Bessie Rodriguez — the mother of Santos Rodriguez, a 12-year-old who was killed by a Dallas police officer 50 years ago — died Wednesday night at the age of 80, her family confirmed to WFAA.
Additional information about Rodriguez's death was not available Thursday afternoon.
Rodriguez died less than two weeks after Dallas City Council rejected a proposal to rename a stretch of Jim Miller Road after her son.
Santos Rodriguez, 12, was killed by Dallas police officer Darrell Cain on July 24, 1973.
Santos and his brother, David, were questioned about a burglary at a local gas station. According to testimony from David, Cain had taken his revolver and spun the cylinder in a “Russian roulette” style interrogation. Cain fired while questioning Santos about the burglary with the gun at his head. The boy had denied any wrongdoing.
Cain was convicted of murder with malice and sentenced to five years in prison, but ended up serving two-and-a-half years before being released.
Santos' murder sparked outrage in the Dallas Latino community, which continues to keep his memory alive 50 years later.
Forty years after Santos' death, the city of Dallas apologized to Rodriguez. In 2021, she received an apology from the Dallas Police Department.
Last year, the city unveiled a sculpture of Santos at Pike Park in an area previously known as "Little Mexico." Pike Park was also the site of the 50th anniversary march held in July.
On Nov. 16, Dallas City Council rejected renaming part of Jim Miller Road after Santos following pushback from Pleasant Grove residents. During the meeting at Dallas City Hall, those residents said they were concerned it would affiliate the area with a tragedy that was unrelated to their neighborhood.
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