Cassandra Lange and Joby Williams face capital murder charges after Cherry and Stephen Rehbein were found in a ravine near Medina Lake.

MICO, Texas — A missed work shift led Medina County deputies to a rural home, a bloody trash can, two arrests near Corpus Christi and the bodies of a husband and wife hidden in a ravine, authorities said.

The case has moved from a welfare check to a capital murder investigation involving two victims, two suspects, stolen property and two children who were inside a victim’s vehicle when officers made a traffic stop. Cassandra Lange, 29, and Joby Williams, 30, are accused of killing Lange’s mother, 54-year-old Cherry Rehbein, and Cherry Rehbein’s husband, 58-year-old Stephen Rehbein, at the couple’s home in Mico.

The first public break in the case came Wednesday, April 8, when a co-worker reported that Stephen Rehbein had not shown up for work. Deputies went to the couple’s home in the 3300 block of County Road 265 around 1 p.m. Sheriff Randy Brown said no one answered when deputies arrived, but they saw what he described as signs that something violent may have happened. The most visible clue was outside the home. A deputy found bloody items in a trash can at the curb, Brown said. Investigators then obtained a search warrant, secured the scene and began trying to account for the couple’s vehicles.

Brown said investigators believe the killings happened Monday evening at the Rehbeins’ home. According to the sheriff, Cherry Rehbein was killed first. Stephen Rehbein was killed when he returned home from work. Authorities have not released a final cause of death, and the medical examiner was still working on that finding after the bodies were recovered. Brown said investigators recovered multiple weapons and believe strangulation and a knife were involved. He did not announce a motive and said investigators were still sorting through what happened inside the home before the welfare check brought deputies there two days later.

After deputies found evidence at the house, investigators used available technology to track one of the Rehbeins’ vehicles to the Corpus Christi area, roughly a long drive southeast of Mico. The Corpus Christi Police Department’s gang unit located and stopped the vehicle Wednesday afternoon. Lange and Williams were inside, authorities said. So were two children: Lange’s 6-year-old daughter and a 1-month-old infant. Officials said Lange is the mother of both children, while Williams is the biological father of the baby. The 6-year-old was released to her father, and the infant was placed in the custody of state child welfare workers.

The stop in Corpus Christi gave investigators their first direct contact with the suspects since the welfare call. Brown said Williams had a fresh hand wound that had required stitches at a San Antonio medical facility. A Medina County chief deputy and a Texas Ranger traveled to Corpus Christi to interview Lange and Williams. Brown said Lange confessed that she and Williams killed her mother and stepfather and disposed of the bodies in a ravine. The sheriff said Williams initially gave an account that did not match the evidence. Both were taken into custody by about 7 p.m. Wednesday, roughly six hours after deputies first went to the Rehbein home.

The search for the victims then shifted to the Medina Lake area. Brown said investigators moved quickly after the confession because Lange gave them a location tied to the disposal of the bodies. Deputies searched ravines and dry creek beds in the dark, a difficult task in brushy country where steep drops can be hidden from the road. Early Thursday morning, April 9, a deputy saw what looked like trash near FM 1283. Deputies pushed through cedar brush and went about 73 feet down into a deep ravine that could not be seen from the roadway. There, they found two large black garbage bags containing the bodies of Cherry and Stephen Rehbein.

Fire personnel helped recover the bodies from the ravine, and the remains were sent to the medical examiner for autopsies. Brown said investigators were also trying to locate property missing from the home. Items believed to have been stolen included guns, money, tools and a vehicle. Investigators were checking pawn shops and working to trace the firearms, the sheriff said. That part of the case remains important because it may show what happened after the killings and whether any property changed hands before the arrests. Brown said he could not speculate on whether theft was the motive.

The family connection adds another layer to the case. Lange is Cherry Rehbein’s biological daughter, and Stephen Rehbein was Lange’s stepfather, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities have not released details about the relationship between Lange and the Rehbeins before the killings. They also have not said whether the two children were present during the slayings or whether they were in the vehicle only after the suspects left Medina County. Those questions remain part of the investigation. Officials have said the children were safe when officers found them during the traffic stop.

Lange and Williams were charged with capital murder of multiple persons. Their bonds were later set at $1 million surety each after initially being lower. Lange was taken back to Medina County the night of April 8, while Williams remained in the Nueces County Jail pending transfer at the time of the sheriff’s Friday briefing. The case is still active, with autopsy findings, stolen property checks and further interviews expected to shape the next steps.

As of Monday, May 4, authorities had announced no final motive and no final cause of death. The next major milestones are the medical examiner’s reports and the suspects’ first court proceedings in Medina County.

Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.