Even though it's been 10 years, an East Bay family is not giving up hope that the killers who took the life of Mark Espinal will be brought to justice. Espinal was murdered on this day in 2004, but his family says it feels like it happened yesterday. Monday, family and friends returned to the site of the killing to hand out fliers and ask for the public's help.
"I want the person who did this held responsible, so they never have a chance to do it to someone else's child," Espinal's mother Randi Butterworth said.
Espinal was just 19 when he was killed on the evening of February 3, 2004. He had come home from an evening with friends. There was an argument on the sidewalk and shots fired. He died in his own driveway.
"We know there were several people inside the car with Mark when Mark got out of the vehicle; we'd love for those people to come forward and tell us exactly what they know," Alameda County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Dave Dickson said.
At the time, police released these two sketches of possible suspects, but the leads dried up there.
Now, there is a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and new hope among Espinal's devoted family, which includes his 11-year-old son, mother and sister.
"I'm never going to give up," Espinal's sister Alyssa Butterworth said. "Someone out there knows what happened. That's my brother and I would just feel ashamed if I didn't do anything about it." >
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.
