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Nancy Ester Mederos Gudino, 19

Nancy Ester Mederos Gudino, a 19-year-old Latina, died on Friday, June 30, after she was beaten in the 13900 block of Francisquito Avenue in Baldwin Park, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

The victim, known as Nancy Mederos, had been staying at the Grand Park Inn motel at 13921 Francisquito Avenue with her boyfriend, Nicholas Figueroa Manos, 31, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore. 

Baldwin Park Police officers went to the hotel in response to a “keep the peace” call about 2 p.m., according to an sheriff’s news release. 

The officers found Manos outside and Mederos inside the hotel room, with “trauma” to her upper body, Moore said. 

Mederos was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:34 p.m., according to coroner’s records. The cause of death has not been determined, according to coroner’s records. 

Manos was arrested that day and charged July 5 with murder, according to court records. His arraignment has been continued to July 26 at the L.A. County Superior Court’s Pomona Courthouse South.

Friends and family of Mederos have set up a fundraising site to raise money for her burial and to raise awareness about domestic violence. A fundraising food sale of tacos, aguas frescos and other items is scheduled for July 15 from 4 to 10 p.m. to help Mederos’ family. 

“Nancy was a caring, funny, beautiful young woman who cared for all her loved ones,” her sister, Edith Mederos, wrote on the fundraising page. “She was only 19 years old and was never able to enjoy her life as she wished. She would always find a way to make others happy and bring them together, regardless of how others treated her or the pain she experienced throughout her life.” 

Mederos attended college “and everyone had high hopes for her future,” Edith Mederos wrote. “Unfortunately, it wasn't the force of God, but a man … who ‘claimed’ to love her (who) took her life away. We want to make her feel like she brings awareness and find a way to prevent other people from losing a loved one this way.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.  

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

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