A 17-year-old cheerleader from California was stabbed to death just days before Christmas — and police say they’ve arrested an “acquaintance” in connection with the case.
On Friday, Dec. 20, at about 10 p.m., Azusa Police Department officers responded to a call about an assault with a deadly weapon on the 300 Block of North Soldano Avenue, the department said in a release.
Arriving officers found a teenage girl suffering from stab wounds. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Her family identified her as Angelina Gonzales of Azusa, ABC 7, CBS News and NBC 4 report.
They are devastated.
“No parent should bury their child,” her stepfather, Robert Caraballo said, CBS News reports.
Angelina Camillia Gonzales.
Ever Loved Memorial
Her family knew something was wrong when they couldn’t find her, Caraballo told NBC 4 Los Angeles.
Her phone pinged at a person’s house he knew, so her father went there to look for her.
“When I got there, there was already crime scene tape up and forensics and all kinds of stuff,” Caraballo told ABC 7. “And I ran up to the officers like, ‘Hey, my daughter’s in there. You know, my daughter is in there. I’m trying to find her. She’s not home.’
“And that’s when they told me, ‘Sit aside for a minute,’” he told ABC 7.
Officers told him and his wife, Angelina’s mother, to go to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, he told NBC 4 Los Angeles.
“When we got there, they took my wife in to ask her some questions and basically that’s when they told us that she didn’t make it and what happened to her,” he told NBC 4 Los Angeles.
On Saturday, Dec. 21, authorities arrested a suspect, identified only as an 18-year-old male and an “acquaintance” of Angelina’s near the house where the stabbing took place, the department said in an updated release.
In a GoFundMe set up to raise money for Angelina’s funeral, her mother, Leticia Pimentel Caraballo wrote, in part, “She had a heart of gold. She was my perfect gorgeous Angel baby. I don’t even have the words to say. I can’t even cope. I need her. Our family is devastated. We appreciate all the support and love. Thank you all.”
According to the GoFundMe, Angelina was going to turn 18 on Jan. 7.
The family is also raising money by hosting a car wash and bake sale on Saturday at the VFW in Azusa from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., ABC 7 reports.
