‘A great loss to all of us’: New Westminster murder victim mourned by community

NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) — The killing of a single mother from New Westminster has prompted an outpouring of grief from the local Filipino community, after her body was found in Burnaby last week.

Armand Perez, Maria (Ma) Cecilia Loreto’s brother, remembers his sister as a loving person.

“My sister is a very good mom, is a very good provider,” he said, remembering her love of music and how active she was in the community.

“She will be dearly missed,” he added.

Tributes have been pouring in for Loreto from friends, including Lady Maridel David, who knew her as Mycel.

“She’s a great loss to all of us, especially to the Filipino community, because she loves volunteering. I want her to be remembered, still a loving and happy person, Mycel,” she said.

I just spoke with Maria Cecilia Loreto's friend, Lady David. David says she hopes people remember Loreto as a happy and kind person, and not reduce her memory to what happened to her.

David says she regrets not reaching out to Loreto more and adds,"I hope we sang more together." pic.twitter.com/FBscwemauy

— Arvin Joaquin (@arvinjoaquin) March 25, 2021

She has been trying to come to grips with why her friend is gone, and how she died.

“I wasn’t thinking it was her, but in the back of my head, it could be her, because of the description in the news,” David said. “But still, I wanted to think positive, like, it wasn’t her. So, when I learned that it was her, I got devastated. I wasn’t able to eat and sleep.”

Co-workers at the Vancouver Superstore where Loreto worked are also shocked to learn how the 49-year-old died.

Perez says the support from the community has been heartwarming.

“The community is very good [to] us,” he told reporters. “There are so many sympathies and prayers online. People are very shocked at how this happened.”

A memorial is quietly growing for Maria Loreto in Burnaby's Greentree Village Park.

This after homicide investigators say two people have been charged in connection with her death.

More: https://t.co/TAfm40KVlt pic.twitter.com/3z76MWVKYy

— David Zura (@DavidZuraCityTV) March 25, 2021

The Consul General for the Philippines — Maria Austria– was also saddened to learn how Loreto died –saying there was hope she would be found alive when she was reported missing last week.

Police believe Loreto was killed in her home last Wednesday before her body was moved to Burnaby’s Greentree Village Park, near the BCIT campus, and set on fire.

Charges of first-degree murder and indignity to human remains have been laid against 21-year-old Carlo Tobias and a 15-year-old who cannot be named.

A man and teen are charged with first-degree murder after the burned body of a New Westminster woman was found in a Burnaby park last week. https://t.co/nz2S4W4KGK #BurnabyBC #NewWest pic.twitter.com/gCiJcFwDT1

— CityNews 1130 Vancouver (Inactive) (@news1130) March 25, 2021