< The Latest 2025-01-20T23:53:27+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Mon 01/20 03:49pm PST | Anissa Rivera
Thirty-one days after Angelina Gonzales was found stabbed to death in an Azusa home, more than 500 people accompanied her white and rose gold coffin to its final resting place at Oakdale Memorial Park in Glendora.
Wearing “Forever Our Angel” t-shirts and beribboned pins with smiling photos of the 17-year-old, the crowd on Monday included classmates from Azusa High School, where Angelina was a cheerleader, wrestler and associated student body governor.
“She was heaven-sent,” said her mother Leticia Caraballo. “This hurts so much. It’s not real. I love you, Angel, so much.”
Her husband Robert drove to a house on North Soldano Avenue in Azusa on Dec. 20, frantic to find his daughter. They had traced her cellphone to that address after learning she had been picked up from a cheerleading banquet by an ex-boyfriend.
Leticia Caraballo, left, with her husband, Robert, cries during the graveside service for her daughter, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Family, friends and loved ones attend the funeral and graveside service for Azusa High School Cheerleader, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Azusa High School Cheerleaders cry during the funeral for their teammate, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Leticia Caraballo releases a dove for her daughter, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Azusa High School Cheerleaders gather around the grave of their teammate, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Gonzales, left, and Robert Caraballo, right, lead the pallbearers as they carry out the casket of Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Family, friends and loved ones attend the graveside service for Azusa High School Cheerleader, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Robert and Leticia Caraballo have difficulty during their eulogy of their stepdaughter/daughter, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Gonzales, left, and Robert Caraballo, right, lead the pallbearers as they carry out the casket of Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Azusa High School Cheerleaders cry during the graveside service for their teammate, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Family, friends and loved ones attend the funeral and graveside service for Azusa High School Cheerleader, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Family, friends and loved ones attend the funeral for Azusa High School Cheerleader, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
A carriage carrying the casket of Azusa High School Cheerleader, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Chapel and Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Robert and Leticia Caraballo release a dove for their daughter/stepdaughter, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Leticia Caraballo, left, with her husband, Robert, cries during the graveside service for her daughter, Angelina Gonzales, 17, at Oakdale Memorial Cemetery in Glendora on Monday Jan. 20, 2025. Gonzales was stabbed to death on Dec. 20th by her ex-boyfriend. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
On Christmas Eve, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the arrest of Daniel Rodriguez, 18, charged with murdering Angelina at his home. If convicted of all charges, he faces state prison with a maximum sentence of 25 years to life plus one year.
“She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a granddaughter, she loved people and she always saw the good in them,” her stepfather Robert Caraballo said. “I’m a broken man right now.”
The family is asking the public to follow the hashtag #JusticeforAngel and show up to the Pomona Courthouse throughout the prosecution of the case.
“We want to get people to go to court and show by their presence that her life meant something,” Robert Caraballo said.
Angelina’s birth father Joseph Gonzales told the crowd no words were good enough for his first child.
“From the moment she was born, and as soon as she was put in my arms, she looked up at me and stopped crying and I told her, ‘I’m your Dad. I love you so much,’” Gonzales said.
Angelina grew up surrounded by her parents, their spouses, grandparents and half-siblings, none of whom distinguished between “steps” and “halfs.” She also had a wide circle of aunts, uncles and cousins who celebrated her favorite things: car karaoke, baking, playing the piano, Taylor Swift, Drake, Bee Gees, The Beatles, In-N-Out, Red Robin, hot Cheetos, and vanilla bean frappuccinos from Starbucks.
Funeral officiant Rev. Erick Perez described Angelina as a “girly girl who wasn’t afraid to get down,” someone who loved to plan family get-togethers. She would have turned 18 on Jan. 7.
“This time together is a gift,” Perez said, adding there are no answers or explanations for why terrible things happen.
Gathered on tables around the chapel were photo collages, her senior portrait, an AHS cheerleader’s megaphone, her cheer jacket, and awards including a certificate proclaiming Angelina’s first place in the Congressional 31st District 2024 Art Competition. Former U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (D-El Monte) mourned Angelina’s death in an online post, calling it a tragedy.
Azusa Mayor Robert Gonzales and City Councilmember Jesse Avila joined state Sen. Susan Rubio (D-West Covina) at the funeral.
“This community comes together so strongly when something like this happens,” Avila said.
Gonzales noted that Azusans stand together for Angelina’s family and friends, saying many donations were gathered through a GoFundMe, a car wash and bake sale.
Her fellow cheerleaders, about 36 strong in their uniforms and pink bows in their hair, formed two lines outside the chapel as Angelina’s coffin was placed in a horse and carriage for the final ride to her gravesite. The Bee Gees song “How Deep Is Your Love” accompanied mourners.
State Sen. Susan Rubio said the Gonzales and Caraballo families have sadly joined an army of those who have lost loved ones to domestic violence.
“Together we’re more powerful, and we can provide protections for victims of domestic violence with education and outreach,” Rubio said. She encouraged everyone to disseminate the number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) and learn more about the issue at sd22.senate.ca.gov/domestic-violence.
Joseph Gonzales remembered texting his daughter the night she died, about how proud he was of her and how much he loved her. She never got to reply. When Angelina was a newborn, he vowed never to return to one doctor’s office because nurses stuck a needle in his then-baby daughter’s foot.
“We wanted to never give her a reason to cry,” Gonzales said.