Police have released a new image of the alleged suspect behind the murder of a beloved track coach, David Denogean.
"Kind of made our hearts drop, you know, when you see an image of a person — even though the image isn't as clear as we would like it to be — but you see an image that basically took our son away," says Frank Denogean, David's father.
To the Denogean family, the newly released image brings the possibility of justice.
"Maybe someone out there saw this person, or someone who looked like him, and maybe knows who it is," says David's father.
Thirty-year-old David Denogean was a teacher and track coach at Camelback High School. He went for a walk with his dog near 12th St. and Maryland the night after Thanksgiving. Police say that's when a man suddenly came up and fired shots. David never made it back home.
"This isn't just about David... it's about a family, it's about community. A lot of students, young people who didn't get the opportunity to be mentored and in turn, to mentor other people. So, it's not just one person," says David's father.
The family tells us they requested that Phoenix police release an image to the community, along with raising the Silent Witness reward for information to $5,000. They plan to use money they received from an online fundraiser. The hope is to find the killer before he acts again.
"No mother or father should have to bury their own kids and this has probably been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, or we've done. We don't want any other families to go through this. This is not something I would wish on anybody,” says Judy Denogean, David’s mother.
David would have turned 31 this Friday. It’s now another difficult first his parents will have to face — the first birthday without their son. They have plans to honor him at the spot he was laid to rest.
”We’re still going to continue family traditions. Unfortunately, this isn't the place where we want to do it but we're still going to do it,” says David’s father.
