ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A community is coming together for a 15-year-old girl after she witnessed her mother die in an apparent murder-suicide in Orange County last month.
Orainis Rangel and her mother Leinys Gonzalez, 37, arrived in the U.S. from Venezuela six months ago when her mother met a man who would end up taking her life in a fit of rage on July 30.
Rangel was at her home when a man, who police identified as Yeans Cardenas Cuesta,34, shot and killed her mother.
She told Local 10 News that she is unable to sleep after witnessing something unthinkable.
“I can feel it in my chest,” Rangel said in Spanish.
Deputies with the Orange County Police Department responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a home in Orange County.
Upon arrival, authorities said they found Gonzalez and Cuesta both shot dead at the scene.
Rangel’s grandmother, Ziomara Erigoyen, who was granted custody of her following the incident, called the situation “a nightmare.”
The community in Orange County is now stepping up and trying to help the family.
“I was crying, just thinking about what this child has gone through,” said Ayala Avroya.
Avroya, a good Samaritan, told Local 10 News that she has started a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the girl who just arrived with her mother from Venezuela only six months ago.
“No one should ever know anything like this, waking up in terror, not being able to take care of herself,” said Avroya.
Despite the unthinkable tragedy, Rangel and her grandmother are trying to remain strong.
“I have to remain strong because if I am weak, she will perceive that,” said Erigoyen.
If you would like to donate, you can find Avroya’s GoFundMe page by clicking here.