Family members say Maturino Resendez is loving and calm  ALSO: First Texas murder charge in 'Railway Killer' case VIDEO Maturino Resendez' immediate family lives in Juarez, Mexico. CNN's Jennifer Auther goes there. Windows Media 28K 80K

July 15, 1999
Web posted at: 3:01 p.m. EDT (1901 GMT)

JAUREZ, Mexico -- The family of Angel Maturino Resendez is struggling with the possibility that the man they describe as loving and kind may be a ruthless serial killer.

"I believe it is really beginning to soak in that he could be the person ... because they knew him years ago as a kind, loving man in the family, so the picture of what he's alleged of doing does not fit together with who they view," said the Rev. Troy Robinson of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Robinson accompanied Maturino Resendez and family members on Tuesday when the suspected "railway killer" surrendered to Texas Rangers in El Paso, Texas, just across the border from Mexico.

He has been charged with two slayings in Illinois, one in Kentucky and one in Texas. He's a suspect in five other Texas slayings. Most victims were found near railroad tracks.

Robinson, pastor of Hope Chapel Foursquare Gospel Church, said Manuela Maturino, the suspect's half-sister, and other relatives describe Maturino Resendez as a "very loving, calm man," especially with children.

Manuela Maturino, who has attended Robinson's church for the last seven years, approached the pastor for support after law enforcement authorities contacted her in mid-June. Robinson said he could see the hurt in her eyes.

He described her as a "very strong Christian woman," the single mother of two small children.

A man reads more about the Maturino Resendez case

"We prayed for the families. We prayed that he would get tired of running. We prayed that he would give himself up and we prayed that it would be a peaceful surrender, and that's how it happened," Robinson said.

Manuela Maturino was one of the relatives present when her half-brother surrendered.

Robinson said word that Maturino Resendez wanted to give himself up came Sunday when Manuela Maturino's brother, Florentino, called from Mexico.

"Rafael contacted his half-brother, who is a pastor himself in Mexico. He was talking to Florentino about giving himself up. Florentino called Manuela so she could call the Texas Rangers," Robinson said.

"Why he chose to give himself up in this way, in the United States, I don't know. I suspect he was concerned about his family," the pastor said.

In Juarez, Mexico, neighbors describe Maturino Resendez' mother as a quiet, religious woman who is deeply troubled by the allegations that her son may be linked to nine U.S. murders.

Flustered by the publicity, a relative of the suspect throws water on a photographer

"She's pained by all of this, because she never thought she would have a son like this. She is very depressed," said Gerardo Rojas, who owns a market eight doors away from the mother's home.

Neighbors say the family keeps its problems to itself, like most others on the street of government-subsidized homes.

The otherwise peaceful family must now bear the consequences of what is likely to be a high-profile prosecution.

"God is the one who is in charge of him. We have faith in God and we are praying to God so he will save him," said Alberto Maturino-Resendez, the suspect's uncle.

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