Murder victims’ families come together to grieve their losses at a vigil in Riverside – Orange County Register

A woman whose son was fatally shot with her date at a Corona movie theater in 2021 Wednesday night recalled at a memorial service her family’s grief and urged other family members of victims of criminal acts to honor their memory.

Catherine Barajas spoke at the Riverside County Prosecutor’s Office’s annual National Crime Victims’ Rights Week candlelight vigil in front of the historic Riverside County Courthouse.

“The grief that we experience, that families experience when they lose a loved one, is very often an intensely private and personal moment. When we think about our loved ones who are no longer with us, the grief can seem overwhelming,” said Prosecutor Mike Hestrin. “These private moments can often leave a victim’s family and loved ones feeling isolated, making it seem like they are alone in their grief and no one understands what they are going through, such an overwhelming loss, but today Today we come together to mourn publicly.

Barajas was Wednesday’s featured speaker and was joined by her family, including her two daughters and her husband, Brian Barajas.

On July 26, 2021, Rylee Goodrich, 18, a Corona High graduate, and Anthony Barajas, 19, a Mater Dei High graduate, watched the final moments of that evening’s final screening of “The Forever Purge” at the Regal Cinema Edwards at the Crossings in Corona when they were attacked.

Joseph Jimenez Jr., now 23, a Santiago High School graduate with schizophrenia, had run out of medication and failed to refill it. He had heard voices threatening to harm him, so he purchased a gun on OfferUp. That night, he heard voices of “Abigail” and an unidentified, equally nonexistent companion saying he was in danger from the Corona teenagers as they sat several rows ahead Jimenez and three of his friends.

The six people were the only patrons of the theater.

Jimenez went to his car and retrieved the gun. The three friends, upset by Jimenez, left the theater and did not tell anyone.

Jimenez sneaked up behind the teens and shot first Barajas, then Goodrich. She died that day, and Barajas died on July 31, 2021, after organ donation.

Jimenez initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He later withdrew his plea and was found sane during a trial before a judge. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on February 26, 2024.

“…every morning I wake up, I can’t catch my breath because Anthony is gone,” Barajas said Wednesday.

Barajas talked about how happy she was when Anthony was born and how joyful it was to watch her son grow up. Anthony loved music and performing, she said, remembering his performance as Flounder in the play The Little Mermaid.

“Every night I try and fight and try to remember his smile instead of him lying on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head that was inflicted by someone who made a choice,” Barajas said.

Anthony was able to save the lives of two young men through his organ donation, she said.

“I think of him crying for me, waiting for me to save him. I think of him being all alone in an ambulance, dying without his mother,” she said.

Barajas said the family was in Hawaii having fun one day before he was shot and killed.

“It was my job to hold them back if they were scared or hurt. It was my job to ensure their safety,” Barajas said.

“The offender took all of this from me. He took that away from Anthony. He made all my promises to all my children become a lie.

Barajas said the family still attends therapy two to three times a week to help cope with their loss.

“Let us live the rest of our days remembering our loved ones,” Barajas said in conclusion. “Let’s say their names and tell their stories. »

The event continued after his speech, with law enforcement and city staff coming to say the names of the remembered murder victims.

As the names were read, family and friends of each victim lit their candles.

The vigil ended with two songs: “See you Again” by Wiz Khalifa and “Lean on me” by Bill Withers.

Family members and friends then headed to the victims’ memorial courtyard, where a wall has the names of murder victims carved into granite.

The wall has more than 2,000 names, with more added each year.

Some of the names added this year were:

• George Sifontes, 31, of Rialto, died October 17, 2023 after being struck in the back of the head by a man and hitting the ground hard in Riverside.
• Michael Rangel, 68, of Riverside, who was shot and killed on October 28, 2023 while watering his lawn in Riverside.
• Andrew Cisneros, 35, was killed in a shooting on February 25, 2023.
• Gilberto Sotelo, 38, died August 7, 2023 after being struck in a hit-and-run accident in Riverside