HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Detectives say three murder suspects robbed, or attempted to rob, a woman less than an hour and a half before committing the homicide Monday morning.
Investigators are looking into robberies committed before and after the murder of 58-year-old Magdaleno Reyes Escobar.
Detectives say Escobar's wallet and phone were missing. They believe the robbery could've been motivated.
Escobar's family says he was a hard-working father of two. His family says he ran his own commercial painting company.
On Monday, his wife's car broke down just over half a mile from their home near T.C. Jester and West Little York.
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He went to help his wife. Police say the suspects arrived in a stolen car and that's when Escobar was killed.
"It's absolutely senseless. It's a complete disregard of human life," said Arlette Escobar, Magdaleno's niece.
Detectives are planning to release surveillance video in hopes it helps find the killers.
"We would have happily given anything to have our uncle be alive and we're just really distraught by everything that happened," said Arlette.
If you have any information call Houston police or Crime Stoppers.