Woman, 54, dies after beating in Temecula CVS

TEMECULA, Calif. (KABC) -- A 54-year-old woman has died after being severely beaten by a man inside a Temecula CVS, officials said.

Police say Brian Eldon Saylor, 31, hit the woman over the head with a bottle of whiskey Monday around 5 p.m. inside the CVS pharmacy at 31771 Rancho California Road in Temecula.

The victim, Tammy Serrano of Temecula, was brought to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar and died there Tuesday night, officials said.

Saylor was immediately detained by store staff after the attack, police say. He was initially booked on attempted murder and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. The Riverside District Attorney's Office is expected to file formal charges by Thursday morning.

There is no known motive for the attack, and Saylor - who is listed in booking records as 6 feet 2 inches, weighing 240 pounds - does not have prior convictions in Riverside County. There is also no word yet on whether the alleged attacker and victim knew each other.

Friends of Serrano have established a GoFundMe page to raise $10,000 to help her family with funeral and medical expenses.

A candlelight vigil to honor Serrano was held Wednesday night. Dozens of friends and family shared how much she touched so many lives.

"Tammy definitely brought something to this world that is very rare. She had a positive, optimistic outlook that was just so hard to find in many people, and she touched every life that she was a part of," family friend Austin Maul said.

They said she was also a thrill seeker and always lived life to the fullest. She focused much of her time on helping military families. The crowd at the vigil wore red, the color Serrano wore every Friday in honor of "Remember Everyone Deployed Day."

The GoFundMe page describes Serrano as a loving woman who made family her top priority.

"Tammy's life was taken from us far too soon," the page states. "She has a big beautiful family that was her number one priority. She loved them all unconditionally."

Her family said Serrano had been married for 24 years, with three adult sons and a daughter, as well as five grandchildren. She also had what family members described as a motherly attitude toward all she met.

She was at the CVS with her 21-year-old daughter, Tori, family members said.