Page 2 - Including Amber News Today

Once seen can never be unseen. amber belkin sprawled in death in the back office of the video games store. her head wrapped in a plastic bag. mariano dialed 9-1-1. his mind a horrified confusion. he stared at ambers assistant manager, brandon. >> i was upset. and then im looking at brandon like, i dont understand how this happened. you know, i dont want to blame anybody but your first thought is, who was around. who can you look and see? maybe he had something to do with it? >> its got to be a p...

Mom and dad. pleading for help. crime stoppers put up a lot of money. nothing. i was hoping, you know, money talks. >> 100 grand reward. >> a hundred grand reward is a lot. but nothing. >> we put flyers up all over san antonio. >> we wouldnt let it go. >> but as months went by without a single solid lead, detective roberts sank through frustration into a kind of despair. >> this little girl, she looked like my girl. and she resembled my daughter. same build, same color hair. her ambers favorite ...

For the detective, you do that every case -- youre no good. >> youre no good. burnt out. >> then, about seven months after ambers murder. >> im sitting at the office and the phone rings. >> the caller claimed to know something. >> whats your name? >> i dont want to tell you my name. just call me joe. okay, joe. what do you got? he said well i know who killed amber. he said okay again geovany. i said okay, what makes you think the guy did it? he asked me if i wanted to do a robbery with him befor...

Veterinarian. >> she was just so loving. we couldnt pass a turtle on the road. she would have to turn around and pick it up and take it to her house. she would find these random animals on the side of the road. and it was like, how did you find that animal? >> like her little dog, buddy. ambers parents leigh and randy. she actually ran for buddy across the expressway. and the hair was all matted up. looked like dreadlocks. >> she said, well i cant put her back out on the road. >> so, i just open...

Rob a store dont go with the intention of killing anybody. they just go in there, with a robbery, and leave. putting a plastic bag on her head -- >> squeezing it tight, holding it. >> squeezing it tight, takes four or five minutes probably. takes a good minute. >> yeah, no kidding. >> and shes struggling. shes not just laying there. that takes a while. so, it takes it does seem personal. >> they had brandon in the back seat of a patrol car. the detective went to talk to him. >> he tells me the s...

And very much in charge. >> she was a firecracker. thats the easiest way to put it. >> this man is in texas politics nowadays, but back then he worked in amber belkin s store. >> she would let you know what you wanted. i think she was one of the kindest souls i ever met. depends on what side you met her on and how much you made her mad. >> she could be tough? >> she loved her job. >> she did. >> monica and ashley were amber s best friends. was she cut out to be a manager? >> oh, yeah. >> she was...

Why was her store not open? why didnt she answer the phone. early afternoon, still no sign of amber. so again, district manager called mariano. >> something is strange. >> and sent him back for a second look. again mariano look through the big front window. but this time, he saw someone. ambers assistant manager brendan just standing there behind the counter. >> i knock on the door and he lets me in. i said, brandon, have you seen amber? hes like, no. but he goes something is strange. theres mon...

>> and while detectives search for more clues in ambers death. >> then one day in late january 2007, as she watched tv, she saw the news of ambers murder. >> and i said, look at this. wow, isnt that crazy. and he just looked and said, wow -- he mirrored my reaction to it. said wow, i cant believe it. i never thought for one second -- he just acted normal that whole time. >> that is until after the police knocked on their door in the fall of 2007. after joe reported geovany. after detective rober...

$6,000. maybe the store surveillance cameras could tell the detective who took it. except -- >> there was no surveillance video in the store. there was none in the strip center that the store was located in. there was no video anywhere. there was video at the starbucks next door. but i only showed the front door. and thats it. you dont see anything. >> who would know that? who would know it was a video game companys only store in san antonio not equipped with cameras? the answer was obvious thou...

Her that i did it. they were saying thanks to her like how can you sleep with a murderer? you know he did it. you are possibly next. >> when they searched his house -- >> a seemed like a scene out of a movie. just going through drawers, throwing clothes. they left my house a mess. >> even when he was finally cleared, he said, no one told him. nor he said was he told amber had written him up. though he agreed they hadnt always seen eye to eye on some things. then until we spoke with him, he said,...