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Police say 10-year-old was raped, suffocatedSchool, family mourn deathBy MANNY ROMERO and LOREN LISTIAK Staff WritersMENDOZA66I'm still hoping she's going to walk back through that door...99Yuma police are still looking for suspects in the rape and murder of a 10-year-old Yuma girl.Yuma police said Amberly Ann Mendoza was found dead Saturday morning at her home, 1740 W. 24th Lane.Police said she was raped before she was suffocated with a pillow.Police Chief Robby Robinson said the rape wasn’t confirmed until Monday when an autopsy was conducted.Amberly’s body was taken to Tucson where the autopsy was conducted by a forensic pathologist who listed the cause of death as asphyxiation.Police said Amberly apparently had been killed either Friday night or early Saturday morning while other family members were home.Robinson said investigators foun* no signs of forced entry into the home.Bom and raised in Yuma,Amberly was a fourth-grade student at Valley Horizon School who loved pizza, roller-blading and drawing pictures.Her mother, Veronica, said Amberly was a shy girl who always made time for family and friends.“She loved shoes,” Mendoza said. “She always tried to convince me to let her wear my high heels when we would go to the park or anywhere else.Mendoza said on the night of Amberly’s death, she and her daughter were competing to see who could read the most books.“She was always trying to do her best in everything,” Mendoza said. “She was suppose to read 10 books so 1 could let her watch the focahontas movie.“1 let her watch it anyway and then she went to bed, she said. “I found her the next morning, j“We have no idea who would do something like this.”Melissa Fell, Amberly’s coufcin, said she still remembers receiving a phone call from Mendoza after she found her daughter’s body.“1 found out Saturday morning about 11 a.m., she said. “Her mother was screaming and yelling, telling me about it. I thought it was a huge nightmare.“It just wasn’t something you think could happen, Fell said. “I’m still hoping she’s going to walk back through that door with her smilingface.”Fell said Amberly would always make time to visit and play with her daughter, Gracie.“She came over quite often,” Fell said. “Babies couldn’t make a peep, because Amberly would be there and she would spoil them. She loved kids and she would always like to take care of Gracie.Cindy Didway, Valley Horizon principal, said school staff members were startled after hearing about the death of a student.“People are shocked, and they’re worried about the other kids in the family and the other students at school, Didway said. “They wgnt to do what they can to help.”Valley Horizon is currently on intersession, but Didway said the school will be offering counseling for students and staff members when they return March 25.Mendoza said she hopes other parents learn from Amberly’s death.“Always pay attention to your children, she said. “Everyone needs to be really careful with their children and always love them as much as possible.”Wake services for Amberly Mendoza will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Francis of Assisi Church. Amberly** funeral will be at 8:30 ajn. Friday at St. Francis of Assisi. Johnson’s mortuary is handling the services.The family is starting a memorial fund with the Arizona Education Association Credit Union to help family pay for funeral expenses.
Newspaper Details
Yuma Sun
Yuma, Arizona, US
Tue, Mar 12, 1996
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kyleen C.
NA, 08 Dec 2017
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