The family of Henry Gutierrez will spend Christmas away from Schertz this year. Last year, Gutierrez was found shot multiple times inside his home on Christmas Eve. His killer is still at large.
The Gutierrez family hopes that the right person has a change of heart this holiday season and comes forward.
"I see the lights and the trees and hear the songs on the radio, but it doesn't feel like Christmas to us," said Henry's son, Miguel Gutierrez. "The rest of the world has moved on, and here we are, Christmas time again, and we're still stuck in the same place we were at this time last year."
It's a question heavy on the minds of the Gutierrez family: Who murdered this all-around Good Samaritan, and why?
"I just wanna know who killed Henry," said Henry's daughter, Adrienne. "That's what I want to know the most."
The owner of Bexar Waste was sitting inside his living room when, police believe, someone walked in and opened fire.
"This was a crime that shouldn't have been committed. This was an act of violence that we haven't seen in this community," said Cpl. Ernest Spradling, a detective with the Schertz Police Department.
In the latest development, Texas Rangers jumped in to help investigate. Detectives are pushing new evidence into crime labs and pursuing all leads in a case with no witnesses.
"At times, when you look at things for so long, sometimes you may miss something," Cpl. Spradling said. "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove. So the evidence we've brought forward is crucial in this case."
Every Christmas, Gutierrez would deliver tamales to local police and fire stations, and surrounding cities that work with Bexar Waste.
"I know he looked forward to it every year," said Miguel, who added that the family plans to keep the tradition alive, but on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they plan to get away physically and mentally. "The plan is just to get as far away from here at Christmas time so we can have some sort of enjoyment of the holiday.”
"I'm gonna be going to the beach with one of my best friends," Adrienne said. "It'll be really nice, you know? Just different."
The Gutierrez family isn't losing hope. They know someone out there knows something that can help get justice for Henry.
Support for the family has come from strangers across Texas and across the nation.
"We've had letters from people that knew him from as far away as England and Europe," Miguel noted. "He touched a lot of people."
Henry's children think about their father daily, sometimes all day. To help find peace, Miguel says that he spends time with his children. Adrienne says that her way of coping is to remember her dad's unique sense of humor.
"When he was in the mood to be funny, he was really funny," Adrienne said. "Merry Christmas, Pop."
Police say no tip is too small or insignificant. It could be the missing piece to crack the case.
Call Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers at 877-403-TIPS or the Schertz Police Department at 210-619-1200 if you have any information.
If your tip leads to an arrest, you could get up to a $30,000 reward.