“Michael, turn the music down,” was an oft-repeated phrase of Maria Flores. Her fifteen-year-old son, Michael, loved blaring his favorite tunes to the maximum volume on his prized stereo.

After returning to his Rio Hondo, Texas, home at 9:30 p.m. on September 26, 1988, the young music aficionado went straight to his room and cranked up the music. The decibel levels, as usual, were soon too high for Maria’s liking, and she ordered her son to turn the volume down.

A couple of minutes later, Maria heard a noise of a different nature. It sounded like fireworks followed by a thud. She called to Michael again but received no response. When she went to his room, she was confronted with horror.

The sounds Maria heard had not been fireworks, but a gunshot. Michael lay face down on his bed, dead from a single shot behind his right ear. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

Thirty-six years later, no one has been charged with the murder of Michael Flores.

Michael Flores

Authorities determined Michael was killed from a point blank gunshot coming from outside his bedroom. Neighbors, however, did not see anyone in the vicinity. The assailant is thought to have made his getaway in a small brown car with a white top.

The gun used to kill Michael was never found. It is believed to have been either a .38 or .357 magnum.

Few Clues

Rio Hondo is only thirty miles from the Mexican border, and some have speculated Michael may have been killed by an illegal immigrant.

It is also possible that he was killed over something as trivial as playing music too loudly.

Motive Unknown

The Texas Rangers were ultimately given the case and they have a possible suspect, who was in his early twenties in 1988.

The murder of Michael Flores is one of the Texas Rangers’ top 12 Cold Case investigations. If you believe you have information on Michael’s murder, please call Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-TIPS.

 

Still a Priority

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15929609/michael-david-flores

SOURCES:

• The Brownsville Herald
• KRGV TV ABC Affiliate Channel 5 Weslaco, Texas
• The Monitor (McAllen, Texas)
• Texas Department of Public Safety Website