Little Dani Countryman was a fighter and that surprised the men who killed her.

"She was only 5 foot and 95 pounds," said Ashley Countryman, the sister who found Dani's body in an Oregon apartment the morning after a going-away party. "I don't think they were expecting such a fight out of her."

Ashley said police in Oregon told her that Dani had scratched her attackers and that DNA would be part of the evidence against Alejandro Gamboa, 24, and Gilberto Gamboa, 23, two cousins who have been accused of Dani's murder.

The men, who also lived in the apartment building, were expected to be arraigned Tuesday.

Ashley said she had seen the Gamboas at the party but did not know them. She saw them offer Dani a beer.

Dani, 15, was to fly back to Texas on Saturday, hours after Ashley found her body on the floor of one of two apartments where friends had partied the night before.

Ashley, 20, said it wasn't a wild party, just people getting together for a few drinks and watching "Chronicles of Narnia" on TV.

Ashley brought her 17-month-old baby, Jessa. There was a baby-sitter at the party to help keep an eye of things.

On Saturday morning Ashley went to find Dani in a room with several other people sleeping on the floor and sofa. Ashley tried to wake Dani but she never woke up.

"People were sleeping 3 feet away from her,"Ashley said. "It's just a nightmare. There's not a word to describe it."

She and Dani were half sisters and one grew up in Texas, the other in Oregon. They spent summers together and bonded even more strongly during Dani's first visit as an aunt.

Dani's funeral was Saturday at the First Assembly of God church in Kaufman. Mourners overflowed in the 400-seat sanctuary.

The family got word of the arrests Monday evening.

"I don't think they deserve to live because Dani's not alive," said Sandra Wright, Dani's grandmother. "We're glad they're arrested. When they're convicted, then maybe I can take a deep breath.

Dani had struggled with drugs and had dropped out of high school her freshman year. She planned to go back to school this fall.

"Dani and I had both wanted desperately to open up a house for teenagers here in Kaufman because there's not really any place for them to go just to talk," Ms. Wright said. "I'm not talking about detox or anything, just to give these kids a place to go and talk and get some help, a safe haven."

Other than sports, there's not much for kids to do in Kaufman but get in trouble, she said.

"I'm not saying that this is a bad town," Ms. Wright said. "I'm just saying there are certain things that are needed here that we don't have."

Detective Jim Strovink, a spokesman for the Clackamas County sheriff's office, did not disclose whether Dani was sexually assaulted, whether the men knew her or how she could have been killed with so many people around.

If convicted of aggravated murder, the men could face the death penalty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.