On New Year’s Day 2018, Manuel Valenzuela was fatally shot on Tucson’s south side after police were called to reports of gunfire near the 100–200 block of West Bilby Road just after 4 a.m. When officers arrived, they found his body lying in the roadway with clear gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Valenzuela, a 31-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, was a resident of Tucson whose killing was quickly classified as a homicide, and the stretch of Bilby Road where he was
found was shut down while investigators worked the scene.
Detectives from the Tucson Police Department’s Homicide Unit learned early on that he had been in the neighborhood with his adult brother shortly before the shooting. The brother was located nearby, uninjured, and was interviewed about what had led up to the gunfire. Police emphasized in local coverage that this relative was being questioned as a witness and was not considered a suspect or person of interest. Investigators also determined there had been multiple people in the area at the time, suggesting that others might have seen or heard key details, and they canvassed the neighborhood while the roadway remained closed.
In the immediate aftermath, detectives reported that there were no suspects in custody and appealed to the public for tips, asking anyone with information to contact 88-CRIME. More than a year later, Tucson-area media were still airing appeals under headlines such as “TPD needs your help to solve Manny Valenzuela’s 2018 murder,” underscoring that no arrests or publicly named suspects had been announced by that time. Local victim-advocacy groups likewise shared the case on social media, again urging community members to call the anonymous tip line if they knew anything about the confrontation or who pulled the trigger.
Online memorials created in his name describe him as “Manny,” remembered by loved ones as funny and cool, and show that people have continued to light virtual candles for him years after his death. A later case listing in an online homicide database now marks his case as “solved,” but does not provide public details about any suspect, arrest, or prosecution, leaving the exact outcome of the investigation unclear in open sources even as the community continues to acknowledge his loss.
