Six illegal immigrants, ages 13 through 21, charged in connection with a South Carolina mother’s “random” murder earlier this month allegedly texted each other about the crime afterward.

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office deputies located Larisha Sharell Thompson, 40, deceased with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of her vehicle on Riverside Road in Lancaster, located about an hour south of Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 2.

On May 12, authorities announced the arrests of Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos, 21; Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari, 18; Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado, 17; and three juveniles, ages 13, 14 and 15, in connection with Thompson’s death and a separate burglary that occurred on April 30.

Sixth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Melissa McGinnis said all six suspects charged admitted to robbing a car during a May 14 hearing, as The Rock Hill Herald first reported.

“I would suspect – again, without knowing all the ins and outs of this case – that the state will seek to have the younger ones being cooperating defendants in exchange for lesser sentences,” he said.

The three juvenile suspects are also charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary.

All six suspects are subject to removal from the United States under federal immigration law based on their immigration status, the sheriff’s office said. 

“The Department of Homeland Security has placed detainers on these six,” Faile said. “That doesn’t mean the federal government will scoop them up and send them out of the country before their cases are heard in court. It simply means if, for any reason, any one or more of them becomes eligible for release before their charges are resolved in court, Homeland Security will take custody of them, and they will not be back out on the street. Our intention is that all six remain detained until they face the full weight of our judicial system.”