On May 8, 2023, the bodies of 27-year-old Brandon Bobo Barboza and 26-year-old Xxavier Marchus were found in a white Nissan SUV in a field off Farm-to-Market Road 2725 near Aransas Pass, Texas. Both men had fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators say the shootings happened elsewhere and the vehicle was abandoned where it was discovered.

Barboza and Marchus were close friends and coworkers, both employed as cooks at Roosevelt’s restaurant in Port Aransas. Authorities identified 30-year-old Maurice Sample, a coworker who lived in the same Aransas Pass apartment complex, as a suspect; he reportedly left town the morning of the shootings and was later apprehended in Maryland on a San Patricio County murder warrant and extradited to Texas. An indictment was returned and an arraignment occurred, with a not guilty plea entered on the defendant’s behalf.

The killings deeply affected their families, friends, and coworkers. If anyone knew Brandon Barboza or has information about the case, please share what you can.