DALLAS — It’s been nearly 20 years since the wife of a prominent restaurant owner was shot down in North Dallas.
Doris Ojeda was a mom, a model and was only 41 years old when she was killed while on a walk with her husband.
It is one of the highest profile cases the Dallas Police Department has not been able to solve.
The weather was beautiful on March 29, 2004. Doris Ojeda and her husband, Raymon Ojeda, had decided to go for a walk around Gooch Elementary School, just a block from their home.
At 7:29 p.m. shots rang out.
In old WFAA interviews neighbors recalled what happened.
"I saw the tail end of a white-colored SUV headed north bound on Haydale and I heard someone call for help," one said.
Doris Ojeda was shot five times. Two years after the murder, Raymon Ojeda sat down for an exclusive interview with WFAA.
"Only one window was open I think, and that’s where I saw the muzzle of the gun and a flash... Before you know it, I just heard some shots and heard Doris go down... and I kind of jumped down next to her, and they just kind of took off,” said Ramon Ojeda at the time.
Raymon Ojeda was not shot, and said everything happened so fast he didn’t get a good look at the shooter.
When asked if he saw the shooter's face, Raymon Ojeda replied, "No, I just saw the outline of a face and I think he was a Hispanic person, but you know, just because of the type of haircut I thought he had."
He said he dropped down to his knees next to his wife.
"I was going crazy. I was in shock and didn’t know what to do. Called 911 and they told me to try and stop the bleeding and stuff," he said.
Doris Ojeda’s brother, Ernesto Lopez, was the first one at the hospital.
"I remember walking in, and they just said 'well, she’s been shot,' and you just can’t comprehend,” said Lopez.
He said he didn’t know anyone who would want to hurt his sister, who was a former model who gave up her career to raise her two children. Her family owned Lopez Electric, where she helped run the business.
Lopez said he believes her murder was not random, but a contract killing.
"You think whoever shot her was sending a message to somebody? Or was getting paid to send a message to somebody,” said Lopez.
Raymon Ojeda’s family owned the Ojeda Restaurant chain.
He told WFAA he too was at a loss about who would want to hurt his wife.
"You wonder if it’s random or if someone had it out for her, and if so, why?" Lopez said. "None of it makes sense."
But detectives didn’t believe it was random and looked into the possibility this was a hit.
Armando Perez, now retired, was one of the first detectives on the case.
"That’s unusual for someone to shoot her five times and him nothing at all," Perez said. "That kinds of stands out."
Perez said there were no shell casings found at the scene, leaving him to believe the shooter used a revolver.
"If it was a revolver, I would take it as someone knows that they’re going to go out and do something. Let's go ahead and use a revolver because there won’t be any shell casings that can trace it back to me,” said Perez.
Detectives zeroed in on Raymon Ojeda and brought him in that night for questioning.
They say, for months, they repeatedly asked him to take a polygraph exam. According to Perez, Raymon Ojeda refused and asked them to clear him as a suspect so he could receive his wife’s life insurance benefits.
"He never did take the polygraph, so the insurance contacted me, and I said 'well I cannot tell you whether he did or didn’t have anything to do with it,'" said Perez.
Perez said they looked into Raymon Ojeda’s business dealings and personal life but couldn’t find anything to link him to the killings.
He died in 2020, having never cleared his name.
Dallas police have assigned a new cold case detective, who is pouring over the file, hoping a set of fresh eyes might help find some clues to help solve this case.
"So, now we hope that anybody that may have seen what happened or heard something or spoken to somebody that may have knowledge about the case would be willing to come forward and call me,” Dallas Police Detective Kenneth Castoral said.
Doris Ojeda had four siblings on the day she was killed. All of them have since passed away except for Ernesto Lopez.
"I do remember that night in the hospital. My mother said we will never know who did this -- that very night she said that," Lopez said. "I said 'No, that can’t be.' And 20 years later, we still have no idea."
He hopes, after 20 years, someone will come forward.
"Somebody, some soulless being, is out there. I just hope that there’s somebody around them that has a soul that will help close this case,” said Lopez.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Dallas Police Department.