Steven Conn, 41, a Black male, was shot late on Sunday, July 13, 2025, after a harrowing encounter in Austin’s St. Johns area. Around 11:35 p.m., a 911 caller reported gunfire from a white Ford Bronco in the 7300 block of Duval Street and saw a woman leap from the vehicle screaming for help while a man waved a gun inside. Responding officers learned the woman was Conn’s girlfriend; she told police that an acquaintance riding in the back seat tried to rob them and shot Conn before driving
off with him still in the SUV.
By the next day, investigators found the Bronco abandoned and bloodstained in southeast Austin. Digital evidence recovered during the search helped narrow a broad search area. After combing more than 200 acres over two days, officers discovered Conn’s body on Tuesday evening, July 15, in a field near the 6400 block of Loyola Lane, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 7 p.m. The discovery confirmed the worst fears that had fueled a multiday manhunt across the city.
Detectives identified 22-year-old Jose Duron as the suspect. Warrants initially issued for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping were upgraded to capital murder once Conn’s body was found. On Wednesday, July 16, officers arrested Duron in North Austin, ending the search that had gripped the neighborhood since the shooting. Authorities described the case as Austin’s 33rd homicide of 2025, and public appeals for tips remained open as the investigation continued.
In the days that followed, local outlets detailed how the attempted robbery inside the Bronco led to the killing and how police tracked the suspect using evidence from the vehicle. The narrative that emerged—from the desperate escape on Duval Street to the quiet field off Loyola Lane—left a community sifting through shock and grief while a capital murder case moved forward in court.
