The family of a Tarrant County grandfather beaten to death by three strangers says they have been dealt another blow.
It’s been five months since Frank Kwasnica’s death in the parking lot of an Arlington apartment complex.
Three men are jailed in the January 19 murder.
Kwasnica’s family tells NBC 5 they’ve been informed by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office that prosecutors may not take the case to trial.
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Sierra Radley and Frank Kwasnica Sr. say they have no option, but to speak publicly about this week’s devastating and unexpected developments.
They say an assistant district attorney leading the case reportedly told them Tuesday that the office planned on reaching out to the suspect’s attorneys offering a plea deal, avoiding taking the case to trial.
“I feel like they don’t want to put in the work because it’s going to be three different trials,” said Radley, the victim’s eldest daughter. “I felt like They had no respect for my dad I feel, like they’re just trying to get the case over with. I feel like they're not wanting to put in the effort because it's not their family.”
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Radley says she is willing to take the risk and demands three separate capital murder or murder trials in her father's death.
“[My father] wasn’t offered any second chance at life,” she said. “They left him there and I just feel like for me to sit here, I wouldn’t be doing the right thing for my daddy. He deserves them to be away for life or the death penalty."
Arlington police said the savage attack in January was captured on video evidence including a cell phone leading police to three Honduran nationals: brothers Brayan Amador Vasquez and Jared Amador Vasquez as well as Norlan Gomez Torres.
Police Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Gomez Torres in October of 2023.
The Amador Vasquez brothers allegedly confessed to the attack, according to arrest warrants.
Police said the beating was so brutal, it took days to positively identity the victim.
“They beat him, they stabbed him with multiple sharp objects,” said Radley. “They beat him with a metal pole. They knew what they were doing. He tried to run away, and they chased him.”
Radley and Kwasnica Sr. shared painful moments when they were urged not to view the victim’s body, given the extent of the injuries inflicted on his face, head and body.
“Because they beat him so bad and he was unrecognizable, we didn’t even have the opportunity to say goodbye,” she said. “People like that don’t deserve to be on the street.”
Police initially held the trio for capital murder after determining they stole the victim’s car after the attack.
In late April, a Tarrant County grand jury indicted all three for murder finding ‘they did intentionally cause the death of Frank Kwasnica by striking him with a club or striking him with a roof tool or striking him with a blunt object.’
The family reported Kwasnica missing and later found the victim’s car.
Police found a bloodied shoe that did not belong to the victim, a cell phone reportedly belonging to Gomez Torres, and evidence in an apartment unit rented to one of the suspects.
Police also revealed there were witnesses to the crime, including a tow truck driver who recorded the ‘very disturbing’ attack on his cell phone.
“Mutilating him, I mean what kind of people are they,” asks an upset Kwasnica Sr. “They’re animals. They don’t deserve any sympathy and there should be justice for them.”
In late May, Sorrells waved the death penalty for each suspect, according to online records.
NBC 5 reached out to Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrell's office asking if a plea deal is being offered and why.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the DA's office said: “There has been no plea offer extended in the cases involving the death of Frank Kwasnika III.’
The DA’s office would not comment on whether a deal will be offered or accepted at a later date and what if any, “weight” a victim’s family has in these decisions.
All three suspects remain in jail.
NBC 5 has been unable to reach their attorneys for comment.
An alleged motive is not yet clear, but police have revealed there may have been an argument between the men and Kwasnica following a minor crash.
