Emotional vigil held in Palmdale for slain elementary school teacher

PALMDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- An emotional candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night in honor of an elementary school teacher found dead in the trunk of a burned out car in Palmdale.

Students, teachers and family gathered to remember Veronica Aguilar, a 27-year-old who taught second graders.

"Veronica was just an amazing person, very intelligent. Even though she was my little sister I still looked up to her," Veronica's brother Juan Aguilar said. "I'm proud of everything she accomplished."

Hundreds at the vigil were wearing purple, her favorite color.

"I look up at the sky every day and know that she's looking and listening," one speaker at the vigil said. "I miss you so much, and every day I wake up and wish this wasn't real."

Veronica was stabbed to death just days before Christmas. Her boyfriend, Matthew Switalski, is accused of the murder. Prosecutors say he stabbed her multiple times at his home, put her in the trunk of a car and then set it on fire.

"My mother, my father, they're destroyed right now," Juan said. "It's extremely hard for them, for all of us."

Now the community is coming together to mourn the loss and remember her legacy.

"I know she's looking, she's watching over us right now," Juan said. "She'd be happy."

Switalski is due back in court Thursday.