It’s been just over a year since 54-year-old Tom Niblo, formerly vice president at Abilene, Texas-based brokerage Senter Realtors, was gunned down in his home in a vicious killing that left his brokerage reeling, as local ABC news affiliate KTXS 12 noted earlier this month.
Since Niblo’s death, police have been investigating whether the fatal attack was a personal assault or related to his business. Niblo ran the commercial property division of the company and was involved in some real estate development of his own, but those close to the case are still none the wiser.
Speaking about the active case, Senter Realtors broker/president Scott Senter told Inman that Niblo had been at Senter Realtors for 18 years, and there was nothing related to the brokerage business that could be tied to the murder “of any kind.”
The brokerage supplied the police with documents to help with the investigation. It was most likely either a robbery, though nothing was taken, or tied to a personal matter, Senter told us.
Abilene police chief Stan Standridge told KTXS 12 that Niblo’s brother-in-law remained a person of interest. Standridge told press that solving the murder remained top priority for him, with three supervisors working full time on it.
Niblo came from a local Abilene family who has been in the area for generations and owns a ranch just outside of town.
“He was a good west Texas gentleman,” said Senter, who said Niblo had been active in the community, on the boards of the local philharmonic orchestra and the Abilene zoo.
The brokerage has gotten through the “harrowing” trauma together in the last year, said the broker/president. “We are a very tight office. We supported each other here,” he added.
He is hopeful the murderer will be found. “It will happen when it happens,” he said.