Friends remember father, nurse beaten to death near CenturyLink Field last year; search still on for suspects
SEATTLE - It’s been close to a year, but an Auburn family still doesn’t know who’s responsible for killing their loved one outside CenturyLink Field last June.
Police say Benito Enriquez was beaten to death, after leaving a Kenny Chesney concert. His friends and family members gathered tonight to re-trace his last steps and pay tribute to him.
“He was like a giant teddy bear, the best friend you could ever have,” says Lindsey Fowler.
The 30-year-old father of two dedicated his life to helping people.
“He had a heart of gold, he was a wonderful nurse,” says his mother, Christina Enriquez.
Police still don’t know who killed Enriquez. They released surveillance video showing him walking next to a man in a white t-shirt and a blonde woman in a dress, after the concert. Police believe it’s the man in the white who beat and kicked Enriquez, then left him in the street.
“He was my everything,” says Christina Enriquez. “For them to violently kick him to death after he was already out cold is unconscionable.”
Friends say knowing the killer is still out there makes it hard to grieve.
“There’s no closure, a lot of confusion,” says Fowler. “Everyone's just trying to figure out what's going on and what's next and if anything's ever going to get solved.”
They hope having memory walks like tonight will help, and maybe police will get new tips about the suspect.
“I have forgiven him, but I want him to be off the streets,” Enriquez says.
She has started a foundation in her son’s honor to try and make the streets safer, by improving things like lighting.
If you have any information that can help police, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS.
