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Family of slain Miami Hurricane lineman Brian Pata has one question: 'Why'

Pata's mom, siblings searching

MIAMI -- Bryan Pata's body was laid to rest recently, and most of the people who attended the funeral of the slain University of Miami football player have moved on with their lives -- albeit with heavier hearts.

But Pata's family cannot rest. His mother, Jeanette, a Haitian immigrant who worked double shifts as a hotel maid to provide for her nine children, said she lies tormented in her North Miami bed every night trying to figure out who would want to kill her youngest son and why. Police are wondering the same thing, and have been tight-lipped about the investigation.

"Me and Bryan were very, very close, so even though he is gone, I still talk to him and I say, 'Bryan, tell me who killed you. Tell your Mommy who killed you,'"' Jeanette Pata said. "Somebody out there knows something, and I believe the truth will come out."

The tortured mother and her grieving children try to piece together the final months, weeks, days and hours of Bryan's life, searching for clues.

There was, according to one relative, a mysterious, "threatening" call Pata got in April, a call that left him so shaken he went to sleep at his sister Ronette's apartment. Ronette would not elaborate on the nature of the phone call.

A few months ago, Pata also mentioned to relatives an altercation involving Miami players at Club Life, a downtown nightclub owned by Pata's friend, Shawn Shahnazi, a Coconut Grove resident and Miami fan who hired Pata and some of his teammates to work security in the offseason.

Shahnazi was one of the first people to arrive at the scene on Nov.7, and he helped the Pata family with everything from food platters to fundraising in the following days.

"Yes, there was a fight outside the club involving a few teammates, and Bryan came out at one point, but I truly don't believe that is connected," Shahnazi said. "For one thing, it was back in June or July, almost six months ago, and also, Bryan was not one of the main people involved. It was some regular guys picking a fight with the players, telling them they're not big shots just because they're UM players, saying stuff to their girlfriends, but Bryan was barely involved.

"I know him well, and I believe whatever happened to him was not because of anything bad he did. He just ticked off the wrong person for some reason."

Pata was a gun collector (he had a concealed weapons permit), dreamed of being in the FBI after his football career was over, and enjoyed going to the shooting range. His other hobby was restoring old cars. He'd buy them cheap, purchase new rims, engines, paint them, and re-sell them.

What is known is that Pata was killed by a bullet to the back of the head when he arrived at his apartment complex about 7:30 p.m. following practice that Tuesday. He parked his 2005 Infiniti SUV, got out of the vehicle, but never made it to the door of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Jada Brody, his teammate Dwayne Hendricks, and a Yorkshire Terrier named Cheerio.