A man accused of choking and killing his 7-year-old brother in Pharr was charged with capital murder and issued a $2 million bond.

Brandon Dion Garza, 24, was arraigned at the Pharr Municipal Court on Thursday. He faces a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty.

Police said Garza confessed to choking his brother, which caused him to become unresponsive. 

The incident occurred at the 900 block of West Caffery Avenue on Thursday at around 3:20 a.m.

A spokesperson for the city of Pharr said officers arrived at the scene and immediately began performing CPR on the boy until Pharr EMS took over life-saving procedures.

The boy was declared dead after he was hospitalized. 

According to a criminal complaint obtained by Channel 5 News, the mother of the suspect and the victim called police and said Garza killed her 7-year-old son.

The mother, identified as Emily Alaniz, told police that Garza had called her at around 3:13 a.m. to say that his little brother was not breathing and that she had to come home.

Officers who arrived at the scene said Garza was standing by the doorway with a blood-stained shirt and dried blood on his forehead, the complaint stated.

"Officers approached the defendant and asked him what had happened, and that is when he stated 'I choked him out,'" the complaint reads.

According to the complaint, Garza told investigators that he got into a verbal argument with his brother "which later turned physical."

"[Garza] stated he punched his brother several times in the face at different locations of the apartment," The complaint stated. "[Garza] then stated that he later grabbed his brother and threw him to the floor."

The complaint said Garza then "straddled"  his brother and pinned him down with his left hand, and then choked his brother with his other hand "to the point that he went unconscious."

Channel 5 News learned that Garza was previously arrested in Oct. 25, 2024, on a charge of assault causes bodily injury to a family member.

According to an affidavit obtained by Channel 5 News, Garza was arrested following an incident that occurred on Dec. 12, 2023. A relative of Garza’s told investigators with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office that Garza pulled on her arm “trying to forcefully get her back inside the house,” causing several bruises on her arm.

Jail records show Garza was released the same day he was arrested on a $5,000 bond on the assault charge.

It wasn’t immediately clear why Garza was arrested over 10 months after the alleged incident.

Court records indicate Garza is due to be arraigned on the assault charge on Friday, Jan. 17.

Garza remains in the Hidalgo County jail as of Thursday night.

Watch the video above for the full story.