Stephanie Alamazan 21, CA-bound body found burning in dumpster 10/06/09

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BURNING_DUMPSTER_BODY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Oct 11, 6:36 PM EDT

Calif. police identify woman found in trash bin


SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) -- Police have identified a woman whose body was found bound with wire in a burning trash bin in Los Angeles County.

Authorities say 21-year-old Stephanie Almanzan of Whittier was identified through dental records.

Almanzan was discovered Tuesday in Santa Fe Springs, a suburb south of Los Angeles. Her hands and feet were bound with electrical wire.

Firefighters found her burned body after they doused a blaze in the trash bin in a parking lot near the Interstate 5 freeway. Investigators say there are no suspects.

A vigil is planned for Sunday night at the site where the body was discovered.

Santa Fe Springs is 13 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

[Nut44x4]

What a beauty ....

[Nut44x4]

This was posted a day before the formal ID / how sad 

http://**/ci_13528757

WHITTIER - Stephanie Almanzan's family hadn't heard from her in days and suspect the body found Oct. 6 bound and burned in a Santa Fe Springs trash bin is her.

But authorities haven't put a name to Jane Doe No. 69 as of Friday and say they will use dental records or body X-rays to make a positive identification.

Almanzan's relatives said Whittier police have talked to several family members and friends. Her parents viewed the remains at the Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner.

"I wanted to see the face. It was just a skeleton," said her mother, Theresa Diesem of Whittier. She hoped officials would tell her by Friday afternoon the identity of the body.

"I can't wait anymore."

She said her 21-year-old daughter had a tongue ring and tattoos of a fairy that looked like a butterfly and the name, "David." She said David is the father of Almanzan's daughter.

Jane Doe had a tongue ring, a tattoo of a butterfly next to her left shoulder blade and "David" by her right shoulder blade.

The body was found Oct. 6 by Santa Fe Springs firefighters after they put out a Dumpster fire in a parking lot in the 13100 block of Firestone Boulevard.

Whittier Police spokesman Mike Dekowski said detectives are waiting for the coroner's to identify the body.

"Because she was so badly burned, they have to identify her with dental records," he said.

Almanzan hasn't called or texted her parents which she usually does. She told a younger sister she needed $40 to pay this girl who was making threats. But she felt she had paid the debt by giving rides and transporting the woman. Her car, a 1991 white Nissan Maxima with black trim and black rims, hasn't turned up.

Family members described Almanzan as a sweet, generous and loving young woman. She loved her two children, siblings, parents but was definitely Daddy's little girl. However, she couldn't break her addiction to methamphetamine.

"She was a pleasure to be around when sober. She got caught in the wrong thing, the wrong people," said her stepfather, Dale Diesem.

She would stay away from her family while she was on drugs.

Pastor Jim Ortiz of My Friends House Assembly God church has known the Almanzan family for years. They attend the church.

"She was a very sensitive young lady. Sweet, loving, open, not standoffish, very vulnerable," Ortiz said.

Almanzan's father, Richard Almanzan, said she never ever disrespected him and loved him.

"She never wanted me to be disappointed with her," he said. "My last times spent with her, she just wanted love. She got away from all that madness and was with dad."

Almanzan tried to get clean. She completed an in-house treatment program last year and landed a job at a local restaurant. But the drug beckoned again. Her family said there was a new group. Almanzan introduced a frequent companion as her friend, Vanessa, who she sometimes stayed with.

Her stepmother, Maria Almanzan, felt Vanessa was using Almanzan and talked down to her.

"This Vanessa girl was like her shadow," Maria Almanzan said.

Almanzan kept in contact with her parents either through text messages or phone calls.

"She never ended a phone call without saying, `I love you.' Always," Theresa Diesem said.

She called her mother 5:30 p.m., Oct. 4 while the latter was driving her grandchildren. Almanzan wanted to see her children but was told no. Diesem said Andrew had been crying for two days missing Almanzan who didn't show up for her daughter's birthday party.

Richard Almanzan said he received a message from his daughter 6:30 p.m., Oct. 4 while he was in church. She asked if they could go to dinner and talk. He told her he would call after the service.

At 8:30 p.m., he sent a message: "Where are you?" He texted her again but got no response.

Maria Almanzan said her stepdaughter's MySpace page showed she was last online 10 a.m., Monday.

[cookie]

WTH? what is our world coming to? who could do this to another person? 

[cartfly]

So sad, what a beautiful young lady. 

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/discovered-whittier-police-2603936-almazan-body
Monday, October 12, 2009
Charred remains of woman found in bin ID'd
Candlelight vigil held for woman on Sunday night.

