A young father was stabbed to death in front of his fiancée and her family in San Bernardino County, and now investigators are trying to identify the killer.
Witnesses said Jonathan Bustos was only trying to protect his fiancée's family when he was attacked in the area of Muscoy, a small semi-rural city.
"My heart is so empty. I don't know how to feel," Rachelle Paredes said. "My baby is not going to have his dad around no more."
She said she is still in disbelief that the father of her 6-month-old son Caleb is gone.
"He was such a great man. He was always there for me and his son," she said.
At around 3 a.m. Saturday, San Bernardino County Sheriff's detectives said Bustos got into an argument with a group of partygoers next door to his fiancée's home.
Rachel said neither he nor anyone else in her family was at the party.
"It all happened just so quick -- in a blink of an eye," she said.
Paredes said the group of men started attacking her sister near West Mesa Street, and when Bustos went to help her, witnesses say one of the men pulled out a knife and stabbed Bustos in his chest.
News
Top news of the day
"That's when I seen Jonathan holding his stomach," said Sylvia Santos, the victim's cousin. "He was zigzagging because he couldn't walk anymore."
Paredes tried to help.
"I was just giving him CPR. He didn't make it," she said.
Paramedics took Bustos to a nearby hospital where he died, just an hour after the attack.
"The hardest part is just growing with just me and my son and not having his dad around," Paredes said.
She and her family are now hoping the man who killed Bustos will spend the rest of his life in prison for taking the life of the 22-year-old father who was loved by so many.
"I want justice for him. He was a good guy. You needed something, he was there," said Michelle Paredes, the victim's sister-in-law.
Paredes said investigators were working on a lead, and she is hoping the attacker will be arrested soon.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, you may do so here. Please note that GoFundMe takes a percentage of all money raised in the form of platform and other fees.
