CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On June 2, 15-year-old Eriya Ruiz was killed in the front yard of her home. A juvenile suspect has been arrested for allegedly stabbing her to death.
Thursday was the first day her family spoke out following her death.
“For this to happen it’s the biggest catastrophe of my life, that I probably won’t ever get over,” Edna Everett, one of Eriya's grandmother or "Nana" said.
Almost three weeks since the death of their granddaughter Eriya Ruiz, her Nanas Everett and Rita Allen are still in shock.
“She was my life," Allen said. "She was everything to me. Now what am I supposed to do. I know i can volunteer and all that, but I want Eriya back. But I know I can’t have that.”
Everett and Allen said it was Eriya's father Jimmy who found her in the front yard. Everett is Jimmy's mother. He later called them to explain.
"I said 'What's going on?' He goes, 'She's at the hospital, she's dead.' And, I freaked out," Allen said.
They weren't allowed in the hospital room so waited outside for hours. When they saw Jimmy, he was covered in blood after trying to perform CPR on Eriya.
Eriya was Jimmy's only child.
Allen and Everett said they don't know how the suspect is connected to Eriya, but confirmed they knew each other.
Everett said Eriya had so much to look forward to, including plans on the Friday she died. She was going to enroll in driving school.
“(The) bottom line is (that) Eriya had the biggest heart," Everett said.
Eriya’s Nanas said she was a loving, thoughtful young lady and she was very close with both of them.
Allen could rattle off all of Eriya's orders at her favorite restaurants.
"She was my joy, my life," Allen said. "I did it for her. She would call me in the middle of the night, 'Nana I'm hungry.' I would be in a panic, I got to feed her. Or 'Nana I'm at my friends house can you pick me up and take me home?' Sure."
Eriya had a passion for dancing and running as displayed by all the medals she earned. She was a part of Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society and Corpus Christi United Little Miss Kickball League.
"All those people have become our friends and now they've become our support. That's who we lean on," Allen said.
Everett said Eriya's greatest quality was her compassion.
“As she was growing up in school, she was always there for the underdog, always. Building them up,” Everett said.
Corpus Christi has shown time and again they will support families in a tragedy. For this family, they’re seeing support pour in from everywhere.
“We’ve gotten messages as far as Alaska, Philadelphia, Florida," Everett said.
"Oh it's all over the world that they been praying for us. My father's a minister and his message goes all over the world. So, this has touched a lot more lives than we’ll ever know,” Allen said.
Along with that support is a benefit that will be help to financially help Eriya's family. It's been organized by several people including Pete Trevino. He's helped put on several charity events when tragedy strikes the community.
"It never gets easier to talk about it because it happens so much now," Trevino said. "As everybody knows, I'm a father of five girls so it definitely hits home. So, when they reached out to me, of course it was no brainer."
On Sunday June 25, a barbecue benefit will be held at The Valencia Event Center. From noon until food sells out, people can grab a chicken and sausage plate for $12. It includes rice, beans and a drink.
Jenny Hernandez is a family friend and helped organize this benefit. She said the financial help is helpful but showing support is just as important.
"This is something they will never get over. So, we’re asking everybody to come make an impact in their lives and for us to show up as a community just to support them. Because this is something you could never be prepared for,” she said.
"From what I get from Jimmy, that was his baby girl, that was his everything and life's never going to be the same for him," Trevino said. "So, we just need to let him know as a family he gained more people in his life."
Local businesses have also stepped up to help provide signs for the family that read #JusticeForEriya. Others have donated food for the benefit.
Allen said next week is Little Miss Kickaball’s All-Star weekend and they have dedicated it in honor of Eriya.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
