‘A beautiful person:’ Husband of woman shot in road rage says she loved making a difference
Zane Jones and Paola Nunez Linares met by coincidence over Facebook Messenger and within a week they knew they were in love.
A short time later Nunez traveled from her home in Guatemala to see Jones in North Texas. The 10-day trip turned into nearly four weeks, and then Jones visited Nunez and her family in Guatemala. The two married Jan. 21, 2022.
The couple started making plans to buy a home. Sunday night they went to look at a house and talk to the owner. Monday night Nunez was fatally shot in a road rage incident on East Loop 820 in Hurst.
“This loss is so much more than just me and the kids and our immediate family,” Jones told the Star-Telegram in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’ve gotten messages from Canada. I’ve gotten messages from Poland, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala. This woman is everywhere, and everyone loves her.”
No arrests have been made in the case as of Thursday. The suspect vehicle investigators are looking for was described as a small, dark-colored older model car, according to Hurst police. The driver of the car fired several shots into the couple’s minivan, hitting Nunez. She died at a local hospital a few hours later. She was 37.
“If anyone has ANY information, I’m begging you to come forward. It’s the worst night of my life and it was the last night of hers,” Jones said in a public Facebook post.
Jones told the Star-Telegram that his wife was “a beautiful person” with a tremendous amount of patience and compassion. Other people just naturally opened up to her, Jones said, including his four children.
“She made me a better parent by helping me to understand what they could be going through and angles I hadn’t considered,” he said. “She made me better in every part of my life. And now, you know, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do without her.”
Nunez had her own business in Guatemala, but she couldn’t find a job in the Fort Worth area that she really wanted to do, according to Jones. He managed to get her a job at Kelly-Moore Paints, where he is employed, and it turned out to be the perfect fit. The two worked the night shift on the same schedule.
Within three or four months, Nunez had worked her way up to a higher-paying administrative position creating training documentation. Because she was fluent in Spanish and English, she was able to make documents in both languages, according to Jones.
“She loved making a difference,” Jones said. “And no matter where she was in life, if it’s at work, if it’s at home, if it’s with my kids, this woman made a difference. A positive difference.”
Police asked anyone with information on the shooting to contact Detective C. Jackson at 817-788-7179. Or contact Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477 or 469tips.com.
