That changed Tuesday when Houston police filed capital murder charges against three prison inmates in the 1992 slaying of Quanell X's brother, 20-year-old Quinntin Evans, and three other people. For Quanell X, it was a promise fulfilled.
"When my little brother died, at his funeral, I kneeled down, kissed him his on forehead and whispered into his ear: 'I will never give up until I found out who did this,"' he said Tuesday.
The inmates, Jeremiah Dewayne Arnold, 38, Rasheed Abdul Aziz, 34, and Dewayne Eythell, 35, have been serving time for separate robberies unrelated to the July 17, 1992, shooting deaths of Evans, Robert Arceneaux, 21, Jonathan Duncan, 16 and Laura Mitchell, 18.
"I didn't scream out for joy at all," Quanell X said. "It brought me to tears."
Houston Police Spokesman Kese Smith said the suspects knew the victims and investigators believe the shootings at an alleged crack house started with a robbery.
Quanell X said he tried to get Evans off drugs.
"When he died, I always felt like I didn't do enough to get him to join" the Nation of Islam, Quanell X said. He belonged to the Nation when his brother died but is no longer affiliated. "I felt like I didn't work hard enough."
Evans' three children are now adults, and two sons were present when police announced the charges.
Police reopened the case after Eythell wrote a letter to the homicide division with information about the crime, Smith said. After a police interview, Eythell confessed and provided names, he said. Police say Eythell gained nothing from the admission.
Police charged all three men and are still looking for two people with information about the case, including a potential witness who was a juvenile at the time.
Harris County assistant district attorney Caroline Dozier said Arnold was overheard talking about his involvement in the crime and Aziz gave details about the crime scene that made it seem as if he had been there. All three face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.
Arnold and Eythell were convicted of attempted murder and aggravated robbery during separate bank robberies, court records show. Arnold is serving time in a federal detention facility for a 2007 bank robbery in which he shot at police. Eythell was set to remain in prison until 2039 for a 1994 bank robbery in which he shot a bystander.
Aziz was convicted of aggravated robbery in a series of convenience store heists and set for release in March 2010, Smith said.
Quanell X said his work won't stop.
"I vow to continue working to help families solve unsolved murder cases," he said.
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