Armando Antu was a 38-year-old Hispanic man described by his older sister, Annette, as intelligent and a great guy. The two siblings were very close, which made it especially painful for Annette to watch her brother take his last breath in a hospital bed. She acknowledged that Armando had some problems in his life, but she wanted people to remember the man he was and not just his struggles.
On the night of January 16, 2013, Armando was found beaten and left for dead in San Antonio, Texas. He was lying in the road at the intersection of South New Braunfels Avenue and Betty Jean Street on the city’s south side. A passing couple almost ran him over, at first thinking he was already deceased. Though he was in very bad shape, Armando was still coherent when he was discovered. He was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.
At the hospital, Armando’s condition deteriorated, and he slipped into a coma.
He remained in the coma for ten days before he died from his injuries on January 26, 2013. His death was investigated as a murder.
Annette Antu made a public plea for answers, desperate to find out who was responsible for her brother’s death. She worried that potential witnesses might not come forward because of how they might have viewed her brother’s lifestyle. “There might be someone saying, ‘he was just an alcoholic, an addict’ and that they’re not going to say anything,” she explained. She stressed that regardless of his personal battles, he did not deserve to die in such a brutal way and that someone out there must have seen something that night.
Annette said she found some comfort in the last voicemail message her brother left on her phone before he was attacked. In the message, Armando said how tired he was of living the way he was and that he was sorry for all the trouble he had brought upon his family. He ended the message by telling them that he loved them.
As of February 2013, no suspects had been identified in Armando Antu’s beating death, and his case remains unsolved.
