Cold Case Reopened in 2002 La Quinta Homicide

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Central Homicide Unit has reopened a decades-old cold case in hopes of bringing answers to a grieving family.

On August 11, 2002, deputies responded to a crash near Avenida Mendoza and Calle Durango in La Quinta. Inside a vehicle, they found 27-year-old Hernan Marquez suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined Marquez had just left a nearby house party where an altercation occurred and was shot by an unknown suspect. Despite extensive investigative efforts at the time, the case eventually went cold.

Now, nearly 20 years later, detectives are reexamining evidence and pursuing new leads after officially reopening the case. Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward and contact investigators.