Xochilt Garcia
Editor in Chief
Editor’s note: This story was edited April 4 to correct the name and pronouns of Lucifer Pescador, the 19-year-old freshman who died March 8 in what police say was a murder-suicide perpetrated by the father. The Mesquite was not aware of Pescador’s preferred name and pronouns until March 28 because university officials only provided Pescador’s legal name, major and classification when we reached out to them through email March 21. We have since confirmed Pescador’s preferred name and pronouns with the Office of Student Affairs and professors who knew Pescador. We acknowledge the importance of using the chosen name and pronouns of a transgender person. The name “Leslie” refers to Pescador’s legal name and is used in quotes and official statements from other sources, which also use she/her pronouns to refer to Pescador.
An honors student at Texas A&M University-San Antonio was found dead with three of his family members after a house fire was reported March 8 on the Southeast side of San Antonio.
Lucifer Pescador, 19, was a health and behavioral sciences freshman with a psychology concentration and began attending A&M-San Antonio in August of 2023, according to university officials. Lucifer was the student’s preferred name.
The freshman was found in a house on the 4400 block of Wrangler Run with his father Alfredo Pescador, 44, his mother Blanca Pescador, 40, and his 13-year-old brother, who was identified as Freddie Jr. on a GoFundMe page created by a woman who described herself as the children’s aunt.
William Bush, the director for the honors program at A&M-San Antonio, confirmed that Pescador was an honors student but declined to be interviewed.
Pescador’s email also appears in the university’s Outlook email server as a student tutor with the Writing, Language, and Digital Composing Center. An honors student who did not want to be named or interviewed said they were aware that Pescador worked in the university’s Writing Center. Katherine Bridgman, director of the WLD Center, declined to comment when asked about Pescador.
Pescador’s younger brother attended school at East Central Independent School District. A spokesperson for the district released the following statement March 12 to the news station WOAI:
“The loss of Freddy Pescador, his sister Leslie, and their parents in such a tragic event has deeply affected us all, particularly as Leslie was a graduate of ECISD and Freddy attended Heritage Middle School. Our thoughts are with their loved ones and all who knew them.”
The statement also assured that East Central ISD was offering “the necessary support and counseling of friends, students, and any families impacted by this horrendous incident.”
A&M-San Antonio has not released a statement about Pescador, and senior communications manager for the university Sam Boykin said the school would not be releasing a statement.
The initial call emergency responders received reported a car fire, but a spokesperson for the fire department told the Express-News the fire started inside the house and spread to the car.
In a March 12 article, the Express-News reported that the house fire is now being investigated as a homicide by the San Antonio Police Department.
On March 11, Fox News San Antonio reported that Lucifer Pescador died from a gunshot wound and not from the house fire. According to the National Gun Violence Memorial, Pescador was “lost to gun violence” on March 8 and his death has since been ruled as a homicide.
The family of four was from El Paso and were friendly people who mostly kept to themselves, neighbors of the family told the Express-news.
Pescador’s aunt Cristina Bendtsen launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses and to transport the family’s bodies back to El Paso, where Blanca Pescador was born and raised.
“My sister Blanca was a loving and amazing mom who her entire world revolved around her kids and a good wife. My niece was an honor student at a local college and my nephew [was an] amazing kid,” Bendtsen said on the GoFundMe page.
Bendtsen updated the fundraising page March 15:
“Hi everyone. I want to thank everyone, from the bottom of my heart, for your contribution in helping us bring my sister, nephew and niece back to El Paso. We still have a long road ahead of us, but I thank you for your kind donation and specially your prayers.”
