Three Years After His Murder, Bryan Pata's Spirit Lives On

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The telephone conversation between brothers, as always, was friendly and upbeat.

The noise in the Miami bowling alley, however, made it difficult for Bryan Pata to hear, so he quickly squeezed his feet into a snug pair of bowling shoes and walked outside for better reception. Edwin Pierre Pata was 400 miles away in Florida's Panhandle, standing near his car, but their bond was not diminished by distance or time. Or school allegiance.

Bryan was a Hurricane; Edwin a Seminole.

It was Monday Nov. 6, 2006, late in the college football season. The pair talked about how their respective teams had struggled since FSU beat UM 13-10 in the Orange Bowl nine weeks earlier. They compared notes on their girlfriends' dogs.

And since the evening marked the one-year anniversary for Bryan and his lady, whom he planned to marry, Edwin urged his younger brother to get back to his game and enjoy himself. Bryan also had to wake up early the next morning for segment meetings at the Hurricanes football complex.

"The thing I regret the most is I ended the conversation -- I was like, 'I don't want to hold you up,'" Edwin told FanHouse. "I wish we had talked longer. Only God knows those things; what is going to happen."

Edwin heard the distinctive crunching sound of gravel as Bryan walked across the parking lot. He heard Bryan open the door into the bowling alley. The two had another quick laugh and said good-bye. It was the last time the pair spoke to each other.

Less than 24 hours later, Bryan Pata, age 22, was found by his girlfriend, shot in the back of the head, bleeding to death outside of his apartment complex just a few hours after leaving a UM practice. Edwin received the devastating news that night a few hours after leaving an FSU practice.

Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 marks the three-year anniversary of Bryan Pata's death.

Police still haven't brought his killer to justice.

"I don't know what to expect in terms of how I will feel, but I think it's going to be one step closer to fully accepting that Bryan's gone from this earth," said Edwin, 26, a mere 15 months older than his brother.

"It seems like every year it feels a little better in terms of dealing with your emotions. One, it draws me closer to him and No. 2, I can still inch forward knowing that Bryan is gone."

Gone but not forgotten.

At least Edwin will also have his mind on football. He's the tight end coach at Florida A&M, which is at home against North Carolina A&T. The Rattlers, at 6-2, are enjoying a solid season.

A month after Bryan died, Edwin, a walk-on tight end for the Seminoles, graduated from FSU. He spent several months helping his mother and family cope -- Edwin is one of nine children raised by a single mother. Edwin trained and gave the NFL shot, but it didn't pan out.

He applied to several graduate schools, but a chance meeting with former Hurricane Rubin Carter, who was coaching Florida A&M, led Edwin back here as an assistant coach.

After Carter and his staff were fired after a 3-8 season, current coach Joe Taylor offered Pata an opportunity to stay on and establish himself. Pata did, and coaching has helped him move forward.

"Being around the game, being around the kids, has been extremely rewarding," Edwin said.

"It's the connection that Bryan and I had, too. There are days when Bryan is on my mind constantly. It's hard to explain, but I can just feel that he's around, his presence is there. It's the weirdest thing. I believe he's still around because he was such a huge piece of my life."

The pain of Pata's death will never leave the family.

Their mother, Jeanette, who moved to West Palm Beach after the family received a $2 million settlement from the apartment complex's insurance company for failing to provide security as advertised, is concentrating on her clothing and shoe business. Edwin talks to her daily and she will often stay with him in Tallahassee for two to three weeks at a time.

His siblings, meanwhile, have begun refocusing on their jobs and children.

"I try to encourage my mother, but we have to understand her pain," Edwin said.

"Many days [Pata's mother] will tell me that she dreamed about Bryan and that he was talking to her, and she feels that he's around the house. I try to tell her that Bryan is comforting her. I know it's difficult for mom."
- Edwin Pata
"Many days she will tell me that she dreamed about Bryan and that he was talking to her, and she feels that he's around the house. I try to tell her that Bryan is comforting her. I know it's difficult for mom."

When Florida A&M played UM at Land Shark Stadium earlier this season Oct. 10, a few family members attended the game. But it was still too painful for Jeanette, who elected to remain at home.

Earlier this summer, the family went to see Bryan's locker at UM and took pictures. Other than his helmet and cleats to the top of the locker, it "was pretty much the same way he left it," Edwin said.

Edwin stresses that nobody, including Miami police, has given up finding his brother's killer.

Pata was involved in an argument with an unknown person in the parking lot of the apartment complex shortly before his death after he stepped out of his SUV, according to police reports.

Edwin said that Pata had texted a friend at 6:48 PM, probably before he stepped from his vehicle, Edwin surmises. He doesn't venture to guess whether Bryan knew his assailant or not.

Pata was found just after 7 PM in the parking lot by his girlfriend. Pata's roommate had stopped at a nearby store for gas and pulled into the apartment parking lot a few minutes later.

"I try to remain confident and optimistic because I know how hard the police are working; we have appointments where they'll give us an update and tell us where they are at," Pata said.

"We feel like it's going to be solved. It's just a piece that's missing to the puzzle. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle that have been put together, but it's still a mystery. We are just waiting on that one piece to solve it."

Pata said the recent stabbing death of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard, a Miami native, was also difficult for his mother emotionally. At the same time, however, Edwin believes she may have tapped into an inner strength that could help her cope with Bryan's death.

Howard's funeral was held at the same church where Pata was eulogized and the two players are buried less than 100 yards apart, the length of a football field, in the same small cemetery near the church.

Edwin said his mother attended Howard's service, where she met and spoke with Howard's mother.

"I was proud of her and, I think in a way, it actually helped her," Edwin said. "I know mom gets frustrated because she sees these different murder cases being solved, but it's just a natural reaction and we believe every day that this case will be solved, too."

Bryan Pata, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive tackle, was in his fourth year with the Hurricanes and was expected to be selected in the 2007 NFL draft. Pata, nicknamed "King of Miami" because of his affable personality, also loved to detail cars. He would have turned 25 last August.

Edwin says he experiences daily reminders of his brother, and Thursday wasn't any different during the Rattlers' practice.

Freshman defensive tackle Padric Scott of Tallahassee wears jersey No. 95 for two reasons -- it was Pata's number with the Hurricanes and Pata was his favorite player.

"It's neat to know that young players admired Bryan, and how he played; when I catch myself looking at Padric in practice, I often think how happy I am that Bryan made a lasting impression on people," Edwin said.

That impression continues through the Bryan Pata Foundation.

Edwin held the foundation's second annual football camp in honor of his late brother at North Miami Stadium this past June. He said 25 players each from UM and nearby Florida International University attended and served as coaches and more than 300 local youth football players ages 6 to 15, attended and learned life lessons.

The foundation's mission is to work with underprivileged children to stop gun violence, secure better gun control and encourage students to stay in school by promoting academics and athletics.

"I am at the point now where I just want to make sure we celebrate Bryan's life, make sure his life and his name are preserved and lives on," Edwin said.

"I know I am going to see him again. I really believe there's more to life, an after life. Bryan's time wasn't just 22 years here on earth and that was it. I don't see it that way. There's something greater. I don't look forward to dying but I definitely look forward to the day I see Bryan again."

It's a good bet the two brothers, smiling and laughing, simply pick up their conversation where they left off.