(1962-1982) Feliciano Vargas had a normal childhood and lived an ordinary life. After his parents passed in 1970 when he was eight years old, his maternal grandfather was left to raise him and his twin brother.
At twenty years of age, he moved into his residence at the beginning of that year. The residence formerly being the house of his parents, which his grandfather transferred ownership of the house in hopes Feliciano would gain some independence. The house was only a few blocks away from where he previously lived with his twin brother Lovino Vargas, and grandfather Augustus Vargas.
He was extremely well-liked and an active member of the community. He knew all his neighbours by name and always smiled and waved as he went about his day. Described as a bright and cheerful young man, Feliciano was known for his adoring carefree attitude who saw the best in everyone. When the news broke of his demise, the entire community was shocked.
On Saturday 19th, June 1982, he invited his twin brother Lovino over for the evening and hosted dinner. Lovino brought over a wine bottle, which was left on the kitchen counter untouched for the remainder of his visit. Shortly after 10:30 pm, Lovino put his brother to bed, who had developed a headache during the day. Lovino turned off all the lights and using his copy of the house's key, locked the front door and drove home.
The following morning, Sunday 20th, Augustus Vargas grew concerned when his grandson failed to show up for their scheduled breakfast at a local cafe at 9:00 am. After waiting an hour, Augustus decided to check in on Feliciano at his residence.
At 10:09 am, Feliciano's body was found in his home.
Autopsy results estimate that within the hour of his brother leaving, Vargas was murdered. His neck was heavily bruised from strangulation and windpipe crushed. The area above his left eye was dark from a blunt force object, and 15 stab wounds covered his torso and abdomen.
The autopsy could not decisively rule whether the cause of death was strangulation or blood loss. These results were not made available to the public due to the horrific and intrusive nature of the crime.
No neighbours had contacted the police between Lovino leaving at 10:30 pm and Augustus arriving on the scene at 10:09 am, instead remaining unaware of what had transpired that night.
By 10:30 am the house was partitioned off and the crime scene was established. By 11 am, the remaining neighbours and community members were informed of the crime and asked to come in for questioning.
Detectives were able to piece together a timeline of what had likely occurred that night as they worked through the investigation.
It went as follows:
The motivation was suspected to be robbery. Vargas's wallet and some homely decorations and ornaments were discovered missing later, though unable to be subsequently recovered.
The suspect likely thought the house was empty. The suspect had presumably been watching the house and may have mistaken the twin brother as the house's owner. Vargas did not own a car, which may have also convinced the suspect the house was vacant. The suspect broke into and entered the house within minutes of Lovino leaving.
Using a knife of undetermined size, the suspect cut open the fly screen of the front window, found it unlocked and opened it from the outside. No fingerprints were recovered, suggesting the suspect wore gloves - therefore pointing to a planned crime instead of a spontaneous endeavour.
At some point, the suspect opened the wine bottle and consumed an estimated third of its contents. The cap was found where the bottle was originally left and the bottle was located spilt on the kitchen floor. The DNA on the mouth of the bottle did not match the victim or family members, indicating it was the DNA of the suspect.
At some point during the home invasion, Vargas left his bed and stepped out of the bedroom. Two pills sat on his nightstand, beside a box of painkillers. The bedside table lamp was found left on the next morning. Detectives suggest Vargas was likely fetching a glass of water to take the pills for his headache.
The house lights remained off, as the suspect likely didn't want neighbours to potentially witness the crime. In the dark, the light from the bedroom lamp lit up the hallway leading to the kitchen and alerted the suspect. The density of the blood and lack of trail found on the floor suggests that the suspect, initially not looking for a confrontation, waited in the kitchen hoping to remain undiscovered instead of attacking immediately.
Vargas didn't, or couldn't attempt to turn on the kitchen light. Though he may have attempted to navigate the kitchen in the dark due to his headache and the familiarity of the house's layout. Due to this detectives can't tell if, when Vargas stepped into the kitchen, was immediately aware of another presence in the room, or oblivious. If he did become aware, it was either too late or he was subjected to the freeze response. No neighbours reported hearing distressing or startling noises from the residence, indicating Vargas didn't have the opportunity to scream or respond vocally otherwise, or struggle.
The suspect, likely panicking and put on the spot, dropped the wine bottle and lunged onto the Vargas, desperate not to leave any loose ends. The remaining liquid from the bottle was emptied over the floor and remained there until its discovery.
Before Vargas could act, the suspect began to strangle him.
It's speculated that the bruise above Vargas's left eye could either be an act of aggression or an attempt to knock Vargas out cold. However, the wound was not forceful enough to knock him unconscious. It is assumed the suspect used the butt of the knife as the weapon and used their right hand. The height of the suspect is estimated to be at least a head taller than Vargas.
Though it is clear the suspect had the malicious intent to kill as the force on Vargas's throat was lethal. The suspect used a knife of undetermined length to fatally stab Vargas in the torso and abdomen until the combined damage resulted in death.
The pool of blood shows that Vargas's body had not been moved after it was slumped in the exact location of his death. The murder weapon wasn't located at the scene and was likely taken with the suspect who evacuated via the same location as the forced entry. A trail of blood between the body and the window indicates the suspect hastily fled the scene immediately after the murder.
The following morning at around 10:08 am, Vargas's grandfather arrived at the residence after Vargas failed to show up for their breakfast plans at a local cafe. Vargas had given his grandfather a copy of the residence key, which his grandfather used to enter the house and make the heartbreaking discovery.
Police officer's established the crime scene and taped off access to the house. Vargas's body was collected in a body bag for an autopsy and forensic testing.
From the DNA collected from the discarded bottle, detectives were able to confirm the suspect was a male. However not much could be derived from the DNA sample due to limitations in technology.
Detectives were also unable to locate any items noticed missing from the residence. Local pawn shops worked collaboratively with police, and descriptions of the stolen items were printed in the local paper with a reward upon discovery. Unfortunately, nothing came of it. The suspect likely sold the items privately or otherwise disposed of them through other means.
By the afternoon, the neighbours and the remaining family members had been informed and taken in for questioning. The family were ruled out as suspects. After a couple of days, the surrounding neighbours were also cleared from suspicion.
By the evening, the murder was broadcasted over the city's news platforms, asking anyone with information to come forward. A funeral and memorial service were held on Friday, to which the larger community attended.
The incident had staggered the community, who followed the investigation closely. Everyone was intent on finding whoever would do such a cruel thing, and see justice. However, after a few mere months, the case grew cold. There were no suspects, no evolving evidence and no witnesses.
Eventually, the case was put on hold.
Indefinitely.
40 years passed.
Without answers. Without justice.
It would seem that whoever killed Feliciano Vargas that fateful night, had gotten away with it.