The still unsolved 2017 homicide of a 26-year-old artist and University of New Mexico philosophy student in Albuquerque is featured in the city police department's latest "Duke City Case Files" episode.
The episode is the fourth released by the city, according to a news release issued Oct. 12. Duke City Case Files episodes, which features unsolved homicides, successfully solved cases, and investigative tools used to advance cases, are generally uploaded to social media platforms early each month.
The latest episode features the unsolved homicide of Juan Carlos Romero. He was a 2008 St. Pius X High School graduate who went on to earn bachelor's degrees in economics, philosophy and fine arts UNM, according to his obituary. He was planning to enter the graduate degree program in philosophy with an eye toward becoming a professor. He worked charter school substitute teaching in various subjects, assisted in his family's business and worked with nonprofit organizations. His art, which included printmaking, drawing and painting, was in New Mexico art galleries.
Juan Carlos Romero was killed at 26 in a February 2017 shooting in Albuquerque.
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"Juan Carlos was a very, very colorful kid, since he was young," Romero's mother Patricia said during the Duke City Case Files episode as she sat next to her husband, Juan Romero. "He loved computers - even when computers were not popular - he loved arts and crafts, he loved reading, he loved writing books, pretty much any kind of artform."
Science and philosophy were "a moral compass" for Juan Carlos Romero, "to help him become a better person," his father said during the episode.
Romero was shot and killed in Albuquerque early on the morning of Feb. 7, 2017 near the UNM campus, apparently while he was walking home. His body was found on the sidewalk along Stanford and Central. He still had his wallet, cell phone and other personal items.
"It didn't appear this was a robbery gone wrong or anything else," Albuquerque Police Department Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock said in the news release and episode. "This appears to either be a targeted shooting or possibly a random shooting, we just don’t know."
Very little physical evidence and surveillance video was found, and no witnesses have come forward.
"I do want to find out what happened that night, I think it was very unfair what they did to him," Patricia Romero said during the episode and in the city's news release. "I want to find out because it’s just not right, to kill just because you can."
The episode also was featured in a police department Twitter post.
A more than $13,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of Juan Carlos Romero's killer or killers has been set up through Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers.
Anyone with information may contact the city's Homicide Unit at (505)-924-6096. Tips may be left anonymously with Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers at (505)-843-STOP, or on their website.