Family was center of life for Kennewick homicide victim

Luisa Garcia Farias’ young daughter was the focus of her life, her sister said.

“She was always working hard at Walmart to provide everything for her (daughter),” said her older sister, Paula Garcia Farias. “She wanted the best for her.”

Luisa Garcia Farias’ death was ruled a homicide Tuesday by Benton County Coroner John Hansens following an autopsy.

She died of a gunshot wound, he said, but information about the number of shots and the location of wounds is being withheld from the public as the Kennewick Police Department continues its investigation into her death.

The young mother died late Christmas Eve after witnesses said she had been pushed out of her car on the 600 block of North Tweedt Street, according to police reports.

Garcia Farias was born in Pasco and attended Pasco High School, and then New Horizons High, Pasco School District’s alternative high school. She left school when she became a mother, but planned to study and take the general education development, or GED, test through Columbia Basin College, her sister said.

“She loved math,” Paula said. When they went shopping, Luisa could be depended on to serve as a human calculator, quickly figuring the final price based on the percentage discount offered on sale items.

She had been working at the Richland Walmart in the security department.

Luisa was the second of five siblings, and family reunions and parties with her extended family and their friends were some of her favorite activities.

“She loved to eat. She was always talking about food,” Paula said.

She looked forward to short trips out of the Tri-Cities, going to Seattle or to Spokane for shopping.

Once her daughter was born, her money went to provide for the child. Clothes for herself did not matter to her, Paula said.

But when she did dress up for an event, “it took forever” for her to apply a modest amount of mascara and eyeliner, her sister remembered.

She had been living in the basement of her parents’ home with her 20-month-old daughter and a younger sister.

Now her daughter is staying with Luisa’s parents. “She notices Mom is not there” and keeps asking for her, Paula said.

Police have arrested a suspect in Garcia Farias’ death, 20-year-old Francisco Javier Munoz-Quintero, who is listed as a transient in police documents. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail in the Benton County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. The prosecution has until Wednesday to file charges.

Munoz-Quintero told police that he and Garcia Farias had argued in her car on North Tweedt Street on Christmas Eve, according to court documents filed this week. He pulled out a gun, they struggled and the gun went off, he said.

Hillcrest/Bruce Lee Memorial Center in Pasco is in charge of funeral arrangements. Garcia Farias attended church at the St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Pasco.

Donations are being collected for funeral expenses at gofundme.com/49gcsrn3. As of Tuesday afternoon, $3,413 had been raised.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Family was center of life for Kennewick homicide victim."