By Karen Gleason
The mother of a murdered Del Rio woman promised she will help other local families who have lost loved ones to murder.
Rosemary Gutierrez, the mother of Amanda Riojas, who was shot and killed outside a southside convenience store, hosted a candlelight vigil in her daughter’s memory on Monday. The vigil marked the second anniversary of Riojas’ murder.
The backyard of Gutierrez’s small home on West Chapoy Street was transformed into a festive gathering place with tables, chairs, candles and balloons. A plywood backdrop the family uses as a makeshift screen for movie nights was covered with photos and posters reading, “We Will Not Be Silenced,” “We Have The Right to be Heard,” “God Has The Final Say” and “Justice For Jesse Jimenez Jr.”
Gutierrez made it a point to invite family members and friends of other Del Rioans who have been murdered over the past few years, especially murders in which the killer or killers have not been apprehended.
“This is not only for my daughter; this is also for everyone who has lost a loved one and has not gotten the justice they are looking for . . . Together we can stand up and our voices will be heard,” Gutierrez said as she welcomed those attending the vigil.
Gutierrez said the person implicated in her daughter’s shooting death is in jail, awaiting the outcome of the cases against him, but added she “can’t imagine” the feelings of the families whose loved ones’ killers have not been apprehended.
She pledged her assistance to those families and recalled her impromptu, days-long protest against the release of her daughter’s alleged murderer on bond.
“I know people saw me when I stood outside the courthouse with boards and signs. And people were like, ‘What is she doing? Why is she standing out there? Her daughter was a drug addict.’ I don’t care. Nobody has the right to take another person’s life away.
“My daughter was trying to get help, and that’s something people don’t know. But you know what? While she was trying to get help, a coward came and took her life away before she even had the chance to get the help she needed, and she was willing to change for her kids,” Gutierrez said.
Two of Amanda Riojas’ daughters and two of her nieces performed songs in her memory before a light meal was served.
Gutierrez said she hopes to make the candlelight vigil for her daughter and other murdered loved ones an annual event.
For more, check out the following link:
https://830times.com/news-bereaved-mother-remembers-murdered-daughter/
