The sister of a woman who shot and killed their mother inside an office in Mission Valley says her mother and sister were both good people.
"I'm just shocked right now," said Diana Stewart. "You have no idea. Our family is taking it very hard."
Crystal Vasquez, 24, shot herself to death two days after fatally shooting her 66-year-old mother Maria Kelly on July 20, according to San Diego police.
"My mom was an amazing person. She helped everybody, she did what she could for everybody," Stewart said. "She would help you buy a house. She would help you with your taxes and you could pay her later."
According to investigators, Vasquez was embezzling money from her mother's Mission Valley tax preparation business.
A day after killing her mother, police said Vasquez fraudulently cashed a check written from her mother's bank account.
"Obviously, that's the reason for my mother's death," said Stewart when asked about the check. "There's nothing I can say or words to describe that. We didn't find out until this past week about the check."
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According to San Diego police, when Vasquez arrived at the scene of her mother's killing on July 22, she learned surveillance video might have captured what happened at her mother's office.
Vasquez then shot and killed herself with the same gun she used to kill her mother, police said.
Stewart told NBC 7 Tuesday that her sister was also a good person.
"My sister was beautiful too," Stewart said. "She wasn't a bad person. Obviously, she made a bad decision. It doesn't make her a bad person though."
Family members said Vasquez and Kelly shared the same birthday.
