BELL COUNTY, Texas — Amanda Rios continues to mourn the loss of her son three years after he was stabbed to death in a Belton High School bathroom. Following the conviction of Caysen Allison on criminally negligent homicide charges, she's speaking up about what she calls "a slap on the wrist."
- Jury finds Caysen Allison guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2022 stabbing death of Joe Ramirez at Belton High School, leaving the victim's family devastated.
- The victim's mother expressed disappointment in the Jury's verdict: "I hope the jury realizes they got it wrong."
- Our exclusive interview with Joe Ramirez's mother following the verdict in her son's 2022 stabbing death at Belton High School
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We will continue to fight for justice for Caysen Allison” said Zachary Boyd, Caysen’s Defense Attorney
“What Justice are they fighting for? He killed Joe in the Bathroom,” said James Sandoval, a close friend of Joe.
After 2 weeks of testimony and 11 hours of a jury deliberating over the stabbing death of Joe Ramirez in a Belton high school bathroom in 2022, 21-year-old Caysen Allison has been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.
“The jury looked at the evidence, they looked at all the evidence, or rather, they looked at the lack of all the evidence, the vital pieces that were ignored or mishandled, and they said no. Not murder,” said Boyd.
But a murder verdict is what the Ramirez family was hoping from court.
“I hope the jury realizes they got it wrong. I really hope they do. I hope they find out who Joe was,” said Amanda Rios, Joe’s Mother.
25 News Reporter Dominique Leh was the only journalist Amanda Rios sat down to talk to.
“We’ve been bullied in court by the defense they’ve said so much untrue stuff about our family, I never imagined this court, the trial would be as bad as it was,” she said.
She expressed her shock at the verdict and said that she feels it leaves her son without justice.
“I trusted in our system to do that, just to have common sense, all you had to do was have common sense and look at the facts,”
And after three years without Joe…
“Joe was the funniest most kind hearted, competitive,” said Amanda Rio’s
“I was very close with him, he was literally my best friend,” said Ali Ramirez.
All that’s left for Amanda and her family is the memory they’ll carry on for a lifetime.
As for Caysen’s defense team, they express remorse to Joe’s family, but are ecstatic with the trial’s outcome.
“It brings us closer to the truth, a truth based on layers, a truth rooted in self-preservation in the face of fear and attack,” said Boyd.
Dominique Leh did reach out to Caysen’s family for comment, but they did not get back with me. Sentencing for Caysen is set for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
