Every time Celedon Archuleta’s granddaughters would stop by his home, he would give them money to walk to the store down the street.
“We have fond memories of him giving us money to go to the store to buy candy and ice cream. He was just very caring and loving toward his family,” Angie Bryan recalled.
“When we look back at that house and that little grocery store there, and this whole neighborhood, we have so many memories. There are so many grandchildren and great grandchildren who would come and visit him all the time. This was a busy place of family,” added Brenda Robbs.
But sometime between the evening of May 10 and the morning of May 11, 1980 — Mother's Day — the beloved grandfather and well-known member of the community was beaten to death inside his home.
“Our grandfather didn’t deserve to die the way he did. We want justice for him and we want to be his voice. He no longer has a voice and we want to be his voice. We will continue to be his voice. We are pleading for help in the community to put this case behind us and give our family some peace,” an emotional Bryan said Wednesday.
About 3:45 p.m. on May 11, 1980, Archuleta, 76, was found dead inside his home at 856 S. 900 West, in Salt Lake City. Police say the house was “ransacked.”
Salt Lake police have interviewed multiple people over the past 43 years and utilized the latest forensic technology. But no suspect or suspects have ever been identified and police say they have now exhausted all leads in the investigation.
But both police and family members believe there are people in the community, many of whom have lived there for years, who know something.
“It’s been a really difficult journey for our family to find justice. We feel that the community has information,” Bryan said Wednesday while standing with other family members across the street from the house where her grandfather was killed. “We’re just pleading with the community. Somebody knows something.”
“We feel that there are people out there who have information, that either lived in this area or knew a family member or people were talking about what he may or may not have had. Somebody knows something. And we feel it's just going to take that little bit of push finding some people to come forward,” Robbs added.
Because there was no evidence of forced entry, family members believe their grandfather may have let someone in his home whom he knew or trusted. They also believe more than one person was involved and that their 76-year-old grandfather — described as a big man — put up a fight.
The Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification listed Archuleta as being 6-foot-7 and weighing 190 pounds. “The victim was known to keep money in his home and the home had been completely ransacked. An unknown amount of cash and a gun and tool box full of tools was stolen,” according to the state's website.
Family members say their grandfather worked for a railroad company most of his life. He lived alone at the time of his death as his wife of 57 years died from a stroke just two months prior to his death. Bryan, who was 13 when her grandfather was killed, says he was a "funny, witty" man who was well-known in the neighborhood.
The family says the case is now at a standstill and they are frustrated. They would like anyone with information about the "coward" who committed the crime to step forward.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at 801-799-3000 and reference case 80-34923.
“If you knew him, you would have loved him. So we just want closure on this. We want to know what happened to our grandfather,” Robbs said.
