Tomball grieves loss of family slain by escaped Texas murderer

The killing of a grandfather and his four grandsons at their Centerville ranch has left Tomball residents shaken, as they rally around the well-known family who are active in an area church and on local baseball fields. Mark Collins, 66, 18-year-old Waylon Collins, 16-year-old Carson; 11-year-old Hudson; and their cousin, 11-year-old Bryson Collins, were killed Thursday by Gonzalo Lopez, 46, a convicted murderer who escaped a prison bus on May 12, prompting a manhunt that only ended after the family’s massacre. “Those kids were bright shining stars,” said David Crain, a friend of the Collins family. A GRANDFATHER AND GRANDKIDS: Remembering the 5 family members slain by escaped Texas murderer More than $170,000 has been raised on behalf of the three families, according to their GoFundMe page. Dozens gathered Friday on the baseball field at Tomball High School, laying bouquets on the pitcher’s mound where the No. 8 and 6 jerseys for the two oldest Collins boys hung. At a prayer vigil, friends remembered the boys as happy, cheerful young men with full lives ahead. Waylon Collins had just graduated from Tomball ISD and was headed to Texas A&M University, according to the website for his pressure washing business, established to help him raise money for college. “Waylon was always smiling, laughing,” said Keegan Demmer, 16, who played baseball with Waylon and football with Carson. “(Waylon) had a distinct laugh that you could point out from 100 people in a room. Carson was a little more quiet, a really sweet kid. My mom was telling me how he’d always say ‘hi’ to her and give her a hug.” Hudson, their little brother, had been baptized in the family swimming pool just three days earlier, by his maternal grandfather. Services for all the family members are pending, said Steve Bezner, pastor of Houston Northwest Church, where four generations of the family are members.. “These next few days are gong to be tough on all of us,” said Crain, a Harris County sheriff’s deputy. Many on Friday evening in Tomball said the shocking nature of the loss left them reeling. “Hard to hear this kind of news and not want to do something,” said Billy Schiel, who grew up in Tomball and now pastors at a church in The Woodlands. The Centerville ranch was the family’s escape. “They were up there pretty frequently,” Crain said. “Fishing and doing what kids do … that ranch is a kid’s dream. Big ponds. Boats.” LOPEZ ESCAPE: Texas inmate who escaped bus got out of restraints, cage The Leon County Sheriffs Office said Lopez “entered the residence sometime on Thursday and gained access to several firearms on the property.” Police, alerted by a relative who had not heard from the grandfather, discovered the five bodies around 6 p.m. Thursday. Lopez was serving a life sentence from a 2006 conviction for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Hidalgo County. He was also given a life sentence following a 2007 conviction for attempted capital murder in Webb County. dug.begley@chron.com jamie.swinnerton@chron.com

Tomball grieves loss of ‘shining stars’ after slaying of family at Centerville ranch

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