The death penalty trial starts tomorrow for Raul Cortez, one of the men accused with killing four people in the most brutal murder case in the history of the city of McKinney.
Rosa Barbosa, her nephew Mark Barbosa, Matthew Self and Austin York were all shot in Barbosa's Truett Street home in March of 2004.
Christy Rodriguez heard the fatal shots fired.
"That was my first thought," Rodriguez said, "if it happened next door, it could have easily happened here."
She had known Mark Barbosa since he was just a boy.
"He was a very nice, big teddy bear of a guy, he always had a smile to offer," said Rodriguez.
Three months after the murders, police arrested three men but didn't have enough evidence and the charges were ultimately dropped.
For three more years, nothing happened.
Then, in July of 2007, police finally got their big break.
Investigators say a witness came forward leading them to Eddie Williams.
He led police to a bullet and the murder weapon and that led police to Cortez.
And both men were arrested.
The arrests were a huge relief to family members who never gave up hope.
"One day we knew something would happen," said Sina Brown, Rosa Barbosa's niece.
They say a conviction would definitely give them some closure, but won't make up for their loss.
