$10,000 reward billboard unveiled to solve Cathedral City MMA instructor’s murder
A new billboard was unveiled Tuesday at the corner of Crossley Rd. and Dinah Shore, promoting the $10,000 reward for information related to the murder of Cathedral City martial arts instructor Ramon Diaz.
Family members of Diaz have a powerful message: “Dear suspects: we will find you.”
“I just don’t want anybody to forget about this,” said Gabriela Diaz, Ramon’s sister. “I want people to talk, somebody to speak up — just call in with the smallest amount of information.”
Diaz was killed in March of this year, shot outside his Cathedral City home after leaving his Jiu-Jitsu gym.
“We are gonna keep looking for the people that did this to my husband,” said Mary Diaz, Ramon’s wife. “Just please. Help us to find out who did this. And just think — it can be anyone. That’s what I am asking… Help.”
The billboard was a donation from Lamar advertising. What would normally cost several thousand dollars is free for them.
“I don’t know who this person is,” Mary Diaz said. “I don’t know their names but thank you so much to the company.”
They say it’s been a difficult year so far.
“It’s been exhausting,” Gabriela Diaz said. “It’s been overwhelming. The fact that we’re just trying to move on with our lives when we know we don’t have any answers is really a hard thing to do every day. … It’s just a shame that we’re having to resort to this because we desperately want to find out what happened and who’s involved in it.”
Mary is still without work, supporting herself on her savings. She closed her husband’s martial artis studio last month.
“I’m still looking for a job,” Mary said. “But I know that God has something for me so this is not the end. This is not the end of the story.”
Cathedral City investigators didn’t return our request for comment.
Luis Bolanos, the private investigator the family has hired, said the case isn’t cold, urging you to call with tips.
“The individuals responsible for this brutal execution of Ramon Diaz, these cowards, they live locally,” Bolanos said. “They’re local. Strongly connected locally. So we’re gonna catch ’em.”
Reporter Jake Ingrassia has more on this story live on KESQ News Channel 3 at 12 p.m. and later in the evening on CBS Local 2.
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Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
