SAN ANTONIO – In the 28 years since Teri Enriquez was murdered, a lot has changed at the intersection where the crime happened.
A cell phone store is at the corner of the strip mall at Blanco Rd. and Gen. Kruger. The bar Enriquez went to with friends has changed names.
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Time has moved on.
It's possible the man who killed her has also moved on. San Antonio police don't know, but they haven't given up the search for him -- where ever he may be.
'Teri brutally attacked'
Enriquez went to a bar at that intersection November 20, 1987. She was with three friends for about half an hour when Enriquez decided to go back to the car and take a nap. Her friends stayed inside. Enriquez put the keys in the ignition and reclined the drivers seat. Witnesses saw a man in the parking lot.
"As (the witnesses) were walking into the bar, they witnessed the attack," said Detective Michael DeLeon with SAPD's Cold Case Unit. "They didn't know exactly what was gong on, but they brought it to the attention of the bar owner and the person that was taking money at the door."
Two men and a woman walked over to the vehicle to see what was going on.
"They find Teri brutally attacked inside the car," DeLeon said.
The man ran through the parking lot and across Blanco Rd. down an alley with a woman chasing after him. That was the last time he was seen.
Enriquez was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she died. She had been stabbed twice in the heart.
Investigation runs out of leads
After the murder, police canvassed the area. They searched the alley. They talked to people who lived and worked in the area, including one car thief arrested for a crime he committed in the same parking lot. They weren't able to make an arrest.
The suspect was described as a slender white man who weighed between 120-130 pounds and stood between 5'6"-5'7" tall. He had clean cut, dirty blond hair. He may have been in his early 20s.
The leads dried up and the case was put into a storage room with other cold cases.
'Somebody knows something'
A police report taken that night said officers believed the suspect was attempting to steal the car Enriquez was in. Her jewelry and money had not been taken. Now, DeLeon said it was a theory that hasn't been ruled out.
He said from his experience working cold cases, suspects think people forget about the crimes.
"Suspects can't keep quiet. They always tell somebody," DeLeon said. "Somebody knows something."
The biggest challenge
DeLeon said there wasn't much evidence left at the scene, but what they do have can be tested using today's technology.
That's not the toughest part of the investigation.
"With the very limited evidence and information we have, that's one of the biggest challenges that we have to face," DeLeon said. "It was so long ago. It doesn't matter if (the suspect) is deceased, moved away because murder cases are never closed."
He said Enriquez's family hasn't forgotten about the day they lost her. He wants to close the case.
"Even if the person that did it is deceased or is in prison already for life, it doesn't matter," DeLeon said. "Just as long as we can get the family some type of closure, that is satisfying to us."
If you have any information on the case, call Crime Stoppers at 210-224-STOP.
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