Abelardo Duran

Abelardo Duran Jr. was a beloved big brother, known affectionately as "Junior" to his family. At 26 years old, the Hispanic man from San Antonio, Texas, shared a special bond with his sister, who later described him as her other half. "We did everything together," she recalled years after his death. Their close connection made his sudden and violent loss an unbearable tragedy from which his family has struggled to move on. The questions surrounding his death have left a void that, for them, can only be filled by justice.

The afternoon of Friday, October 3, 2008, was bright and clear in San Antonio. Abelardo was at a car wash on the city's northwest side, in the 4100 block of Medical Drive, tending to his vehicle. He had just spoken with his sister, a routine call that gave no hint of the horror that was about to unfold. As he was vacuuming his car in broad daylight, a man with a blue bandana covering his face approached him. Without apparent warning or provocation, the man raised a gun and shot Abelardo several times before fleeing the scene.

Back at his family's home, a sense of unease began to set in. When Abelardo didn't answer his mother's calls, his sister felt her heart drop. The dread was confirmed when the doorbell rang, bringing police officers with the devastating news. The family's world was shattered. The fact that the shooting happened on a busy street in the middle of the day was particularly agonizing for them, leaving them to wonder how such a brazen act could happen without a single witness coming forward with useful information.

The San Antonio Police Department launched a homicide investigation, but the case quickly grew cold. The description of the shooter was vague, limited to a man with his face obscured by a blue bandana. Despite the public setting of the crime, detectives received few leads. For years, Abelardo's family maintained contact with investigators and Crime Stoppers, hoping for a breakthrough, but none came. "Nobody can give us any answers and we are so frustrated," his sister expressed in 2013. "It's been so many years and we've called Crime Stoppers. We call the detectives and nobody can give us an answer."

The profound grief of Abelardo's family has been compounded by the lack of closure. His sister has voiced the deep pain of not knowing who took her brother's life or why. "I can't move on without knowing, who he was," she said, referring to the identity of the killer. "Who took my life away from me because he was my other half." Her public plea for information underscored a family desperate for answers and a community that may hold the key to solving the crime.

As of April 2013, more than four years after the murder, no arrests had been made, and no suspects had been publicly identified. The investigation into the homicide of Abelardo Duran Jr. remains open but inactive. His family continues to hope that someone will finally come forward with the information needed to bring his killer to justice.

Authorities urge anyone with information regarding the shooting death of Abelardo Duran Jr. to contact Crime Stoppers at (210) 224-STOP.