Fort Worth police search for killer ‘who stole our mom from us’

There will be no Mother’s Day celebration this year for the family of Maria Patino Cortez.

Family members will instead gather at the grave of Cortez — a mother of four and grandmother of eight — who was asleep on April 24 when she was killed in a drive-by shooting that remains unsolved.

“There is no reason. She was innocent,” cried Mayra Urbina, Cortez’s oldest daughter. “They stole our mom from us. She was 54. She still had a long time [to be] with us.”

Investigators have uncovered no evidence why anyone would target the home in the 2900 block of West Lorraine Street, firing more than a dozen shots about 1:30 a.m.

Cortez was struck once in the head. She was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

“She was a totally innocent victim,” homicide Detective Kyle Sullivan said. “She wasn’t living a high-risk lifestyle or anything like that to put her in jeopardy. It’s just senseless.”

Gerardo Urbina, Cortez’s husband of 33 years, Mayra Urbina and her 2-year-old child were asleep in the house but were not injured.

“Some of the bullets went through the whole house and the car in the driveway,” Sullivan said.

Mayra Urbina said she initially thought the gunshots were firecrackers. She said she and the family are concerned that the killer may return.

“We’re all just trying to stay strong, hoping we’ll hear something about who did this,” Mayra Urbina said. “I think once they get someone, that will make it a little better. It’s just kind of hard right now knowing that they’re still out there.”

Mayra Urbina said the family moved from California to their north-side home about 16 years ago. Her mom had worked for Lasko, a fan manufacturing company.

“She was so loved. If you could have seen how many people were there at her rosary and funeral. The procession had over 160 cars,” the daughter said. “They shut down the warehouse where she worked so everyone could go to the funeral. That tells you what kind of person she was.”

Family members said Cortez was always happy.

She sang at parties and believed in helping others when she could.

“My mother-in-law taught us to welcome everyone into our homes with open arms, to help others whenever we could and that family was the most important thing in life,” Flor Urbina said.

Cortez was a doting grandmother who flooded her Facebook page with her grandkids’ pictures. She was looking forward to the birth of her ninth grandchild.

“She was so proud to call them her grandchildren and would constantly show them off to the world,” Flor Urbina said. “She was known for cheering the loudest at baseball games and recitals.

“I can still hear my children’s screams when we told them they lost their grandmother. This tragedy will be with us forever.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Fort Worth police search for killer ‘who stole our mom from us’."