THORNTON, Colo. (KDVR) — Surveillance video newly released by the Thornton Police Department shows a 69-year-old man leaving Thirsty’s Sports Pub on Christmas Day, just before he was killed.
Manuel Osvaldo Jacquez Machado can be seen exiting the pub, located at 1294 E. 104th Ave., just before 10 p.m. He was leaving after playing a game of pool, one of his favorite pastimes.
“As he’s getting ready to leave, he turns his car on. He backs up into the vehicle behind him where the suspect is,” Thornton Police Detective Kevin Gifford said. “The suspect gets out and walks up and starts screaming, yelling at Osbaldo, who is sitting in his vehicle at the time.”
After Machado got out of his car, the suspect punches and kicks him, knocking him to the ground. Doctors were not able to save him.
‘Why would you senselessly act in violence?’
Machado’s son, Javier Jacquez, told FOX31 on Friday that his father was a “tiny” man. He was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 115 pounds, with rheumatoid arthritis, and not a violent bone in his body.
“That’s another heart-breaking thing, is that if he was not acting aggressively, why would you do that to him? Why would you senselessly act in violence when all my dad was doing was leaving the bar?” Jacquez said.
Police say the suspect pulled into the parking lot in a Jeep Compass or Cherokee, and then just sat in it for at least 10 minutes. He never got out until his car was hit.
It was then that an eyewitness described what happened.
The family is asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect.
“My mom will not have any kind of closure until this guy is caught. It’s stressful. It’s exhausting. The last month my family and I and Detective Gifford have been nonstop, and I hope we get closure soon,” Jacquez said.
Machado worked in a Downtown Denver parking lot for years, where his family said he would help feed the homeless. He was a peaceful man who worked hard to take care of his family.
Suspect wanted in Christmas Day killing
The family said there is forgiveness in their heart. Still, they want the man who stole the love of their lives off the streets.
The suspect is described as being about 5 feet 8 inches tall. He is a thin, white male. He had long, reddish-blond hair past his shoulder. He also had a medium-length reddish-blond beard.
If you have any information about this suspect, you are asked to call the Thornton Police Department or remain anonymous by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP.