A family is spending its second Christmas without a beloved son and brother, and his killer is still on the loose.
17-year-old Robert Bustos was murdered July 11, 2016. More than a year and a half later, no arrest has been made.
Bustos' mother Senta Hernandez is still struggling to find answers.
"He lit up a room, very, very energetic," Hernandez said.
As the family prepares for its second Christmas without Robert, his absence is daunting.
"We have the lights on the tree, but no decorations because I can only do small things at a time," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said her son had gone to an apartment complex near Rancho and Decatur that night to purchase a gun because he had recently been threatened.
"He was not someone who used weapons, but he was scared for his family," she said.
She said he made a call around the time he'd been shot and believes other content on the phone could help police find the people involved in his death.
But lately, all she's heard is silence from police.
"They have to know what they're doing, but then there's just nothing," she said.
Hernandez is asking anyone who knows anything at all to do the right thing this holiday season and come forward.
"Anything, anything that you can give to help us find the people that thought they had the right to take my son's life. It's just necessary," she said.
Larry Hatfield, a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told 13 Action News detectives are making progress in the case. It has not gone cold. He could not give any further details as to why the process is taking so long or why Hernandez has not received more communication with officers.
