AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department identified a man who was found dead in a car near Interstate 35 in Central Austin on July 3.
APD said it got a call from a man at around 10:20 p.m. Sunday who said he needed help. The line then disconnected. APD said Wednesday that he told officials multiple people had robbed him.
When officers arrived at the scene in the 900 block of North I-35 northbound, they found two abandoned cars. Upon further investigation, they found a man dead with gunshot wounds in the seat of one of the cars. Officers determined he was the one who called the police. He was identified Wednesday as 34-year-old Duvan Betancourth-Gonzalez.
Witnesses told police they saw four people run into a nearby wooded area. APD said the group left the scene, traveling north on I-35. Though officers could not find anyone in that area, they are continuing to investigate.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the shooting began as a robbery, then escalated into a murder. The Travis County Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy and found the cause of death to be gunshot wounds.
A vehicle driven by one of the people accused of shooting Betacourth-Gonzalez was recovered and processed. Investigators said they have identified a person of interest in the case but no arrests have been made.
The incident is being investigated as Austin's 36th homicide of 2022.
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