A woman who was found dead in a hotel room in Laguna Niguel over the weekend leaves behind three children, and a heartbroken family.
Griselda Petra Pinedareta, age 36, was found dead inside an Inn and Suites in the 28000 block of Camino Capistrano. An employee discovered her body on Saturday.
Friends of Pinedareta told NBC4 they hope for justice for her three children.
"I just want people to know that she was a mother, she was a daughter," said one friend. "She really meant something."
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Police are investigating Pinedareta's death as a homicide.
"What happened to her shouldn't have happened," her friend said. "For her life to be taken like that."
Pinedareta's gray 1999 Honda Civic is missing from the scene, and deputies from the Orange County Sheriff's Department are searching for it in hopes it will lead them to the person responsible for the woman's death.
The license plate on the car is 8BLU923, police said. Anyone who sees the car or who has information related to the case is asked to contact the OCSD.