Stephanie Almazan's body was found after firefighters doused a trash bin fire near a furniture store at 13146 Firestone Blvd., in Santa Fe Springs, just off the 5 freeway , two miles north of the Orange County border.

By SERENA MARIA DANIELS
The Orange County Register
Comments 26 | Recommend 5

Police have identified a woman whose body was discovered bound with wire and badly burned in Santa Fe Springs early Wednesday morning.

Stephanie Almazan, 21, of Whittier, was identified through dental records, authorities said.

Almazan's body was found after firefighters doused a trash bin fire near a furniture store.

Whittier police were called around 1 a.m. Wednesday to the parking lot at 13146 Firestone Blvd. by Santa Fe Springs firefighters shortly after they discovered the charred remains of the woman, a Whittier police spokesman said.
Mourners of Almazan held a Sunday night vigil at the site where the body was discovered.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3795 or sdaniels@ocregister.com

[trimmonthelake]

http://**/news/ci_13579094
Funeral draws hundreds as family bids farewell to slain Whittier woman
By Ruby Gonzales, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/16/2009 04:21:21 PM PDT

Andrew Almanzon, 5, left, and Gabryel Jimenez, 3, center, children of Stephanie Almanzon, sit on the pulpit as Maria Almanzon reads a letter during the funeral service for their mother at My Friend's House church in Whittier on Friday October 16, 2009. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Keith Durflinger)
 WHITTIER - Family, friends and strangers gathered Friday to say goodbye to a Whittier woman whose bound and burned body was discovered in a trash bin Oct. 6 in Santa Fe Springs.

They remembered how the simplest things made Stephanie Marie Almanzan happy and how she loved her two children and her family. They said the 21-year-old is now with God because of her faith and that God will take care of those who killed her.

"What do you say on a day like this?" said her grandfather, Richard Almanzan, who spoke during the memorial service held at My Friend's House Assembly of God church at 6525 S. Norwalk Blvd.

"How can you go through something like this without knowing the Lord?"

He said he was glad his granddaughter knew God.

Almanzan's father, Richard Almanzan Jr., put her two children, Andrew Almanzan, 5, and Gabryel Jimenez, 3, on the pulpit when his turn came to speak.
"We know she's in heaven. She's not dead. She's just not here with us in this world," Richard Almanzan Jr. said.

He said he wrote a letter from his daughter's perspective. It was meant for him, his former wife, Theresa Diesem, their three other children and his two grandchildren.

"God put it in my heart last night, like Stephanie writing a letter to us ... what she wants to tell us," said Richard Almanzan Jr.

He couldn't finish reading the letter so his wife, Maria, took over.

Several hundred attended the memorial service for Almanzan, who was buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary. Mourners filled the church. A white tent and a trailer accommodated the overflow crowd.

Pastor Ray Telles said they were expecting 500 to 600 people, which is double the seating capacity of the sanctuary.

Santa Fe Springs firefighters discovered Almanzan's body on Oct. 6 after putting out a trash bin fire in a parking lot in the 13100 block of Firestone Boulevard in Santa Fe Springs. Coroner's officials used dental records to officially identify her.

Whittier police spokesman Mike Dekowski said no suspects have been arrested. There is nothing new in the case.

Almanzan was addicted to methamphetamine. It was an addiction she tried to break but couldn't.

"On this sad occasion, we are gathered here because everybody loved Stephanie sometime. Loved by family, friend, acquaintances, even strangers," Senior Pastor Jim Ortiz told the crowd.

"We struggle with the horrendous acts brought upon Stephanie."
Ortiz said it was not his duty to pronounce judgement on those who would bring such pain. He said they cheapen their own lives.

Woody Brown said respect for the Almanzan family brought him to the service, as did many of the other mourners.

Brown said Stephanie Almanzan was a troubled kid who was loved. He was shocked, aggravated and angry when he found out what happened to her.
The idea of someone doing that to a human body. I think they should receive what the law says. I feel sad for the family because they're missing a family (member)," Brown said.

Cynthia Ellick came to show support for her friend and co-worker, Richard Almanzan Jr. She said he loved his daughter and is a great father.

"I know Richard as a Christian wouldn't want anything bad to be done to (the killers). But he wants justice," she said.

"As a Christian you just pray for them to turn themselves in."

The bouquets that stood next to Stephanie Almanzan's casket included purple flowers. One wreath was wrapped in lavender ribbon. Her family said purple was her favorite color.

Photos chronicling her life from babyhood to young mother played on a screen. Her daughter, Gabryel Jimenez, stopped her twirling, pointed to the screen and said, "Mommy. Mommy."
Slide show http://sgvtribune.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?event=867051

[Nut44x4]

omg just look at her babies....