ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It has been nearly three generations and there are still no answers. A Rochester family is still agonizing over the loss of their patriarch.
Police say he was murdered by a gunman who robbed his bodega 50 years ago on Tuesday.
It's the oldest unsolved cold case homicide on the Rochester Police Department's website and it's still driving the victim's daughter and granddaughter to ask the public for help.
“I was 8 years old, turning 9, and I used to come into grandfather's store, Bas Grocery Store," said Arleen Rivera-Hyland, granddaughter of the victim.
The daughter and granddaughter of Jose Bas look through old photos and newspaper clippings.
“It is hard to believe that it's been 50 years,” Arleen said.
November 1, 1972, just after 9 p.m., Bas was working in his store on Conkey Avenue and Avenue B when at least one suspect came in and shot him three times in the head and neck. He survived, but died less than a month later from his injuries.
“His case, to the best that we know, was a straight-up robbery, a crime of opportunity," said Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police Department.
To this day, 50 years later, the killer or killers remain at large.
“It's been hard for us," said Nilda Bas, the victim's daughter. "Every year around this time we think about my father and she thinks about…"
“It's, as you can tell, and as you can tell, it hurts still, it hurts and we want closure," Arleen said.
“The case is over 50 years old, there's probably a good chance that the individual or individuals responsible for that are dead," Umbrino said. "That doesn't mean that we don't want to solve it.”
Umbrino is part of the RPD's Major Crimes unit. He and Investigator Seth Carr continue to seek answers, even though clues have long since run dry.
“The people that discovered the crime scene, you know, and notified law enforcement, they weren't witness to what occurred," Carr said. "So to this day, there's not a witness that we're aware of.”
The family lived right in the neighborhood where Bas Grocery was located and Arleen went to elementary school right across the street. Both the grocery store and the school are long gone, replaced by neighborhood housing.
“Here's a man who was doing good for the community… and you know, a month after he had the store up and running, somebody came in and took his life," said Arleen.
“My father was a good man," Nilda said. "He was a good father. He was very good to the grandchildren. And it’s been such a long time now. I do miss him. I'm always remembering him.”
“But the sad thing about it is that it probably could have been solved with the technology that we have today," said Arleen.
“Back 50 years ago, there was no video," Umbrino said. "You know, there was no phone technology. There were there was no DNA. You know, they didn't even know what DNA was, you know, back then or at least DNA evidence. So there's a lot of challenges to working on these cold cases if you will.”
Major Crimes and the Rochester Police Department want the Bas family and the families of other cold case victims to know they have not been forgotten — through its cold case portal — RochesterNYUnsolved.com.
“As of right now we have I think just under 300 cases on it," said Umbrino. "And it’s a way for us to provide the victims’ families a forum to post thoughts, prayers and basically to let them know that we’ve never forgotten about the cases, you know we’re always working on them.”
“I do think and I give credit to RPD for the time and the work they've done with me and trying to get some form of closure," Arleen said. "They've ... I know they've investigated, they've exhausted everything that they've had all the information they've exhausted but somewhere out there somebody knows something because somebody did it.”
The police agree. There may not be surveillance video or DNA evidence, but investigators think the perpetrator must have told someone.
“It's been 50 years," Arleen said. "We're not out for revenge. We just want closure. We really want closure. There's a, there's this, like hole in the heart that you know will always be there. But it would be nice to have closure as to what happened. And why did you do this and are you sorry?”
"I would like for somebody to come out and say something because it's been such a long time," said Nilda. "But at least if somebody could say a little thing, yes this happened, that would make me feel a lot better.”
“In talking to the family of Mr. Bas, that just reinforces what a profound impact a tragedy like a murder has on families and has on people and how it affects somebody 50 years later," Umbrino said. "That's how profound of an impact that murder has on somebody. And the desire for a family to seek answers doesn't fade that doesn't go away. And that's why it's crucial for people who have any information on this case or any other case to come forward."
“He was such a good man," Arleen said.