Benefit held for sisters killed in murder-suicide in Galena Park to help raise money

GALENA PARK, Texas - A benefit was held in Galena Park for the young girls who died in a tragic murder-suicide.

A community came together on Saturday to help raise money to take care of the funeral expenses for two sisters that were killed, 13-year-old Melany Torres and 19-year-old Sayuri Gill who was said to be six-months pregnant at the time.

BACKGROUND: 4 killed during apparent murder-suicide in Galena Park: Sheriff

"We're trying to actually raise money through this benefit, that way the family can go ahead and get the funeral taken care of and start grieving," Devani Gonzalez who works with Fiel, a civil rights organization with a focus on immigration.

Torres and Gill were shot and killed on Feb. 19 in the 2000 block of Second Street along with 14-year-old Laisha Perez who was a neighbor.

The three girls were killed by the 38-year-old live-in boyfriend of the sisters' mother said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Investigators say he shot and killed the teens before turning the gun on himself.

A 12-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl were also inside the home during the time of the deadly shooting but managed to escape according to authorities.

"If you really think back to the events that took place, I think it's not just the people that were involved in the incident, also the neighbors who were essentially hurt by this," said Gonzalez.

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The goal of the family is to raise $20,000 to help with expenses and Gonzalez says they are currently at $13,000 raised through a GoFundMe supporting the family. 

"This is a really difficult process, so we don't want them to go through more of a difficulty than it already is," Gonzalez says. "When we need to pull together as a community that's exactly what we'll do."