Friends and family of Bree'ana Guzman held a candle light vigil in the Rite Aid parking lot at Avenue 26 and Daly Street in the evening. Earlier in the day, they held a car wash fundraiser there to help with burial costs and offer a reward.
The 22-year-old mother of two young children disappeared the day after Christmas when she went to that Rite Aid to buy cough medicine. Her partially-nude body was found by Caltrans workers Thursday morning along the Glendale Freeway in Silver Lake.
Community members said they're worried Guzman's killing could be related to the death of a girl from Lincoln Heights, 17-year-old Michelle Lozano, whose nude body was found about nine months ago along the 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights.
Lozano's killing remains unsolved.
"We need to alert the community that something serious is taking place in our area," said Guzman's mother, Darlene Doran "I don't want anybody else to be affected by this because this is a very, very hurtful feeling that you have deep, deep inside your soul. I will never be the same again. My life has changed completely."
Many in attendance held candles, shared hugs and tears.
"The most important thing is that we want to honor Bree'ana and we want to honor her family, but we also want to bring attention to this case," said Richard Mangaser, who helped organize the vigil.
