Benites Marino Tapia, age 36, was found dead on April 4, 2011, in Houston, Texas. The incident occurred in a parking lot located at a strip center on West Bellfort Avenue. Tapia's death was the result of blunt force trauma, and he was pronounced dead at the scene when Houston Police Department (HPD) officers arrived after receiving a call about a person down. There was no initial information regarding the circumstances leading to the attack or any suspects immediately identified.
The HPD Homicide Division initiated an investigation into the case. However, Tapia's homicide remains unsolved, and his case has been included in the Houston Police Department's Cold Case Squad files, which aims to bring justice in unresolved murder cases throughout the city. The Cold Case Squad, formed in 2004, continues to review and investigate these unsolved homicides in an effort to identify new leads and gather additional evidence to solve these tragic crimes.
HPD is still encouraging anyone with information regarding the incident to contact the Homicide Division or Crime Stoppers to help provide answers in Tapia's case. The hope remains that renewed interest and leads could eventually help bring closure to Tapia’s family and hold the responsible parties accountable.
