Son's charges upgraded to murder after dad dies from blunt force trauma

At 10:33 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, Hidalgo County deputies responded to a welfare check at the 6500 block of Sharp Road in the rural area of San Carlos.

The incident was later reclassified as injury to elderly with serious bodily injury, according to a news release from the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

At the scene, deputies spoke with family members who reported that 86-year-old Francisco Coronado had been assaulted by his son, 42-year-old Francisco Coronado Jr.

Deputies found Coronado in the backyard bleeding from his head, nose and mouth. They added that he appeared disoriented and stated he had been attacked.

Emergency Medical Services were called to the scene and took Coronado to a local hospital for treatment.

Medical staff informed deputies that Coronado had suffered head trauma, along with a broken nose, cheekbone and jaw. He was later intubated following the surgery.

On Wednesday, April 16, HSCO investigators, alongside the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Fugitive Task Force, arrested Coronado Jr. and he later confessed to assaulting his father.

He was booked at the county jail on charges of injury to an elderly or disabled person with intent to cause serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony and issued a bond of $500,000.

During the arraignment on Thursday, April 17, Coronado Jr. claimed to be struggling mentally.

On Wednesday, April 23, the victim, Coronado, was transferred to hospice care, due to his injuries.

On Friday, April 25, he was pronounced dead and an autopsy was performed. The medical examination reported the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, classifying the cause of death as homicide, the release added.

On Monday, April 28, the charges against Coronado Jr. were upgraded to murder and he was issued a bond of $1,000,000.