Colleagues, friends remember woman killed in Vista – GNT NEWS

Colleagues are trying to raise money for a Fallbrook mother of four stabbed and killed last week in Vista last week.

“She was so nice and hardworking. Her laugh really made you smile.”

That’s how colleague Megan Harmon described Mayra Mejia Jimenez after working with Jimenez at Main Street Café in Vista.

The victim was found on the spot with signs of trauma on the upper body, and the ambulance took him to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Jimenez’s official job was busser, but she was the restaurant’s most popular employee.

“She did everything from washing dishes to setting tables to helping us with anything we needed with our tables,” Harmon said.

Last Wednesday, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators found Jimenez with wounds to his chest outside a shopping center on Santa Fe Avenue South, just south of Monte Vista Drive. She later died from her injuries.

“When the boss called me, I was like, ‘How?'” Harmon said. “She didn’t deserve it, basically, because she’s such a hard-working person, and she’s got kids.”

Jimenez lived near the cafe with her four children, ages 9 to 19, and her uncle. They set up a tent with chairs and a memorial for Jimenez so loved ones could come and share their grief.

“You could see it on everyone’s faces at work. Everybody seems really sad and, like, if somebody talks about it everybody just starts crying,” Harmon said.

Investigators have not released Jimenez’s cause of death or any details about the suspect. They say several people at a nearby restaurant saw her arguing with a man before the attack.

Family members say Jimenez’s children are staying with their uncle’s family in Oceanside. Her colleagues collect money for funeral expenses and help with the children.