BREAKING: Police identify Oak Cliff man murdered Thursday morning

Dallas police have identified the man found shot to death on an Oak Cliff street early Thursday morning as Joseph “Joey” Paul, 47.
According to reports, residents in the 1900 block of Elmwood Boulevard, just east of Hampton Road, told police that shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, May 19, they heard loud arguing, followed by gunshots. Then they saw a body lying in the street and two men in a silver car speeding away.
Paul lived with his partner, Jeff Phillips, less than a mile from where he was killed, and Phillips said Friday afternoon, May 20, that police told him Paul had only his phone with him when he was found.
“They told me he didn’t have a wallet on him when they found him, and I haven’t been able to find his wallet here at the house,” Phillips said. “His cell phone is pass-code locked. They asked me if I know his pass code, but I don’t. He didn’t know mine either.”
Phillips said that he and Paul have been renovating their home and that dust from the construction had aggravated his asthma. He said he had left the house about 9 p.m. Thursday to spend the night elsewhere to get out of the dust and give his asthma time to recede.
Phillips also said that Paul had been in a car accident in Houston, and because he had been unable to pay restitution to the other driver, his license had been suspended.
“We have been having some real financial difficulties,” Phillips said. “I’ve been sick so I haven’t been able to work full time. And Joey has been unemployed since January. He couldn’t pay the money, so he couldn’t get his license back. So anywhere he was going that night, he was going on foot.”
Because he had no wallet and they were unable to access his phone, it took awhile for police to identify Paul, Phillips said. And even after they identified Paul, they didn’t immediately notify his partner of almost 16 years.
“I didn’t find out what happened until almost 24 hours after he was killed,” Phillips said, adding that police and the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office still aren’t releasing information to him.
“They contacted his mother and are talking to her instead,” Phillips said. “They aren’t telling me anything. I don’t even know how he died, except what the news is reporting, that he was shot.
“They won’t even let me sign for his body. They are acting like it’s 1956 instead of 2016,” he continued. “Fortunately, I’ve never had a bad relationship with my in-laws. We’ve always gotten along.”
Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the death of Joey Paul call investigators at 214-671-3661. People who want to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 214-373-8477.