ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — In 2021, 15-year-old William "Quince" Colburn III killed his father, mother, and younger sister before committing suicide. Four years later, his older sister, Mahria Batts, is still fighting to reopen the case, convinced another online user was involved.
Batts also warns the tragedy underscores the hidden dangers of social media for young users.
Quince lived with his mother, Jana Colburn; father, William Colburn Jr.; and 13-year-old sister, Emma Colburn, at the Aransas Oaks RV Park.
"Full of life" is how Mahria Batts described Quince. "He's the definition of a boy's boy. If you told him he couldn't jump off a house, he was going to do it twice."
The night of Sept. 15 seemed like any other night for Mahria, who was living in San Antonio at the time. She had spoken with her mother, brother, and sister over the phone, as she did every night. "Nothing seemed off. Everything seemed very normal."
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., Quince took one of the family's handguns and shot and killed Emma and William before killing his mother.
Between the killings and the initial arrival of law enforcement, Quince shared photos of the deceased via social media, including Facebook and Discord.
In body camera video provided to KRIS 6 News, two officers with the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office arrived at Aransas Oaks RV Park. The responding officers knocked on the door of the home; after multiple attempts a voice from inside the RV was heard. "What?" Quince asked. The officers identified themselves. "Really?" Quince responded. Seconds later, a shot was heard.
Officers later entered the home and found Quince dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, as well as the bodies of his family and their two dogs.
Mahria was visiting family when she learned of the shooting. "I didn't know why it had happened, but there were a lot of different emotions and different feelings from, like, sadness, anger, frustration, not understanding."
At the time, Mahria had not known about any communications her brother was having leading up to the murders, but she knew that "something was off." It was in the days following that screenshots of her brother's activity were shared with her.
Documents show users in Discord groups reported Quince's messages due to the risk of self-harm prior to the events of Sept. 15.
Much of the discussion Mahria saw online following the murders involved users on Reddit sharing the photos taken by Quince. However, in her pursuit to have the images of her family members taken down, one comment stuck out.
A user on Reddit identified themselves and "bragged" that they were Quince's girlfriend.
"I kind of blew it off for a little bit," Batts explained. "But as I started reading the comments and the post, one comment that she made did make me realize that she did know my brother."
The comment in question centered around the family dogs. "She specifically commented on one and said, 'oh, he killed the dogs because Wally was licking the blood off of Emma's face.'"
"There were never any postings, no documentation, no nothing about what the dogs' names were. That name was never in the news," she said. "That is what triggered me to know that she knew my brother more on a personal level."
Mahria sought to learn everything she could about this online "girlfriend." For this story, the individual will be referred to as USER, as they were a minor at the time.
"The more that I talked to her, the more information that she knew that was impossible to know unless you had a very close relationship with my brother."
Early in their discussions, USER revealed to Mahria that she and Quince had allegedly concocted a plan. According to screenshots provided to Mahria, the plan was for Quince to kill his family, travel to Florida, kill USER's family, and then the two would run away together until they were caught.
During these conversations, USER provided Mahria screenshots allegedly showing her messages with Quince prior to and following the murder of his family.
Following these initial communications with USER, Mahria turned back to Sgt. Juan Longoria with the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office in hopes of keeping her family's case open.
"He [Sgt. Longoria] said the case was cut and dry, that my brother took their lives and then took his life," she said. "His reasoning behind closing the case was that my brother was angry with my mother."
In the meantime, Mahria obtained USER's home address amid their communications and immediately sought out local authorities in Florida. However, when speaking with a Florida officer, Mahria was told that due to Texas being a different state, authorities in San Patricio County would need to request assistance for Florida law enforcement to take action.
KRIS 6 News reached out to the San Patricio County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Oscar Rivera said the District Attorney at the time, Sam Smith, "didn't want to prosecute." Rivera added, "The case is dead."
After two law enforcement agencies across two states said no action would be taken, Mahria turned to the FBI.
In May 2022, Mahria began communicating with a Task Force Officer with the FBI out of Corpus Christi. "He had talked to me on the phone, asked me lots of questions, and felt like I had a case," Mahria said.
"In October, I was told that he was really sorry. He was actually pretty sad because he really hoped that it was going to go somewhere, especially with all the evidence that I had, but that there was nothing that they could do."
KRIS 6 News contacted the FBI to learn more about their decision. A representative who spoke on background said part of the decision was the lack of a "federal nexus," making it a matter for local law enforcement. The representative also said the department does not pursue cases against children.
While these responses left Mahria confused and saddened, criminal attorney Kyle Hoelscher saw it as a familiar practice. "Both of those sound like things that law enforcement frequently says to kick the can down the road so that it's not their problem," Hoelscher told KRIS 6 News. "It's just a way to pass the buck."
Hoelscher also expressed confusion over the response from the FBI. "There's no way the FBI will simply say, 'Oh, it's a minor. We're done with the investigation.' That's nonsense," he said.
While Hoelscher expressed sympathy for Mahria's pursuit, he said the obstacles within a court of law might be "insurmountable."
"If the authorities have looked at this and said, 'we're not proceeding, we're not reopening,' then unfortunately, there may not be enough evidence that exists to prove any kind of criminal culpability against this person. The problem that you run into frequently when family members seek justice is that they are very close to the crime itself."
Despite the legal hurdles before her, Mahria said she has no intention of stopping her pursuit for the truth. Not only does she want justice for her brother, but she fears that as long as USER is still out there, there could be a risk to her family or herself.
"Part of me hoped that she would say, because she was abused or neglected, so that in some way I could feel like, okay, I understand why it led there, but she didn't. Her words were, 'I needed someone to do it.'"
"I can't prove that she's the reason that he did it. But I can tell you that I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her," Mahria said.
"You can get jail time because I knew a robbery was going to happen, but she knew murders were going to happen and nothing is being done," Mahria continued. "If this can save one child or one family from going through what we're going through right now and the truth just to be told, then somehow, some way, this has to be worth it."
For Mahria, the loss is deeply personal. She remembers her sister, Emma, as a beautiful soul. "I don't think I've ever met a more pure soul than hers. She wanted to grow up and live on a farm and only raise dogs there." Mahria has a tattoo in the same spot Emma had a temporary tattoo, using Emma's last handwriting from a birthday card to their mother.
She describes her mother, Jana, as "strong willed and hard headed." Mahria said, "She was so smart it was insane though! She was my friend and my mother. She loved fiercely." Both her mother and Emma were deeply involved in genealogy, a family passion that Mahria and her children now intend to carry on.
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