On September 25, 2016, Welton Betts, a 44-year-old man from Cedar Hill, Texas, was tragically killed at a Texaco gas station in Cedar Hill. Betts, who was returning home after attending a Dallas Cowboys game, was shot by a gunman without provocation. His wife, Gail, witnessed the murder. Betts was known as a loving husband, father, and brother who lived a quiet, good life in Corsicana.
The suspect in Betts' murder was identified as Juan Navarro Rios, also known by aliases such as
Silvestre Franco-Luviano and Guillermo Luviano-Franco. Rios was involved in a crime spree that included multiple shootings, a carjacking, a home invasion, and possibly a kidnapping. He was eventually arrested after a standoff in Georgetown, Texas, and later extradited to Dallas County on a murder charge.
Rios had a history of criminal activity and had been deported to Mexico three times before. Despite his troubled past, Betts' family expressed a desire for Rios to have known their loved one, believing that Betts would have helped him if given the chance. The family found some comfort in a grainy surveillance video that captured the last few seconds of Betts' life.
The investigation into Betts' death revealed that Rios had also been involved in the killing of Ruben Moreno, a 33-year-old man shot in Dallas earlier that same night. The search for Rios was complicated by his use of multiple aliases and his history of re-entering the U.S. illegally.
Betts' family continues to grieve his loss and wishes that Rios had the opportunity to know the kind of person Betts was. They believe that if Rios had understood Betts' character, he might have chosen a different path that night.
