Families of cold case victims come together to show support, ask for the public’s help

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Families of cold case victims came together on Saturday to show support for each other and to ask the public for help, including asking people to call Crime Stoppers to report anything related to cold cases or unsolved crimes.

The event at Keiller Park in Jamacha centered around highlighting cold cases and letting the community know about the years-old cases that still need answers. The event is also geared toward being united in shared and lived experiences.

“It’s a fight every day, especially when you just can’t even have any peace…there is no peace,” said Alicia Valenzuela, who organized the event and lost her brother to gun violence.

Valenzuela said the event brings together family members who are looking for answers and looking to get some closure. Valenzuela’s brother, Daniel Coriz, was gunned down in May 2014 in Jamacha near Lemon Grove.

Coriz’s case went cold.

However, in the middle of planning this cold case community event to commemorate the decade since Coriz’s murder, San Diego Police announced they arrested his suspected killer.

“I don’t think my family so far has really looked into that yet, because we kept in the forefront of our mind that there are so many cold cases still yet unsolved, and those are the ones we need to focus on right now,” Valenzuela said.

“It’s not about the person that passed, and it’s not even about the person who committed the crime. It’s really the family that has to try to live without their loved ones, moving forward,” Valenzuela added.

Crime survivors and loved ones of crime victims took to the stage to share their stories of heartache and to plea for the public’s help.

“I’ve been fighting for 18 years to try to get some information on my case,” said Essie Maye Horne, as she spoke to a crowd about losing her husband and twin brother to separate gun violence incidents.

Horne said in August 2006, she and her husband were coming home from a night out when someone broke into their home at Creekside Apartments off 47th and Imperial Avenue. Horne said they shot at her, missing her, but fatally shot her husband.

“The way I found out my husband died was he was being pulled out of the apartment on the stretcher with a white sheet over his head. I don’t know if I said bye to his feet or his head,” Horne explained.

Horne said the case is still unsolved, including the motive.

Horne said her twin brother stepped in to help raise her two kids, but a decade later in 2016, Essie said she got the tragic call her twin had been shot and killed.

Horne said the four teenagers involved have since been caught. Through the pain of healing, she started the TWEEN SWAG Foundation. It’s pronounced “twin,” but it is an acronym for “Together We Elevate Eachother in our Neighborhood Simply With A Lot of Grace”

“That’s that mustard seed you plant and continue to water,” Horne said.

“I’m going to be the voice for the voiceless because a lot of people don’t want to talk about their pain. But my pain, I’m changing that into a power. And this is my power by voicing it. And share our healing and the tools that we have to help us 365 days a year because this is a life sentence,” Horne said.

“I am seeing unity, and that’s what it’s about. That’s what it’s about. Giving support to people and feeling united,” Valenzuela added.

You can reach Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477 or visit sdcrimestoppers.org for information on how to send a tip via web or mobile app.