Slaying of SAMA employee ‘a shock’
Robert Esparza, 68, often made his presence felt around his family and co-workers at the San Antonio Museum of Art with his corny jokes and upbeat attitude.
“He knew every dad joke in the book,” said Robby Esparza, his 36-year-old son. “I even apologized to his co-workers for all the bad jokes.”
On Oct. 15, his co-workers realized that presence was missing.
Robert Esparza, the security supervisor at the museum and a familiar face for visitors, hadn’t shown up for work, which was unusual.
Knowing he had a heart problem, the co-workers visited his home to see if something was wrong.
Inside Robert Esparza’s home in the 300 block of West Harding, they found the front door unlocked, the home ravaged, and Robert Esparza lying lifeless in the back bedroom. The death was a ruled a homicide.
“I knew he had heart issues, so when I first got the call that was my first assumption,” said Gilbert Campos, 45, Robert Esparza’s other son. “When I got there and saw the yellow tape, I just blacked out.”
The news devastated the family, who knew Robert Esparza was beloved by everyone who knew him.
“Everything was just a shock,” Robby Esparza said.
The family, who laid Robert Esparza to rest last week, have intentionally stayed in the dark on the details of his death.
They are choosing to remember how he lived his life instead, as a mentor, a volunteer with the San Antonio Metropolitan Ministry and a man who would go out of his way to help those he loved.
“It preserves his memory to us,” Robby Esparza said. “Not only that, but we respect the police department and the detectives working on the case.”
After Robert Esparza was found dead, San Antonio police quickly began searching for two cars belonging to him that were missing.
They found one of the cars, a Toyota Tacoma, the next day on the East Side. The discovery led to the arrest of Benito Menesess, 47.
He is charged with murder.
Another vehicle, a black 2012 Chevrolet Equinox with license plate number KNC3310, remains missing.
The family hopes anyone with information about Robert Esparza’s death will come forward and help bring his killers to justice.
“If this was happening to you, wouldn’t you hope someone would say something?” Robby Esparza said. “Even if it’s a little piece of information, that would help out greatly.”
While police continue investigating the case, the Esparza family is working on moving forward and growing closer.
“No matter what, nothing is ever going to bring him back. I’m always going to have this hole in my heart,” Campos said. “If anything, I think it’s brought the entire family closer.”