KILLEEN, Texas — For the first time in five years, the family of Seth Ward is speaking out, sharing to the world about what it's like to live without their beloved son, brother, father and friend.
Seth Ward was 33 years old when he was found stabbed to death inside his truck that was parked in an open field in Killeen on June 30, 2019. The Killeen Police Department ruled his death a homicide.
"Just saying that he was murdered, that's so hard to just say," Hannah Ward, Seth Ward's younger sister, said as she wiped away tears. "You never expect to lose somebody like that. And he was just so young and just ripped away so quickly. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."
'Saw the good... even the worst [in] people' | Who was Seth Ward?
Imagine the Kool-Aid man bursting through a brick wall, announcing his arrival with a big smile on his face. That's how loved ones described Seth Ward.
"Big Red," Hannah Ward smiled as she referred to her brother. "You know, the Kool-Aid man was red and so he was red and he just had that presence... just the life of the party."
"His friends called him Kool-Aid," Seth Ward's parents, John and Kim, said. "You know, he'd come in and I mean, the whole atmosphere would change when he'd walk in the room... Yeah, he was always the life of the party. Everybody was his friend."
Seth Ward was living in Arlington originally, but later relocated to Central Texas. His relationship with his wife was estranged, but that didn't stop him from being a father to three young children.
“And he was really a good dad when he was around," Kim Ward said.
"He loved being a dad... I mean, yeah, he just light up around the kids," John Ward echoed.
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Seth Ward's childhood friend, Zakary Chebaa, added that he loved helping people. Growing up with Seth Ward since kindergarten, he said he witnessed a handful of times his best friend helped anyone in need.
"He would literally give you the shirt off of his back," Chebaa described. "... He would help anyone. It doesn't matter who it was. Like I can't tell you how many times somebody sitting on the side of the road with a flat tire, Seth would pull over, change their tire."
He was so friendly and trusting to the point where Chebaa wouldn't doubt that's how Seth Ward found himself in trouble.
"I don't want to say Seth was naive, but Seth was" Chebaa admitted. "He always saw the good in everyone, even the worst people."
Detective Jonathan Firebaugh with KPD's Homicide Unit was assigned to Seth Ward's case. He also echoed Chebaa's statement.
"Seth was, he was a friendly guy, people liked him," Firebaugh said. "But there was some people who he did not get along with -- those were kind of the few and far between. But there was some, you know, some disagreements that he had with a couple people."
Firebaugh said Seth Ward lived in Gatesville prior to moving to Killeen. That's where he met a woman and started dating her. When the two moved to Killeen, they got involved "with a crowd of people he shouldn't have been." This included people involved with drugs.
"I'd say that's when it, his story actually begins, that led up to, you know, June 30th, 2019, when he was murdered," Firebaugh said. "It happened among people that he hung out with, and you know, people that he met in Killeen."
The call
It was an early Sunday morning on June 30, 2019 when someone noticed a white truck parked in the middle of an open field at Clear Creek Road and Golden Gate Drive. That person called the police to report the suspicious vehicle, Firebaugh said.
Two officers arrived and found an unresponsive man inside the truck and immediately called the Killeen Fire Department's EMS. Despite efforts to try and revive him, the man -- later identified as Seth Ward -- was dead.
Back in Arlington, John and Kim Ward were getting ready for bed when they got the tragic call from police hours later.
"It just kind of hit us like a wet mop in the face," John Ward remembered. "We were stunned."
Immediately, the Wards got into their car and drove over to their daughter's house to deliver the news. They said they didn't want to just call.
"It was really hard to hear," Hannah Ward recalled. "I just immediately broke down."
She recalled how it took her a couple of days to process that her older brother was gone. She said what made it the most difficult was saying goodbye to the part of her future that only Seth Ward was able to fulfill.
"Since we weren't as close [toward the end], I always thought that we would have time to get back together and to hang out... and it was just, I think, it was just that final loss of hope and looking forward to things that would never come to fruition. That was really hard."
Hannah Ward tasked herself with calling up Seth Ward's friends, including Chebaa, who said he was in disbelief.
"I can't understand why anybody would want to do anything to hurt him," Chebaa said.
'It was personal'
Following the news of Seth Ward's death, the Wards say they were left in the dark as to what happened to their son.
