"Irenena was a very loving, giving, outgoing person," said her sister, Tabatha Hubbard. "She was like the heart of this family and as you can see, the love my family has for her is very strong."
On an October afternoon in 2008, Ashford was working at the EZ Loan store in the 7,000 block of the North Freeway when she was caught in the middle of a robbery. She was shot and killed. The gunman got away. An accomplice was waiting in a pickup truck.
Later Houston police connected that robbery to one a week earlier in northwest Houston. A surveillance picture was taken from that robbery, as well as a picture of a pickup they used in both crimes. It's maroon with chrome bedrails.
Time has passed, but for the family, it's moving slowly. On Saturday, they gathered outside the business where Ashford was killed, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with her name and picture, pleading for information to help make an arrest, and in return, bring them at least some peace.
"She was a God-fearing woman and didn't bother nobody and I miss her," said her brother, Henry Ashford. "We can't get her back, but get justice for her so it won't happen to anybody else."
Crime Stoppers and private sources will pay up to $10,000 for any information called in to the 713-222-8477 tips hotline or submitted online at www.crime-stoppers.org that leads to the identification, arrest and/or charging of the any of the suspects in this case. Tips can also be sent by text message - Text TIP610 plus your tip to CRIMES (274637). All tipsters remain anonymous.
