SAN ANTONIO – Last week marked what would have been Christi Kaufman’s 48th birthday. Sadly, her brother Patrick has been tirelessly seeking answers in a tragic case that remains unsolved more than three decades later.
Christi was only 15 years old when she lost her life in a shooting at a home on San Antonio’s East Side on February 21, 1994. Tragically, her cousin, 23-year-old Debbie Perkins, was also killed that night. Debbie was six months pregnant at the time.
According to the San Antonio Police Department’s cold case records, both women were inside a house on Fredonia Street just after 1 a.m. when an intruder entered. Investigators believe the suspect was looking for Perkins’ boyfriend, who was not at home.
A witness reported hearing an argument followed by several gunshots. Both women were shot and later succumbed to their injuries.
The case is still active and is listed under SAPD cold case number 94-097522. Police have described the suspect as a slender man wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, who was seen driving a blue Oldsmobile Cutlass. Despite ongoing efforts, no arrests have been made.
Patrick Kaufman, who was just 16 when he received the devastating news, continues to advocate for justice. Over the years, he has visited the SAPD homicide division repeatedly, seeking updates on the case. He has even filed Freedom of Information Act requests to gather information on his own.
“I believe the homicide detective on the case came and spoke to my mother one time — the following day,” Patrick said. “And that was the only time that I can say they took a step to find out what was going on.”
Patrick firmly believes that someone in San Antonio knows what truly happened that night. “San Antonio is small, to a certain extent,” he noted. “Somebody has been spoken to. They have told someone. There’s a cousin that knows, there’s an auntie that knows, there’s a friend that knows somewhere — there is somebody.”
His heartfelt message to that person is simple: “It’s been 35 years. Have some type of empathy, have some type of compassion.”
The San Antonio Police Department confirmed that there is an active investigation into the deaths of Debbie Perkins and Christi Kaufman. If anyone has information regarding this case, they are encouraged to call the Cold Case Tip line at 210-207-7401.
