Acevedo says police are pursuing leads

AUSTIN (KXAN) - People who live near North campus are still afraid because of the unsolved murder of Esme Barrera and two other unsolved assaults at the start of the year.

Investigators from different APD units are poring over all the pieces gathered from the crime scenes.

On Wednesday night, Police Chief Art Acevedo spoke at the North University Neighborhood Association to address people's concerns.

In a room full of more than 100 people, the worry on many faces was evident.

"We're tense, we don't know what's going to happen next, you're just really scared," said resident Christina Ly.

Acevedo said officers are still following up on leads in the murder of Esme Barrera and attacks of two other women that might be related.

"Hopefully there are some leads and some progress with the investigation," said Harry Chou.

What many wanted to know most was: Are they safe?

"In some sense the fact that people are alarmed tells you that it is a rare occurrence; I think it's important for the public to understand it's still a safe neighborhood," said Acevedo.

People who live in neighborhoods closest to the Barerra crime scene are even more alert and active than before New Year's Day.

"I think public safety starts not just with the police department but it starts with the community we serve -- people being good neighbors, being nosy neighbors, calling when they see something out of place," said Acevedo.

Although rumors have spread since the murder and attacks, the police chief addressed what crimes he has heard about, and what he hasn't.

"You don't get information from blogs. You get information directly from the sources, the police department --and that's why I'm glad we have this dialogue," said Acevedo.

"It helped calm our fears a little -- what is truth with statistics and everything -- we are in a safe neighborhood and I'm glad about that," said resident Debi Rivier-Harris.

In fact, police say in the neighborhoods from Interstate Highway 35 to Lamar  Boulevard, and MLK Boulevard to 45th Street, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries and auto burglaries were down this past year compared to 2010.
 
But the chief said he knows there are still challenges.  

"That's just statistics. To the people that are the victims, to Esme Barrera's family, it doesn't matter if we're the safest city in the country. On that night, at that time, we failed the Barrera family as a community, as a police department and our goal now is to bring them some justice," said Acevedo.
 
The chief reminded people to never walk or run alone at night or in dark places.

Since there are a lot of students in the neighborhood he made a special plea to them to not be walking around on the streets intoxicated -- that could only make them more vulnerable to an attack.

He also urged people to sign up with a website called citizenobserver.com . It notifies the community of crime alerts and lets people send in anonymous tips.