HOUSTON — Investigators hope a bigger reward will lead to new evidence in the horrific murder of 11-year-old Josue Flores.
It’s been more than three years since the little boy was stabbed repeatedly while walking home from school.
Despite setbacks in the case, Houston police are determined to bring justice for Josue and his family. The reward for information leading to an arrest is now $7,800.
HPD Chief Art Acevedo recently revealed they sent evidence in the case to an out-of-state lab.
"We have evidence now in Utah at a lab that is utilizing techniques to extract DNA from evidence that our lab and our state lab does not have the capacity to do," said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.
HPD also re-released surveillance video from the day Josue was stabbed some 20 times on May 17, 2016.
Josue was headed home from a science party at Marshall Middle School when he was ambushed. It was a seven-block walk from the north Houston school to his house.
"It was such a brutal, nonsensical, absolutely no-excuses homicide," Acevedo said on the third anniversary of the boy's death. And he delivered a message for the boy's killer.
"We're going to get you. I can guarantee that this department is not going to give up," Acevedo said with the mother of Josue Flores by his side. "We're going to get you. So my message to you is: come forward now and ask for mercy."
HPD's cold case unit is now handling the case. They're reviewing reports, scouring the crime scene and re-watching surveillance video first released three years ago.
"Yes, we do have a person of interest that we are still looking at," said HPD Sgt. Richard Rodriguez. "But we're not limited to just that one individual. We're still keeping our eyes open to everything and anything. We're going to go where the evidence leads us."
Anyone with information can call Houston Crime Stoppers and leave an anonymous tip by calling 713-222-TIPS.
RELATED: Family calling for justice for Josue