DORAL, Fla. – Clutching a photo of her youngest son in her hands, Jeanette Pata pleaded for answers Tuesday, just over a decade after the murder of her son, Bryan Pata.
"You know, we (are) waiting so long to find the answer: who killed my son," Jeanette Pata said.
The pain is still fresh for the Pata family.
Bryan Pata was 6 feet, 4 inches tall -- a 280-pound gentle giant with a big smile. He was also a star on the 2006 University of Miami Hurricanes football team.
Police said he was shot and killed execution style on Nov. 7, 2006, in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Kendall after he returned home from football practice. He was 22 years old.
"It's unfair that we haven't heard anything," Bryan Pata's brother, Edwin Pata, said.
Miami-Dade police detectives believe someone knows who killed the football player and why.
The Pata family hopes their emotional plea Tuesday leads to justice for Bryan Pata.
"If you know anything, just do the right thing," Edwin Pata said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.