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1971 Houston cold case gets new resources
Rufus Ray Brigham was stabbed to death on June 17, 1971 on Denver Street.
www.khou.com
September 15, 2022 rbbm.
''HOUSTON — Houston police are re-opening the case of an African American man murdered in the 1970s. It's part of a million-dollar grant to solve cold cases where civil rights were violated.
Outside the big city, in an area known for ranchlands and cattle, a family raising ten kids was hard to miss.''
''It was June 17, 1971. Rufus got a call from his brother-in-law, Michael Ward, for help. He went to pick him up and Ward told him he had been robbed and a man had tried to sexually assault him.
Ward wanted Rufus to go back and help him get his car. That's where investigators say his trouble began.
"So, Rufus gets out of his car, while they did not know this, but the suspect, Clarence, gets out of the car," said Detective Paul Vela with Houston Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
Clarence is the only name Houston police have to go by. He's the same man who Ward said attacked him, and this time he surprised both of them.
Police say Clarence jumped out of the car with a knife and stabbed Rufus to death.
"We are still looking for Clarence, we don't even know if that's his real name, his nickname, we don't know," Vela said.
"I'm just hoping that someone will see this and maybe they will step forward," said Arnita Brigham Moore, Rufus's daughter.''
''Now, detectives are hoping that's something a million-dollar grant given to the Houston Police Department from the Department of Justice will help change. The grant focuses on cases where a person's civil rights were violated.
Detectives told us this case was selected because Ward told them he was gay and they believe that's why he may have been targeted.''
"Every family is important to us," said Vela. "Back in 1971, people were not as open as they are now."
Talking about it now, Rufus's daughter hopes will give the case new momentum.
"I'm so honored my father was picked," she told KHOU 11.''
