SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio family honored their loved one during a vigil to raise awareness about violence in the city.
Troy Demetrius Lee, 22, was found with multiple stab wounds near a Northwest Side bus stop on Monday morning. His family said it was a senseless crime he did not deserve.
“He was a beautiful soul,” said Mikki Gallegos Gaitan, Lee’s aunt. “He spoke so positively to everyone. He would frequent the streets and preach the word of God. He had a very close relationship with God. Whenever we were feeling down, he would tell us we would get through it and things would get better. Just a beautiful soul.”
The Saturday before his death, Lee was celebrating a baby shower with his girlfriend, who is due in August with his second daughter.
Lee’s family said they were devastated when they got the call.
“I was working, and my sister called me and told me to come over,” Gaitan said.
“She didn’t tell me why, and I asked but she wouldn’t say. I knew something was wrong. I was praying it wasn’t horrible, but as soon as I got there and I saw the look on their faces, they just said his name and I knew he was gone,” she said through tears.
San Antonio police said Lee was found with multiple stab wounds in his back and abdomen around 2 a.m. in the 6100-block of Ingram Road.
“It was senseless,” Gaitan said. “He was not a fighter. There was no reason for that to happen to him. It shouldn’t have happened to him. It wasn’t supposed to happen to him, but it did, and now we are living without him and it will never be the same for us.”
She said Lee would have forgiven the suspect if he were still alive.
“That is the kind of person he was,” Gaitan said. “He’s with us and me right now. I hope justice is served. It will be served.”
Gaitan said she will make sure Lee’s daughters know exactly what kind of positive man her nephew was.
During the vigil, the family had one mission.
“We want to bring awareness to what happened to him and what continues to happen to our children in this city,” Gaitan said. “We want to stop the violence. It makes no sense. There is no reason for it. People play God, and they are going to have to answer for it later.”
The family is asking anyone with any information to come forward.
“This could be your brother, your son, your nephew or your friend,” said Crystal Kendy, Lee’s other aunt. “We have to stop them now before this person or people do it again, and they will. We need your help.”
If you have any information, you are urged to call the San Antonio Police Homicide Unit at (210) 207-7635.