A Utah woman was fatally shot inside her garage by her boyfriend, who allegedly opened fire on her while her children were inside her house, according to police and reports.
Daniel Ruesga, 37, has been arrested in connection with the death of Silvia Bahena-Mota, 37, at her Tooele City home on Monday, August 31, the Tooele City Police Department said in a Wednesday, September 2, news release and a prior update.
Silvia was a mother of four children who are 4, 9, 10 and 14 years old, according to her friend and coworker, Debbie Castagno.
“Silvia was a devoted single mom who worked hard every day to provide for her children and care for them with love,” Castagno wrote in a GoFundMe she created to support Bahena-Mota’s children. “Her life was taken by someone they trusted, leaving her children, family, and loved ones heartbroken and devastated.”
Police responded to the shooting after 911 callers reported shots had been fired near Kings Landing Road and Emma Lane in Tooele City before midnight on August 31, authorities said.
Upon arriving at Bahena-Mota’s residence, they found her dead while also encountering Ruesga, according to police.
Ruesga is accused of ramming his pickup truck into Bahena-Mota’s Tesla while she had been sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, which was in her garage, according to police, KUTV reported. Then he allegedly got into an argument with her and shot her several times.
In an interview, Ruesga told investigators he purposely drove into Bahena-Mota’s Tesla before shooting her, according to an affidavit of probable cause viewed by KSL.
“The victim’s four children were inside the home at the time and heard the entire incident, later finding their mother deceased,” police wrote in the affidavit, the news outlet reported.
Ruesga is charged with murder, four counts of domestic violence “in the presence of a child” and improper discharge of a firearm, according to KSL.
He is a real estate agent and a Tooele Chamber of Commerce ambassador, per KUTV.
Information regarding whether Ruesga retained legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
In a Wednesday Facebook post, Castagno wrote that Silvia “was one of the kindest, most giving people I have ever known.”
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“She worked incredibly hard, cared deeply for those around her, and always had a smile on her face,” the post continued. “No matter what life brought her way, she had a way of making others feel welcomed, valued, and loved.”
“Above all, Silvia was a devoted and loving mother,” Castagno also wrote. “Her four beautiful children were the center of her world, and she loved them with all her heart. The loss of such an amazing mother, daughter, sister, and friend is truly unimaginable.”
Tooele City is located about a 35-mile drive southwest from Salt Lake City.
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