Investigators shed light on cold case

EDINBURG — Sgt. Jaime Rosa wishes he could tell Rene Paredes that his son was murdered.

The Edinburg investigator wants to say that one day soon, the culprits behind Adrian's death will be behind bars.

"It would probably give him closure," Rosa said as he examined photographs of the young man's body when it was found 10 years ago at the intersection of Highway 107 and Delia Drive. "But the facts lead us to believe that he was just hit by a car."

THE EVIDENCE

The case has been treated as an unsolved hit-and-run by investigators. Evidence from the crime scene shows Adrian was struck by a vehicle after he wandered onto the road.

Blood tests indicate Adrian was heavily intoxicated - he tested positive for cocaine use and his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.23 percent, nearly three times the legal driving limit.

"I feel very bad for him," Rosa said of Paredes. "Everyone wants their child to be perfect."

The driver of a North Alamo Water Supply truck ran over Paredes about 5 a.m. and called 9-1-1, telling police that Adrian had already been struck by another vehicle because his body lay limp in the middle of the street.

But Paredes maintains that his son was murdered.

"Something happened," Paredes said. "I saw his body. I touched his arms. There were stab wounds."

He has scoured through his son's autopsy report, which says the 24-year-old's body had multiple cuts along his face and body and several "large open lacerated areas" on his chest and abdomen. The base of his skull had a large fracture.

But Rosa says the wounds were all caused by massive pressure from the vehicle - most of the gashes are lined with grease and dirt from the bottom of the truck and long, thin cuts on his face appear to have been left there by the vehicle's metal parts.

The investigator says the only evidence at the scene indicating Rosa was struck by two vehicles are remnants from a plastic wheel well that did not match the truck the 9-1-1 caller was driving.

"But it could have just been debris left on the road," Rosa said.

A single large pool of blood at the site indicates Adrian was not dragged twice. Patches of hair and skin smeared on the asphalt show the man rolled over from one single impact.

The case would be closed at this point if the truck driver hadn't told police he thought Adrian was already dead, Rosa said.

But because there is a faint possibility that someone may have struck Adrian without calling the police, investigators must keep searching for a possible suspect.

Paredes grows more impatient about the case as each day passes. An anonymous call he received a week after his son's death only amplified his obsession to find Adrian's supposed killers. Someone told him they saw four men attacking his son where his body was found minutes later.

Rosa said he has told Paredes there was no evidence at the scene or on Adrian's body showing he had been attacked. Usually when someone is attacked, scattered droplets of blood or weapons remain at the site.

But Paredes insists someone hurt his son intentionally.

"I understand he's frustrated," Rosa said. "But he believes rumors."

BAD DECISIONS

Adrian, an ambulance paramedic, took the night off March 28, 1999, to attend a quinceañera at his girlfriend's house.

Paredes blames a group of men who attended the party that night for Adrian's death.

Adrian's former girlfriend, who asked to remain anonymous, said she wishes the man would find closure.

Paredes maintains Adrian left her home at 4 a.m., but she said he left early because a thunderstorm spoiled the family's quinceañera plans. She suspects her former boyfriend then went somewhere else that night to drink heavily and consume cocaine.

"His mother never forgave me because he was supposed to be at work," she said. "He was a big part of my life. ... The love we had was special."

Although she knew Adrian was using cocaine heavily, she believed him when he promised he would get his life back on track.

The paramedic had a good job and a promising career, but his ex-girlfriend said his long-term drug use was starting to change him.

"He made a lot of money, but about three or four months before he passed away he started borrowing money left and right," she said. "I noticed it but I never thought something like that would happen."

He would have graduated as a registered nurse from South Texas College in three months and he promised his father he would someday study to become a doctor.

Adrian's framed certificates fill the walls of the Paredes home, where their son would often barbecue with neighbors and co-workers. He would always change his uniform for fear the charcoal smoke would tarnish the fibers. He refused to drink beer while he wore it.

But Adrian was using cocaine heavily and he had even begun to deal the drug, his ex-girlfriend said. When investigators showed up at her door to tell her Adrian had died, she even suspected someone had killed him because he owed money.

"He said he was going to work it out," she said. "Sometimes I wonder what things would have been like if everything had been OK."

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.