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Family pleads for help after PHX dad killed

Posted at 10:06 PM, Sep 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-21 01:06:05-04

Loved ones are pleading for answers after a Phoenix father was killed helping a woman fend off a purse snatcher.

“We all don’t know how we're going to get through this because he’s not there anymore,” said the victim’s sister, Maria Briseno.

Miguel Briseno, 42, leaves behind his wife, three children, and his devastated family and friends.

“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” said Michael Cohen, who worked with Briseno for years in the landscaping business.

Police said Briseno was visiting a friend early Friday morning at an apartment near 48th Street and Interstate 10 when he tried helping a woman fend off a purse thief.

When the suspect took off, his friends found him bleeding from the neck. He later died at the hospital.

“He is a hero,” said Cohen. “I mean he stepped in and did something that most people would have just walked by and not got involved.”

Police have very little to go on. They do not know what type of weapon was used, and the description of a suspect is extremely vague.

His family is hoping someone will help bring Briseno’s killer to justice.

“If somebody saw something, if somebody heard something, please come forward,” said Maria Briseno. “Please help. Help us because we need closure.”

Friends have started a GoFundMe page to help his wife and children.

If you have any details that could lead to an arrest, please contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.