Memorial Held for Slain Woman

Lorena Gonzalez was remembered Saturday as a woman of faith who was trying to work through a troubled marriage.

Gonzalez's body was found in a burned out car in a parking lot at UCSD on October 29. Her estranged husband, Julio Angel Garcia-Puente,  was arrested in Mexico and is now facing charges of arson and murder.

It was a festive celebration of life. But there was no mistaking the emotional toll the murder of Lorena Gonzalez had on the small San Marcos congregation at Templo Cristiano Alpha Y Omega.

“It's so hard for everybody to understand this case. It's so hard,” said the victim’s friend, Sylvia Onofre.

Saturday’s service was packed with a standing room only gathering of 200 people. A pastor said he had spoken to Gonzalez about her marital problems but news of her death came as a shock.

“I would like people to understand that she was really a lady of God, a woman of God, that she trusts God with all her heart and she loved her children,” said Pastor Jose De Jesus Lopez.

Gonzalez was a prayer leader and Sunday school teacher at the church.

“You were the best teacher I ever had. You're still alive. You're still alive and people know it,” a child read at the service.

Gonzales has family in El Salvador. Her funeral services are pending.

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