East Austin murder still unsolved after almost 30 years

Austin murder still unsolved after almost 30 years

Stephen Arevalo was found stabbed to death in November 1995. Almost 30 years later, detectives still do not know who killed him.

AUSTIN, Texas - November 23, 1995, was the day police say 30-year-old Stephen Arevalo was found stabbed to death.

His sister, Sara Arevalo-Lee, reflects on the passage of time.

"It doesn't get easier. It gets different. You know, his two little girls were five and seven at the time. Now they're grown young ladies. They're doing good, but they miss their dad, and he would have been a grandpa," she said.

Some loved ones never get to know what happened.

"It's been tough. This year was a tough year because my dad passed away, not knowing who killed his son, and when my dad was literally on his deathbed, he asked the detective if there were any new leads, and unfortunately, there were not. Then Stephen's wife passed this year too," Arevalo-Lee said.

Detectives ask for help solving East Austin murder

Police are looking for leads in the 1995 Thanksgiving Day murder of Stephen Arevalo who was found dead in the 900 block of East 6th Street.

Austin police hosted a press conference last year looking for tips. They say they haven't gotten any leads since then.

Detectives say Arevalo was dropped off in an alley behind his home near Sixth Street and Brushy Street. Today, it's an apartment complex.

Two hours later, a relative in the house saw the lights of the backyard shed and a mid-1980s black GMC or Chevrolet pickup truck speed out of the alley.

"We have the information about the truck and that's really it. A lot of times we get details in cases that may or may not even be related. We follow up on the black truck, put a lot of energy into a black truck," Sgt. Matt Sanders with Austin Police said in 2022.

A family member told police he got up to make coffee when he noticed the back screen door was open and found Arevalo lying on the ground with stab wounds.

"We didn't think, his family didn't think he had any enemies, but something can happen, and we don't know what or why," Arevalo-Lee said. "He was a good guy. He was a caring father. He was a hard worker. He was adventurous."