North Texas police say man stabbed partner in 2016. He was on America’s Most Wanted Monday

James Hartley
·4 min read
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The attack left the Gloria Sanchez unable to speak when she got a 911 operator on the line. It was Nov. 20, 2016, and she’d just been stabbed in what White Settlement police describe as a “brutal knife attack.” Police didn’t know that at the time because Sanchez’s side of the call was silent. But they did know something was wrong.

Police were able to use Sanchez’s call to trace her location to a generalized area, sending officers to sound their emergency sirens to see if the call would pick up the noise and allow dispatchers to narrow down the location even further. And it worked.

Sanchez was found and officers and paramedics were able to save her life. But her attacker still hasn’t been caught, police said.

Sanchez’s story was featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” a TV show that recently was revived after originally airing more than 20 seasons on Fox from 1988-2011. The show advocates for victims and tries to help law enforcement capture fugitives and suspected criminals. The episode aired Monday night, with John Walsh and Callahan Walsh asking Americans to help find the man suspected of attacking Sanchez.

The image of Cesar Colin, 38, was broadcast across the country along with a plea from John Walsh and Callahan Walsh: Help law enforcement find this man. The images are around seven years old, according to police, so he may look different today.

Police say Cesar Colin, suspected of trying to rape and then using a knife to attack his then-partner in 2016, may look different than this photo today. The photos is from around seven years ago, before authorities say he tried to kill Gloria Sanchez and fled from their home on foot.
Police say Cesar Colin, suspected of trying to rape and then using a knife to attack his then-partner in 2016, may look different than this photo today. The photos is from around seven years ago, before authorities say he tried to kill Gloria Sanchez and fled from their home on foot.

Colin had what police describe as a “romantic relationship” with Sanchez at the time he stabbed her, according to a news release from White Settlement police. They’d returned to their home around 3 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2016, after going to a club in the area.

Police said the night turned violent after they returned home. Colin got angry with Sanchez, pulled a knife and tried to rape her, investigators said.

Sanchez managed to get away and call 911, but Colin followed her, police said. He threatened to kill her if she called 911, and when he heard the dispatcher’s voice on the phone he started stabbing her, according to the police account. He left her there to die, fleeing the scene on foot, the news release states.

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Investigators still haven’t been able to find Colin, who had family in North Texas, according to police. At first, they thought he might have fled to Mexico, where he also has relatives. He hasn’t been on social media since the attack, as far as investigators can tell.

But about six months after the attack, Sanchez called police again. Two men, armed with handguns, showed up at her apartment looking for her.

One of Sanchez’s relatives was there and told the two men they didn’t know where Sanchez was. Sanchez said she believes Colin sent the men to kill her. Now she lives a private life, in fear that the man who attacked her has returned to the area.

Police released two photos of Sanchez, saying in the release that she wants Colin and the rest of the world to know that the attack has not stopped her from living her life.

Gloria Sanchez has moved on since she was attacked by a man, who investigators say was her then-partner, Cesar Colin, on Nov. 20, 2016. She is living her life, but will be in fear until Colin is arrested, police said.
Gloria Sanchez has moved on since she was attacked by a man, who investigators say was her then-partner, Cesar Colin, on Nov. 20, 2016. She is living her life, but will be in fear until Colin is arrested, police said.
Gloria Sanchez was stabbed so brutally on Nov. 20, 2016, that she couldn’t talk to police on the phone. Now, authorities say she is trying to move on and live her life but feels like she has to keep that life secret, for fear that her attacker will find her again.
Gloria Sanchez was stabbed so brutally on Nov. 20, 2016, that she couldn’t talk to police on the phone. Now, authorities say she is trying to move on and live her life but feels like she has to keep that life secret, for fear that her attacker will find her again.

Police want to help her let go of those fears, but they need help.

“Someone has information on Colin’s whereabouts, and we need to hear from them,” White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook said in the release. “Recent information leads our investigative team to believe that this fugitive on the run may have returned to the North Texas area so we want to increase the pressure and elevate the profile of this case to help our team and federal partners locate Colin so we can bring justice to the victim.”

Anybody who knows where Colin is or where he might be is asked to contact White Settlement police at 817-246-4973, by email at investigator@swpd.us or through Tarrant County Crime Stoppers, 817-469-TIPS (8477). Tips to Crime Stoppers can be provided anonymously. Information leading to an arrest and conviction may make tipsters eligible for a reward.