The family of a man who was murdered in the city's northwest last year spoke to the media on Friday about recent developments in the case.

This week police took two men into custody in connection with the murder of Mark Mariani.

Mariani, 47, was found beaten to death in an alley in the 1500 block of 16th Ave. N.W. on October 3, 2010.

Police believe he was attacked and beaten as he was leaving a store, and say Mariani was an innocent victim.

On Tuesday, Tyler William Sturrup, 26, was arrested in Edmonton and quickly transported to Calgary.

The other suspect, Robert David Reitmeier, 24, was arrested in Calgary and both men were taken into custody by Calgary police on Wednesday morning.

Police say both men are facing second degree murder charges and will appear in court on June 8.

Mariani's family is grateful that someone is being made to answer for Mark's death.

They say Mark was living with his parents at the time of his murder because he was struggling with Crohn's Disease.

"What really saddens us is that he died alone in a parking lot and we couldn't be with him, we were not able to say our goodbyes and hold on to his hand. We were robbed that night," said Katherine Weltzin, Mark's sister.

"These cockroaches they come out of the sewer and attack them and if know my son he would've called for mom, dad, Kathy and his brother to have some help," said Norbert Mariani, Mark's father.

A Crime Stoppers re-enactment and public appeal helped investigators to gather the information they needed to arrest the suspects.

Police say the men are known to them and have ties to white supremacist organizations.

However, they do not believe those affiliations had anything to do with the murder.

Investigators are continuing the search for a third suspect in Mariani's murder.