Matthew Ernest Hughes, 56, of San Antonio died on July 3, 2014 from gunshot wounds to the head and chest at the family home on the city’s Northwest Side. Police reports state his 25-year-old son, Matthew Thomas Hughes, called 911 saying his father had been choking him; officers found the elder Hughes unresponsive on the kitchen floor. The son was taken into custody and charged with murder, held on $250,000 bond and was denied permission to attend his father’s funeral.

Prosecutors later challenged the son’s claim of self-defense, pointing to inconsistencies in his account and saying there were no signs of a struggle in the kitchen or injuries to the elder Hughes’ neck to support choking. The case went to trial, where the circumstances of the altercation and the self-defense claim were examined, and the defendant was ultimately convicted and sentenced.

Anyone who knew Matthew Ernest Hughes or who has information about what happened that night is urged to come forward.