A South Bay family is mourning the loss of their loved one, who they say was murdered during a trip to Mexico.
The family of Erica Gamino, 41, a divorced mother of five who grew up in San Jose, said that when she went on a trip to Tijuana with her boyfriend in early August, that was the last time they saw her.
Gamino’s ex-husband called her family and told them he had identified her decomposed body, which was found along a road, adding that police told him she apparently had a gunshot wound.
Tijuana police said the boyfriend could also be a victim.
Albert Gamino, Erica’s brother, said his family has spent most of the last month trying to find out more.
“The police haven’t even really talked to us,” he said. “We were given an initial police report that came out, but again, it was not clear in any aspect of what was going on.”
Daniel Hoang, Erica’s cousin, said family members have come and gone to Mexico and can’t do much else.
“The embassy told us to do this, do this, do this, and we never had any answers, no clues,” he said. “Right now, we’re just bringing her back home to her kids and us.”
Albert agreed.
“I don’t think anything there in Tijuana is going to be resolved. I really don’t think so,” he said. “Her children and I have realized that we don’t expect anything to come from Tijuana except for her to come home.”
Erica’s children are being cared for by a family member in the Bay Area while the entire family continues to live in limbo.
“We don’t want to keep living like this, like keep trying to communicate with Mexico and trying to find all the information,” Hoang said. “We don’t have answers.”
The family has been in contact with Ro Khanna’s congressman’s office, which is investigating the case.
