Tina Davila, 39, was a mother of five, including an infant daughter. The baby was in the back of Davila's minivan parked outside a Channelview cell phone store. It was there that Davila was fatally stabbed Wednesday afternoon in an apparent carjacking attempt because she wouldn't turn over her car keys.
"She was right at the door of the business," said Davila's friend Toni Schultea. "What do you think? I mean, what would anybody think they would do with the baby if they have enough guts to do that?"
Davila's roots run deep in her neighborhood. Her family has lived there for years. Now her family is reeling from telling her children what happened.
"You can't. There's no way," said Davila's sister-in-law Margaret Mott. "You can't tell your child that your mom was stabbed by some ugly person that wanted her car. There's no way of breaking the news like this."
Patrick Mott is Davila's oldest child. He's 19 years old.
He said, "There are some cowardly people out there."
Police have additional surveillance video that is helping in the search. Thirty minutes before Tina Davila was killed, at a Channelview convenience store a man stole an 18 can pack of beer and was caught on camera. A second man waited outside. The pair drove off in a gold Ford Taurus. It's believed to be the same car that was spotted at the murder scene. The car had been reported stolen by the owner.
If you have any information, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
