizens.
- ^ a b c Rogers, Brian. "3 years after gang killing, teen wants to 'move on'" (Archive). Houston Chronicle. Thursday September 17, 2009. Retrieved on November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Hollandsworth, Skip. "Girl, Interrupted" (Archive). Texas Monthly. May 2008. Girl interrupted almost two years after brutally stabbing ...
- ^ "Best Move by an Appellate Lawyer (2008) Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, Getting the Gag Order Lifted in the Teen Killer Case" (Archive). Houston Press. Retrieved on November 12, 2015.
- ^ Warren, Andy (compiler). "Ashley Benton" (Archive) In: "Infamous crimes in the Houston area." Houston Chronicle. July 28, 2014. Retrieved on November 7, 2015.