‘Sin City Murders’: Grieving Mom Opens Up About Son’s Horrific Killing

Cynthia Portaro went through a parent’s worst nightmare in March 2011: A knock at the door from police to say her son Michael had been murdered. The 22-year-old aspiring musician was shot dead in cold blood with a revolver in the parking lot of the Tenaya Creek Brewery in Las Vegas. His tragic case is the subject of the March 3 episode of the new Oxygen series Sin City Murders, which explores chilling homicide cases.

Michael went to meet someone to sell tickets to an upcoming show, but he was gunned down while sitting in his car. Grainy surveillance footage and evidence at the scene would help detectives track down the murderer.

The killer, Brandon Hill, was found guilty four years later and sentenced to 40 years behind bars.

In a heartbreaking twist, grieving mom Cynthia also lost her daughter Christina in an ATV accident following Michael’s murder. And her husband Richard died of cancer within the same timeframe. Nine months later she also faced a cancer diagnosis, and was given months to live.

But Cynthia keeps battling and has turned all this grief into helping others, starting the Mourning Hope of Las Vegas, a support group to help herself and others cope with the loss of loved ones. The motivational speaker also wrote the book “Beyond the Unthinkable,” where she opened up about the pain suffered and how she kept moving forward with her life.

Here Cynthia talks about what it was like participating in the episode of the series and why she didn’t push for the death penalty for her son’s killer.

Mike Portaro (Oxygen)

How did you feel about the series delving into your son’s murder? 

Cynthia Portaro: My reaction is any time I have the opportunity to create awareness, then I will go with it.

What was it like to revisit this traumatic and dark period? 

It is pretty much the same every day. It’s something you live with day-to-day. It’s not something that goes away. To talk about it, it’s to share with people that there is hope, and learning to walk through trauma. Since all this happened I became a grief and trauma coach. With that, it gives me the opportunity to help others through the journey. You don’t ever get over the traumatic experience, especially a horrific murder. A DA actually said that it was done execution style. It goes with my everyday living. I wake up with it, and I go to bed with it.

We learn a lot about your son through the show. Did you also see this as a way to remember your son and celebrate who he was? 

There is one thing I’ve learned from my studies and through the grieving process. One thing parents of children that died, they never want their child to be forgotten. I would say this is another opportunity to remember Mike as a young, inspiring, and great friend and kid. He wasn’t really a kid as he was 22, but to me, he was a kid.

Oxygen

What do you want people to know about him? 

That through his death he still lives. He was a  22-year-old who loved people.

You talk about forgiveness and how powerful it can be. There is a moment in the trial where you change your mind about wanting the attorney to seek the death penalty for your son’s killer. How do you look at that decision today? 

It all boils down to faith and my faith in people and God. I’m looking at us as a society in this day and age. We need to come together and not be so political or religious or whatever is dividing us. I think when you can forgive someone for a wrong. Everyone may have different ways to process things. I have family members that were very angry about what I did.

It didn’t change my mind because that’s what I wanted to do and how I feel about the death penalty. I’ve spoken to legislation about the death penalty. I am part of the coalition against the death penalty after everything I learned. I thought it was pretty amazing there are so many people out there that want change.

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When it comes to Brandon, have you kept updates on him through the years? 

No. Not at all. I can. I have a good friend that can find out, but I just moved on. He is living his life, and I’m sure every single day he thinks about it. What he did and the consequences he faced. He does have a young son. They have a life sentence in another way as I have a life sentence without my children.

Sin City Murders, Saturdays, 7/6c, Oxygen