Mother asks not to ‘make her son out to be monster’ after allegedly killing father

ABC-7 has new information on an El Paso man who allegedly shot and killed his father last weekend.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 12000 block of Stansbury in Far East El Paso shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived, a woman told deputies that her son, 37-year-old Steven Apilado, shot and killed her husband, 79-year-old Vincent Apilado.

ABC-7 has learned that Steven Apilado was on probation after attacking his parents last year. He’s jailed now under a $1 million bond.

Elsa Apilado told ABC-7 the shooting was an accident and that Steven loved his father, who had Parkinson’s disease and dementia. But a neighbor told ABC-7 Steven Apilado was mentally ill.

“Everybody has their own little problems, but you don’t expect it to escalate to this level,” said neighbor Robert Aguero, who had seen Sheriff’s deputies at the Apilado before. “The last incident we had seeing the units out there it had to be probably about a year ago. We’ve seen enough.”

Another neighbor, who did not want to be on camera, told ABC-7 Steven Apilado’s mother told her that her son was mentally ill before he allegedly shot and killed his father.

“We always knew about Stevie, I mean, you know, that he wasn’t well, because his Mom would talk about it,” the neighbor said. “She didn’t witness the shooting, but she was in the house and immediately was there to see it, see her husband.”

She said Apilado’s mother called her from a police car outside after the shooting. She told her Steven was watching TV with his dad and she was in another room.

“She heard the shot and her son came in and told her what he did,” the neighbor said. “She says he doesn’t sleep for days, like he goes days without sleeping.”

She said another neighbor told her he had seen guns in Steven Apilado’s room, which would appear to violate his two-year probation for attacking his parents last year.

“I don’t know where he got the gun,” she said. “I never knew that Stevie owned guns. I just assumed he didn’t because he’s not well.”

The Apilado family issued this statement: “This is an unfortunate family tragedy. We are trying to deal with the situation as best we can and would appreciate the press respecting our privacy.”

Despite being beaten by Steven Apilado last year with a gun and the alleged killing of her husband by her own son, Elsa Apilado pleaded with ABC-7 not to make her son “out to be a monster.”