APD

Douglas O'Brian Cubias

A 20-year-old Austin man now faces murder charges in the death of a 16-year-old former Akins high school student. Jonathan Laughlin was shot to death in August of last year.

After months of interviewing potential witnesses in the case, police have charged Douglas O'Brian Cubias with murder.

Lydia Benavides placed fresh flowers at Laughlin’s makeshift memorial in Southeast Austin.

"White balloons for peace," said Benavides.

It's a tribute to Laughlin.

"My daughter is Samantha -- they were best friends," said Benavides.

Benavides went there Tuesday when she heard the news -- police have charged someone with Laughlin's murder.

"It's a relief, because the one who did it is now behind bars, and hopefully he will realize that what he did was nothing good. He was just 16," said Benavides.

Someone found Laughlin's body in a field off Onion Creek Drive on August 26, 2007. He had been shot in the head.

"He had a lot of friends; he went to school at Akins," said Glenn Espinoza, Laughlin’s father, in August.

After the shooting, Laughlin's parents pleaded for the public's help.

"This one time, for some reason, nobody knows where he went," said Sharon Laughlin, mother.

Police eventually learned drugs were involved in the shooting, but they still do not know the motive.

Last month, they charged Raymond Bradshaw with tampering with physical evidence in the case.

Bradshaw and Douglas Cubias are suspected of trying to clean up blood in Cubias' vehicle, where the shooting happened.

Cubias was in custody under evidence tampering charges when police charged him with murder.

"Throughout the course of the investigation, we were able to identify a couple of different people who were with Laughlin as he was murdered, and even though it's been a lengthy investigation, we were able to get to the point where we could file murder charges on Douglas Cubias, which we did yesterday," said Jeff Greenwalt, Austin Police detective.

"As I was driving here, I was in tears, very emotional," said Benavides. "Now Jonathan will be at peace."

Laughlin's mother declined an on-camera interview Tuesday saying she planned to meet with the detective on the case Tuesday evening.

Police believe there are more people out there who may have information about this murder. Now that Cubias faces a $500,000 bond, they're hoping those people come forward.