Triple murder of Fresno brothers remains a mystery 15 years later

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Monday marks 15 years since three Fresno brothers were murdered.

"From the cruelness and hateful ways of people with evils ways," the victims' aunt Irma Martinez said. "We love you Jose, Robert and Little."

Through a poem, Martinez is expressing her pain of losing her three nephews on the 15th anniversary of their murders.

"The boys, the two older ones were dead at the scene," she said. "And Fernando, little Fernando, was dead on arrival to the hospital."

On May 1, 2002, family members say Jose and Robert Jimenez and their younger brother Fernando Avalos went to an apartment complex on Maple near Florence in southeast Fresno. Martinez says someone called them to come by and a short time later someone opened fire.

"We don't know why they did it," she said. "My sister just wants to have some kind of peace in her heart. Why? What was so bad that they did."

Just days after the murders, Martinez started collecting newspaper articles about the case. That collection has stopped growing and the case has turned cold.

Fresno police issued a murder warrant for Enrique Perez, but Martinez believes he is in Mexico with all the answers of what happened that day.

Martinez says she spoke to a new detective assigned to the case just last week but there are no new leads.

"I don't understand what the police are waiting for," she said. "Fifteen years - just don't let the cold case sit there. We want some kind of answers."

Since 2002, a reward of $50,000 has been offered for information leading to an arrest. Martinez hopes someone somewhere will come forward with answers.