Debbie Perkins

2 females were found shot to death in their home
Debbie Perkins was a 23-year-old woman looking forward to the birth of her second child. Known to her loved ones as Debbie Jo, she was described as a beautiful person, full of life. At the time of her death, she was six months pregnant, and already a mother to another child who was in the home on the night she was killed. Her life, and that of her unborn baby, were cut short in a brutal act of violence that also claimed the life of her young cousin.

In the early morning hours of February 21, 1994, Debbie was at her home in the 100 block of Fredonia Street on San Antonio's East Side. Her 15-year-old cousin, Christi Kaufman, was with her, having come over to babysit. Shortly after 1 a.m., an unknown man entered the residence. Investigators believe the man was looking for Debbie's boyfriend, who was not there at the time. A witness who was in a back room later told police they heard an argument erupt, followed by the sound of multiple gunshots.

When police arrived at the scene, they found both Debbie and Christi had been shot. Investigators noted that it appeared at least one of the victims had also been pistol-whipped. Both cousins died from their gunshot wounds. Debbie’s other child, who was present in the house during the attack, was not physically harmed. The violent deaths of the two young women, one just a teenager and the other an expectant mother, marked the beginning of a painful and prolonged search for justice for their family.

The San Antonio Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation. The suspect was described by witnesses as a man with a slender build, who was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He was seen fleeing the scene in a blue Oldsmobile Cutlass. Despite this description, no arrests have ever been made in the double homicide. The case, filed under SAPD cold case number 94-097522, has remained open for more than three decades, passing through the hands of multiple detectives over the years.

For the families of Debbie Perkins and Christi Kaufman, the years have been filled with grief and frustration. Christi's brother, Patrick Kaufman, who was just 16 when his sister was killed, has relentlessly pursued answers. He has repeatedly visited the SAPD’s homicide division and filed his own Freedom of Information Act requests, determined not to let the case be forgotten. He recalls his mother speaking with a detective only once, the day after the murders. "You can look at these pictures and see they were full of life, man," he said in one interview, weeping. "My sister was beginning her life at 15 years old. My cousin, Debbie Jo, was a beautiful girl."

Patrick Kaufman believes that someone in the community holds the key to solving the case. "San Antonio is small, to a certain extent," he has said. "Somebody has been spoken to. They have told someone. There’s a cousin that knows, there’s an auntie that knows, there’s a friend that knows somewhere — there is somebody." He has pleaded for anyone with information to find compassion and come forward. "It can be very frustrating knowing that the people who done this to my sister could be still running around these streets," he said.

As of September 2026, the investigation into the murders of Debbie Perkins and Christi Kaufman remains active. The San Antonio Police Department continues to ask for the public's help in bringing closure to the family. Authorities urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact the Cold Case Tip line at 210-207-7401 or Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP. After so many years, the family's hope for justice rests on the possibility that someone will finally break the silence.