SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The hotel once known as the Surfer Motor Lodge still sits just a few yards away from the ocean.
Guests can hear the waves crashing from their rooms as old music plays from the speakers. Three palm trees framing the side of the building are standing exactly where they were nearly 30 years ago. The only difference now is their height.
The building still holds the secret of who killed a priest there on the morning of April 26, 1994.
According to investigators, Father Louis Gutierrez was found dead around 5:20 a.m. in his hotel room. The Roman Catholic priest died from a gunshot wound to his head.
Gutierrez and his friend, another priest, visited San Diego from Los Angeles to celebrate Gutierrez's 30th year in the clergy.
“His friend in the adjoining room heard a crash. He heard a noise. He called up Father Gutierrez's room, they were right next door. He didn’t get an answer, so he came inside and he found the father dead and he had been shot once in the head with a .22 pistol," said Tony Johnson, a retired senior investigator with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
Johnson walked ABC 10News reporter Natalie Chuck around the area where the murder happened.
“The Father was very involved with AIDS hospice and homeless outreach. He was a very valuable member of the community, and you hate to see something like that happen," said Johnson.
Investigators are now having evidence taken from the crime scene that day tested for DNA using new technology, including a hair, wooden drawers, a shell casing and fingerprints.
“Law enforcement did not have the kind of forensic capabilities that we have today," said Johnson.
Investigators have Gutierrez's whereabouts accounted for up until roughly half an hour before his murder, saying he was drinking beer with a friend.
The friend left around 4:45 a.m., before the murder took place.
"In that narrow window of time, he met somebody. We just don’t know who," said Johnson.
Investigators believe whoever was responsible for the priest's murder was a stranger, possibly robbing him.
“Those are much more difficult to solve because there is nowhere to start. You interview all of the people that the victim knew, but once you run out of those people, if it’s a stranger, you really don’t have much to work with," said Johnson.
If anyone has any information regarding the case they are asked to contact the District Attorney's office.
