A Gilroy man was found burning alive on the side of a highway by California Highway Patrol officers on Friday. The man later died of severe burns but police are still unable to find any clue to the crime and are now seeking public help to solve the murder mystery. Even the man's relatives are clueless about the reason behind the murder and have appealed to the public on social media to help catch those responsible for the murder.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation into the gruesome murder on Friday itself but hasn't been able to crack the case even four days after the incident. However, the man is said to have been involved in a verbal spat with a few unknown men outside a departmental store a night before his death.
Murder on Highway
The California Highway Patrol responded to the area of Sargent Crossing and Highway 101 around 3 am on Friday after receiving reports of a fire. Initially, officers believed that it was a simple fire but once they closed in they found a man burning inside. The sheriff's deputies were immediately called and the man was transferred in critical condition with severe burns to the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center Trauma Unit. He was identified later as 40-year-old Gilroy resident Jerry Mungaray III. However, Mungaray succumbed to his injuries on Saturday midnight.
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation but still hasn't managed to find any clue leading to the murder of Mungaray. On Tuesday, police appealed to the public to help solve the case and requested anyone with a clue to intimate them. According to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office, the cause and manner of death is still pending. Authorities reportedly have said that the place of the murder was far from the city, with no surveillance cameras nearby, which is making things even more difficult for the police.
Relatives Clueless
Jasmine Richards, a woman who identified herself as Mungaray's sister to the police, said that even the relatives don't know the reason behind his murder. However, Richards informed authorities that Mungaray was involved in a verbal altercation outside a 7-Eleven Store in Gilroy, California a day before his death. The incident involved several men who were in two cars.
She also wrote about the incident in a Facebook post that had Mungaray's photos. "My kind, loving and caring brother was murdered yesterday," she wrote. "Someone decided to take my brother's life and leave him burning on the side of the road."
"We are asking for help [getting] these sick people off the street," she added. Police said that they can't release much detail about the investigation because an investigation was ongoing and they moreover, don't have much clue about the murder.
