Victim found shot to death in burning vehicle on Dec. 9 identified as 39-year-old father and veteran

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A family has identified the victim who was found shot to death inside a burning car a week ago in southwest Houston.

Police say a 39-year-old man was found dead inside the trunk of a burning car on Nelson Street on Dec. 9.

The man's family identified him as Adrean Arrington.

"I couldn't believe it. That somebody would do a horrible thing like that to him. He didn't deserve that," Alfred Arrington, Adrean's father.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Police discover body with gunshot wound inside trunk of burning car in SW Houston, officials say

Arrington says his 39-year-old son Adrean was the person who lost his life that day.

"He wasn't just something you throw away," said his aunt during a family interview with ABC13.

The family says they found out it was him days after the deadly fiery scene.

The car that Adrean was found in did not belong to him, and the family says they are unsure whose it is.

"Nobody deserves to die that way. That's just thinking about it. I just can't fathom. That's just not right. Whoever did it, I wish somebody could come forward," said the victim's brother.

Adrean was a veteran and a father of two children.

His family says since his other than honorable discharge from the Marines, Adrean had his struggles.

"When he came home, he was different. I noticed a change in him," Adrean's mother said.

She says he was the kind of person who would make everyone laugh despite all he saw and experienced overseas.

"He would do anything you'd ask him to do and with a smile," she said.

With just a few days until Christmas, this grieving family wants answers and justice in their loved one's case.

Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

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