It’s been just over a month since a University Park father was gunned down in broad daylight while driving along a busy freeway.
Dallas police suspect road rage was to blame.
Police and the victim’s grieving family are pleading for help in finding Chris Murzin’s killer.
“I miss his laugh. I miss his way about him,” said Christina Murzin wiping tears from her eyes. “I still sometimes think that he’s out on a business trip and will be coming home. But we know he’s not.”
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Chris Murzin, she says, was a family man with a big personality and passion for helping others.
Murzin was an advocate for accessibility and inclusion for children with disabilities.
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He was honored as University Park’s Citizen of the Year in 2008.
Murzin helped in an effort to revamp Coffee Park to ensure it is accessible to children of all abilities.
He was always inspired by his son with special needs, Jack.
“They were always together,” she said of father and son. “I know [Jack] misses him, but I don’t know if he realizes he’s not coming home.”
This family was forever changed on Thursday, February 11. The same day as the deadly pileup in Fort Worth. The day started out icy with multiple crashes across DFW.
Murzin was driving along I-20 from Tyler to Abilene on a work trip, his wife said.
“We thought that it would be the safest thing for him to just drive straight, so if he had come home, he would not have been on that stretch of road, which is just heartbreaking,” she said.
Murzin was westbound on I-20 just before the South Polk Street exit when another vehicle drove up to his driver's side and opened fire, killing the 53-year old father of three.
Police say they found Murzin dead in his car with a gunshot wound.
Another driver called 911 during the incident.
“They observed a silver SUV shoot at the black SUV,” said Dallas police detective Tonya McDaniel.
Police believe the shooting was the result of road rage, given the witness account.
“[The witness] did observe [suspect and victim vehicles] coming up on each other,” said McDaniel. “All they could think of was maybe that it could’ve been road rage.”
The witness described the suspect vehicle as a small silver SUV. The make, model or year is not yet known.
Police say I-20 was busy that day and hope someone will remember the incident, given that it happened in broad daylight.
McDaniel is confident she will solve the case if the public cooperates.
“I would just like for you to put yourself in this family’s situation,” said McDaniel. “I would like for you to step up and speak up.”
There is now a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment in this case.
Murzin has started a GoFundMe to increase the reward, to pay for fliers and for a billboard in the area, hoping someone will come forward.
“He was just our everything and we were his and it’s just really hard to move forward with this huge void in our lives,” she said. “If someone knows something or saw something, please turn them in because Chris was an amazing person. He deserves justice.”
The Dallas Police Department is asking for anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact Homicide Detective Tonya. McDaniel, #8890, at 214-671-4236 or by email at tonya.mcdaniel@dallascityhall.com. Please reference case #025379-2021. Call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-TIPS (8477), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
To contribute to the family’s GoFundMe reward fund, click here.
