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After authorities identified the Houston-area family of five found dead at a vacation home in Leon County, the community they were a part of came together to grieve with and lend support to the loved ones they left behind, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported.
Authorities believe 66-year-old Mark Collins and his grandsons – siblings Waylon Collins, 18; Carson Collins, 16; and Hudson Collins, 11; and the boys' 11-year-old paternal cousin, Bryson Collins – were killed at the elder Collins' ranch in Centerville by escaped convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez, per the station.
The 46-year-old Lopez freed himself from a prison transport bus as it traveled through Leon County last month, setting off a three-week manhunt. Authorities eventually tracked Lopez down to outside San Antonio and shot him to death.
KHOU reported that Tomball residents rallied for the Collins family by doing such things as setting up a GoFundMe page and donating portions of business revenue to help defray any financial burdens associated with the tragedy.
According to the station, the GoFundMe raked in over $200,000.
"It’s tragic, it’s heartbreaking," Madison Heald, who owns Vickie B's Boutique On Main and has helped spread the word about the fundraiser, told KHOU. "And my heart goes out to the family and the friends that are having to go through all of this.”
David Crain remembered the four boys, telling the station each were "bright shining stars."
"We coached them through baseball," Crain, a longtime friend of the family, told KHOU. "These next few days are gonna be tough on all of us."
Tomball Independent School District (TISD) officials on Friday (June 3) confirmed that the children were enrolled in their schools.
“There are no words,” TISD Superintendent Dr. Martha Salazar Zamora said in the statement, Houston Daily reported. “During this difficult time, the Tomball community is continuing to pull together following the tragic loss of four students.”
Waylon, the eldest of the Collins brothers, had just graduated from Tomball High School, KHOU reported.
He and his two younger siblings were the only children of Chris and Misti Collins. Misti Collins teaches in the Cy-Fair Independent School District (CFISD), per the station.
"We are devastated by the loss of our dear family members at the family ranch in Centerville, Texas," the family said in a statement ran by KHOU. "These precious people who loved and were loved by so many, will never be forgotten."