Abraham Montez

A man is shot to death on his way to the bus
In the pre-dawn hours of a Saturday morning, June 12, 1982, Abraham L. Montez Sr. was looking forward to a church outing. The 63-year-old man and his son were preparing to travel together from their San Antonio, Texas, home to Laredo for the event. But Mr. Montez would not make it to the bus. His journey, and his life, were cut short in an act of violence that has remained unsolved for decades.

Sometime in the early morning, Mr. Montez was walking to a bus stop in the 2100 block of Castroville Road in the city's West Side Prospect Hill neighborhood. It was there that he was confronted by an unknown assailant or assailants. He was found dead on the sidewalk, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The Bexar County Medical Examiner would later determine the cause of death to be craniocerebral injuries and rule it a homicide. Based on evidence found at the scene, San Antonio police investigators believe the motive for the attack was robbery.

The sudden and violent death of Abraham Montez left a void in his family. He was survived by his wife, Seferina Moreno, and his children. Over the years, the family would experience further loss with the passing of two of his sons, Abraham Montez Jr. and George Montez. The pain of his unsolved murder has been a long-held burden for his loved ones, a story without a final chapter.

The investigation into the murder of Abraham Montez was launched by the San Antonio Police Department, under case number SAPD 82-198660. Detectives in 1982 worked the case, but no suspects were ever publicly identified, and no arrests were made. Decades passed, and the case grew cold, one of many unsolved homicides from that year in Texas. The West Side of San Antonio in the early 1980s was a community of generations of families, historic homes, and local businesses, but like many urban areas, it also contended with crime.

Today, the case of Abraham Montez remains open. It is now in the hands of the San Antonio Police Department's Cold Case Squad, a dedicated group of investigators who review unsolved homicides, hoping that new technology or a long-overdue witness statement can finally bring a resolution. They believe someone, somewhere has information that could be the key to identifying the person or persons responsible for ending Mr. Montez's life on that June morning.

The memory of Abraham Montez has been carried on by his family through the years, but the official record contains little about the man himself—his work, his church, the life he lived. The story is dominated by the tragic details of its ending. As of January 2017, authorities were still actively seeking information from the public. The San Antonio Police Department continues to ask for help from anyone who might have seen something on Castroville Road that morning, or who may have heard something in the days, weeks, or even years since the murder. Anyone with information is urged to call the SAPD's Cold Case Squad at 210-207-7635.