COVINA, Calif. — More than just precious heirlooms and valuables were taken from a Southern California widow during a burglary at her home. Her beloved dog was killed, too.
“They took my jewelry, my money,” said Monica Lopez. “They took everything.”
Lopez has lived in her Covina home for 30 years, but now, she says it no longer feels like her safe place.
The 76-year-old came home from a family celebration late Thanksgiving night to find a side gate open, a window broken and what she calls her “blessing room” ransacked.
“It’s just been tough and difficult to not only receive that call on the day of Thanksgiving, when we’re all grateful to be together, just to receive a call that somebody has broken into your mom’s house,” the victim’s son said.
Jewelry, mementos and even the money she set aside for next month’s mortgage were all gone.
“I cannot believe it. I cannot understand,” Lopez said.
Still, Lopez says none of that compares to what she lost next.
“Why kill my dog? Why kill my dog?” Lopez asked through tears.
Her dog, Rocky – her companion and protector since her husband died – was missing after the burglars left the backyard gate open.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies say Rocky was found a few streets away with severe head trauma. The family believes he ran after the burglars and was either hit by a car or killed while protecting his house.
“Such, you know, cold-hearted people to do that to someone and an animal and someone elderly, to target them or watch them just for a few bucks,” the victim’s son said.
The family says strange things have been happening for weeks — people banging on their windows in the middle of the night and running off when they realized Lopez was home.
They live in unincorporated Covina and wonder what could have made them a target.
“Plus, I think being in the corner house, many people find… I don’t know. We’ve had incidents here, and there’s a lot of homeless in this area, so you never know,” the victim’s son said.
Detectives said they would return Monday to fingerprint the home. For now, there’s no suspect description and no arrests.
Even with thousands of dollars and her wedding rings gone, what hurts the most is the loss of Lopez’s loyal friend, Rocky, who ran towards danger to protect the home they shared.
The Lopez Family says they hope investigators gather enough evidence to identify a suspect soon.
They have also set up a GoFundMe page to help replace what was stolen.
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