Police say a passerby spotted Valdez's body and they realized someone had stabbed him. A year down the road, they say the investigation is still in its infancy, partly because his homeless lifestyle makes it more challenging.
However, Lt. David Madrigal says the case is not close to going cold. Homicide investigators actually collected several pieces of evidence and gave them to the department of justice lab.
"We're waiting on some forensic analytical data to come back. Hopefully, we'll start getting that in the near future," Madrigal said.
Madrigal says the analysis would be a major domino to fall, which would be good news to Valdez's family. They've grown a little-frustrated waiting to know what really happened.
Valdez was one of four homeless people killed in Fresno over a seven-week period in 2017. But police don't believe his death is connected to the others.
So far, though, they've only solved one of those homicides.