San Jose family mourns man killed in Christmas morning stabbing

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - A loving, caring person who didn’t do any harm to anyone. That’s how a San Jose family is remembering 24-year-old Jose “Luis” Marin who was stabbed to death Christmas morning near downtown San Jose.

The family thinks he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and is demanding answers.

Family members did their best to console one another at the site of where Marin was stabbed to death.

The victim’s cousin, Yaneli Amaya, said the hardest part was, “that he’s not going to be there no more.” 

Marin was walking back up to his car with friends near north 26th and Julian when a group of people asked if they belonged to a gang. The victim and his friends took off running and that’s when he was stabbed.

The family said Marin was not in a gang and was described as a "die-hard" heavy metal fan. 

“It’s just kids being dumb trying to take people's life away, thinking it's fun to be gang-affiliated, when it's not because we will never have our cousin back. On Christmas…we are never going to get him back," ,” said Marin’s cousin Stephanie Ramirez. 

At the memorial is a poster filled with rest in peace messages. Flowers, candles and Christmas gifts Marin will never open are scattered at the site. 

Marin, known as the main provider in the family, supported his mother and three younger siblings and worked in a warehouse. 

“He was always there for us,” said Karina Morales, his younger sister.  “He would provide for us. He was the only one making money, always helped out my mom.”

“We just want justice. We just want to know who did this and we want them to pay for what they did. We don't wish them to death, but we want them to think about what they did in jail, where they deserve to be. They don't deserve to be out here," Morales said.

So far, police haven’t released any suspect information. They are reviewing surveillance video from the liquor store and the gas station nearby.

The family hopes anyone with information will contact police, even if they want to remain anonymous at (408) 947-STOP (7867).

A Go Fund Me page is set up to raise money for his funeral and to help the family: www.gofundme.com/skgene38