Coworkers are trying to raise money for a Fallbrook mother of four stabbed and killed in Vista last week.
“She was just so nice and hard-working. Her laugh really made you laugh.”
That’s how coworker Megan Harmon described Mayra Mejia Jimenez after working with Jimenez at Main Street Café in Vista.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Jimenez’s official job title was busser, but she was the most popular employee at the restaurant.
“She did everything from dishwashing to bussing tables to helping us anyway we needed with our tables,” Harmon said.
Last Wednesday, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators found Jimenez with chest wounds in front of a shopping center on south Santa Fe Avenue just south of Monte Vista Drive. She later died of her injuries.
Local
“When my boss called me, I was like ‘How?’” Harmon said. “She didn’t deserve that, basically, because she’s such a hard-working person and she’s got kids too.”
Jimenez lived near the café 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 by and share their grief.
“You could just see it on everyone’s faces at work. Everyone just looks really sad and, like, if anyone talks about it everyone just starts crying,” Harmon said.
Investigators haven’t released Jimenez’s cause of death or any details about a suspect. They say several people inside 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 coworkers are raising money for funeral expenses and help with the children.
