EPCC professor's killing remains unsolved

Daniel Borunda | El Paso Times

El Paso police are asking for the public's help in solving the killing of an El Paso Community College professor last week.

William John Wolff, 44, was found shot to death on the evening of Dec. 5 outside of his brother's law office in Northeast El Paso. The unsolved homicide is Crime Stoppers of El Paso's Crime of the Week.

Crime Stoppers said that detectives suspect that Wolff was shot less than an hour before he was found at about 5:30 p.m. outside the law office of his brother, Erick Wolff, at 4225 Skyline near Gateway South Boulevard.

Erick Wolff practices criminal, family and immigration law, according to the website for the State Bar of Texas.

A police spokesman said that he could not disclose whether William J. Wolff was shot at the scene or if he was left there by somebody.

Patrol officers and paramedics were initially dispatched on a "subject down" call, police said. When emergency personnel arrived, they found out that William Wolff had been shot and was dead.

William J. Wolff, who was the father of a 2-year-old girl, was a full-time government professor at the Valle Verde campus of EPCC, the college and police said.

He was described by former students as an enthusiastic teacher with a sense of humor, according to comments posted in an online obituary.

"Professor Wolff will be missed greatly. He always made sure we the students knew he cared about us, and we cared about him," Alexxander and Jessica Nova posted on in the obituary.

Before working at EPCC full time, William J. Wolff was an environmental scientist for the El Paso Electric Co. and before that he was an environmental quality coordinator for what was then the El Paso City County Health and Environmental District.

Anyone with information on the homicide may anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 566-8477 or leave a tip online at crimestoppersofelpaso.org .

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.