The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office is asking for help in an unsolved homicide as the 39th anniversary approaches.
Raul Suarez — better known as "Cooks Books" — was found mortally wounded March 31, 1985, in the eastbound lanes of Route 30 in Absecon.
Suarez was a local celebrity, hosing a local radio show and emceeing at Atlantic City's 500 Club.
But it was as a cabdriver that he ended up killed.
He had been stabbed multiple times before winding up in the road near the Crest Motel.
Witnesses reported seeing Suarez at the side of his taxicab before walking onto the roadway and collapsing.
One witness reported seeing a struggle inside the taxicab before Suarez walked into the street.
Unknown individuals then drove off in the cab.
The car — with his motto of "Everyday is a miracle" — would be found abandoned in the 800 block of North Michigan Avenue in Atlantic City.
Several years ago, Suarez's niece and nephew started a Facebook page asking for help in solving the crime.
And with the addition of social media, “it’s no longer just letters in the mail but in-box messages and Instagram.”
"He was more than an uncle," his nephew told BreakingAC on Wednesday.
His uncle brought him up from the age of 3 until the killing when Mario Suarez was 17.
"He was both of my parents at that time," said Suarez, who is now Atlantic County's undersheriff. "The murder changed the course of my life. It made me who I am today."
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 to
speak with a member of the Major Crimes Unit.
The public can also log onto the Prosecutor’s Office’s Website at ACPO.Tips and provide information by filling out a form anonymously.
Crime Stoppers also takes anonymous tips. Call 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County
