Three children are trying to move on from tragedy in a new home. Their grandmother, Sonia Santiesteban, who was also their legal guardian, was stabbed to death Sunday.
"It's heartbreaking," said Redland Church of the Nazarene Pastor Treavor Pound. "Sonia and the family were in church just a few hours before. They were in the morning service."
Now, Pastor Pound isn't just spending Sunday services with the three kids left behind. He has temporary custody of them. In the future, he may adopt them, but for now his focus is on helping them heal.
"They are a part of our church family. That's just who we are," he said. "We are well connected and we love these kids very much."
Yudenia Rodriguez, 40, is behind bars, accused of killing Santiesteban, her 66-year-old mother. She allegedly stabbed her right in front of Santiesteban's 15-year-old granddaughter.
Rodriguez faces charges of second-degree murder, child abuse with no great bodily harm and tampering with a witness.
In court, the judge noticed abnormal behavior, suggesting that Rodriguez undergo a psychological evaluation.
It's something Rodriguez's neighbors noticed too. One said she didn't seem right in the head.
Now, Rodriguez’s home is empty with all of her belongings at the side of the road. Her mother's home is also empty, while Pastor Pound's household is growing by three, but he's having a hard time explaining why.
"There's not an answer for that, for why someone has to go through that," he said. "There's not an answer that's going to make it better. The only thing you can do is love them, support them, be there for them."
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