Who murdered Lucas Mendoza-Barrera in March of 2015?
On a Tuesday afternoon in Westminster, Colorado, a quiet suburban street was pierced by an act of violence that would leave a family shattered and a community searching for answers. On March 17, 2015, Lucas Mendoza-Barrera, a 41-year-old White male, was found deceased inside his home on Bradburn Boulevard. He had been the sole occupant of the residence, which he shared with four other family members, when one or more unknown individuals entered the house sometime between 2:10 p.m. and 4:20 p.m. An investigation would later reveal the brutal nature of his death; he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his body and face, as well as a possible stab wound to his head.
In the wake of the discovery, the Westminster Police Department launched a homicide investigation, piecing together the events of that fateful afternoon. Their search for clues led them to video surveillance footage from two separate sources. This footage captured two individuals, believed to be older juveniles or young adults, near Mendoza-Barrera's home around the time the crime was committed. Despite the collection of DNA swabs from a number of individuals for comparison, no matches were found, and the identities of the two people seen in the video remained a mystery.
As time moved on with no arrests made, the case of Lucas Mendoza-Barrera's murder grew cold. Authorities released descriptions of the two persons of interest to the public in the hopes of generating new leads. One individual was described as a White or Hispanic male, between 5'6' and 5'9' with a thin build, wearing a dark-colored vest over a white shirt or hoodie and red tennis shoes. The second individual was also described as a White or Hispanic male, standing between 5'8' and 5'9' with a medium build, wearing dark pants and a dark hoodie under a lighter-colored blue or jean jacket. To this day, the case remains unsolved, and the Westminster Police Department continues to seek information from the public regarding the violent end to Lucas Mendoza-Barrera's life.
