'Who killed my daughter?:' Santa Ana mother fights to solve daughter's cold case murder
The family of Victoria Barrios, who was only 18 when she was killed, has made it their mission to catch her killers.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- "Who killed my daughter?"
That's the question Eva Barrios has been asking herself every single day for almost three and half years since her 18-year-old daughter, Victoria Barrios, was shot and killed on east Pine Street in Santa Ana just after midnight on Aug. 30, 2019.
"You kind of wake up every day, hoping it's not real and hoping she just walks through the door and flashes her beautiful smile," Barrios said.
For 1,267 days, Barrios has waited for answers as to what happened and why.
However, no one has been arrested.
"It's upsetting," said the mother. "It's frustrating, overwhelming."
Sgt. Maria Lopez, public information officer for the Santa Ana Police Department said, Victoria was an innocent bystander in what they believe was a gang-related shooting.
After the murder, SAPD released surveillance footage of the suspects as one of them fired a gun from a moving red or maroon SUV.
Lopez said unfortunately, detectives have reached dead ends and the case has gone cold.
"I do want them to understand that we are continuing to investigate this," she said. "Just because it's categorized as a cold case does not means it's not being investigated. It is an open case."
Barrios and her family have made it their mission to catch Victoria's killers.
"Those individuals were out to kill somebody so they don't belong on our streets. They don't belong in our community," she said.
Billboards calling for justice are up and Victoria's family is finding new ways to keep her name out in the community until someone is held accountable.
They hope their continued push for answers will lead to a breakthrough in the case.
"If I can draw attention to her face and her story then that's at least one little step closer to potentially finding those responsible," Barrios said.
Victoria's family believes even the smallest tip will lead them to her killer.
Santa Ana Police is offering up to $50,000 for any information that can lead to an arrest and convictions of the suspects.
Anyone with any information is urged to call SAPD's homicide unit at 714-245-8300 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIPS-OCCS.