"We had no idea at the time what had happened," they shared. "We didn't know how he'd been killed or where he'd been killed, or if he was driving the truck whenever he passed away or what happened. We just really didn't know."
They say it took several months to learn what happened to their son. They shared that the original detective only told them his case was a homicide. It wasn't until the coroner went over the autopsy results months later when they learned just how he died, they said.
"He was stabbed," Firebaugh said. "... It was a very severe stabbing. It's very traumatic... It was personal."
John Ward said the pandemic shutdown in February/March 2020 and then U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen going missing a month later also didn't help their son's case.
"From what I understood, it was all hands on deck for the Killeen PD," John Ward said. "It had already been going slowly... when Vanessa was killed, it got pushed off the back of the stove and I think it would have stayed there if Kim hadn't been calling every month."
Yet, Kim Ward persevered. She continued to call the Killeen Police Department regularly to check on her son's case. Due to her persistence, Firebaugh was then placed on the case.
"He appreciated how persistent she was," John Ward said. "He told us, you know, he was going to stay on it, he was going to stay with it and so we're really thankful for him."
Gone Cold | Who killed Seth Ward?
'DNA alone is not the smoking gun'
Looking back at the evidence, Firebaugh confirmed there was blood found inside the truck. Officers gathered the blood and tested it for DNA. They matched the blood to Seth Ward, but they also found two other DNA profiles inside of his truck, Firebaugh said.
Based on the evidence they discovered, Firebaugh does not believe the stabbing happened at the field, but rather at an unknown location during the late night hours of June 29, 2019.
"So this field is extremely dark at night," he said. "Somebody just was trying to get rid of the truck."
When asked if there were any suspects in Seth Ward's case, Firebaugh said he has two people in mind, but no arrests have been made.
"I have had very minimal luck from the two suspects," Firebaugh said. "One of them is a little more cooperative than the other one. I'm kind of hoping that the more uncooperative one does the right thing and... kind of clear some things up."
Firebaugh said that even though this case is a strong one and that they have two other DNA profiles, the Bell County District Attorney's Office told the police department they still need more.
“DNA is fantastic, and DNA puts people in places... [but] DNA alone is not the smoking gun," Firebaugh said. "DNA alone can never be the one thing that the case relies on."
In this case, Firebaugh said he needs those who know what happened to come forward.
"There's people who have heard what happened from [the] two people who were involved, directly involved with the murder," Firebaugh said. "... Some of those people I've not talked to because I don't know who they are. And that's where it becomes really important is, having people who have that direct knowledge of what happened to step up and say, 'it's not right, that somebody loses their life.' It's not right, and it's not right that if you have information that can help bring justice to a family who has gone through hell... it's not right to sit on that and not help."
How you can help
Today, John and Kim Ward continue to be their son's biggest advocates when it comes to finding justice.
"The only thing we have to hope for is that, there will be justice served. That his kids will know that his life mattered" John Ward shared.
The Wards adopted their grandchildren and are now raising them in Arlington where they are surrounded by family and friends.
"I want his kids to see that there's justice," Kim Ward said. "I don't want them to grow up and say, 'well, gee, you know, people can do this thing and just get away if they just, you know, keep denying it.'"
Firebaugh said he is hopeful those with direct knowledge as to what happened to Seth Ward will see this Gone Cold story.
"What I need for this case, I need the viewers. I need people who knew him. That's it," Firebaugh said. "All I need is the people who knew Seth, the people who know what happened to step up and talk to me about it. And then, I can get this case prosecuted and [get] the people responsible in jail and get justice for Seth, his family, for his kids, his sister's mom, his dad, his best friend."
If you have any information about Seth Ward's case, you're asked to call KPD at 254-501-8830. You can also call Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-8477 where you can leave an anonymous tip.
"People who think that they don't have that key [information], most of the time they do. You know, that's why it's really important," he said. "Every little any little bit of information, any little thing, it really does help. And that little itty bitty thing could be that one piece that I need."
If your tip helps lead to an arrest, you're eligible for a reward of $1,000.
"Your loved one could be next and you'd want somebody to come forward. So we really want them to take the time, have the courage, step up," the Wards said. "His kids deserve the closure. We would like to have closure."
