DALLAS — On Dec. 7, an 18-year-old man was accidentally shot and killed on Materhorn Drive, according to Dallas Police.
That teenager, Mathew Espinoza, had just graduated high school, worked hard at his job at Raising Cane's and was a huge Texas Rangers fan, his family said.
"My heart was never prepared for any of this," his sister Shanice Redwine told WFAA on Sunday. "My brother never deserved this to happen to him. We’ll never get him back."
The shooting that killed Redwine's brother was an accident, according to the police who investigated his death. The 18-year-old suspect, Vincent Michael Corral, knew Espinoza. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide.
Redwine said she's not sure that's enough.
"I just want answers," she said. "Someone has to answer for this. If we’re gonna say this was an accident, then I need to know exactly what happened that night -- and my family just hasn’t gotten that."
While they wait for answers from the Dallas Police Department, Redwine said her family is preparing for their first Christmas without her brother.
Shortly before his death, he's decorated his Christmas tree, and bought presents for his siblings.
"He was the one who kept my family’s spirits up," Redwine said. "I just will never look at Christmas the same."
Redwine told WFAA she wants people to remember her brother as a loving uncle with an infectious smile. He loved to bake cakes, and to listen to Nicki Minaj's music, she said.
She described him as a humble, hardworking young man who was hoping to soon land an internship in finance.
"He was just so thoughtful and driven," Redwine said. "I always tell everyone, my brother had the world ahead of him. I will miss his laugh, his smile, just the love that he gave. My brother’s love was unconditional."
The family is fundraising for funeral costs and funds to support Mathew's mother while she’s out of work and in grief counseling.
You can find the link to that fundraiser here.