TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (ABC4) – Police have identified the woman shot and killed in Taylorsville early Sunday morning.
Taylorsville City Police were first called to a reported shooting at a home near 2300 W 5200 S. When they arrived, they found 38-year-old Gabriela Sifuentes Castilla dead.
WATCH: Gabriela Sifuentes Castilla’s family speaks out as search for shooting suspect continues
A GoFundMe for Castilla says she leaves behind a nine-year-old daughter and her parents, who live in Mexico. Organizers are hoping to collect funds to bring Castilla to Mexico for “a proper traditional ceremony” and to support her daughter.
During a Monday afternoon press conference, Castilla’s sister, Rochio Bennet explained she was at the home when the shooting happened. Bennet explains she tried to protect her sister and her child, telling her own children and Castilla’s daughter, to go into the bedroom and lock the doors.
Bennet recounts begging the suspect to not kill Castilla. She says he left the home after firing multiple rounds at Castilla. Castilla’s family says she and the suspect had separated about two weeks ago and they had not been living together. Taylorsville City Police have not yet released details of the shooting.
Police do believe Castilla was the victim in a domestic relationship with the suspect. That suspect, 36-year-old Manuel Omar Burciaga-Perea, is still on the run.
Taylorsville Police say Burciaga-Perea was last seen wearing a black hooded sweater, blue jeans, and brown shoes with white soles. His vehicle is described as a 2000 Chevy full-size extended cab pickup truck with the Utah license plate “U405MN.”
Burciaga-Perea may try to leave Utah. He is considered to be armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information regarding Burciaga-Perea is urged to call Taylorsville Police at (801) 840-4000 and reference case “Taylorsville PD TY21-13472.”
Support for victims and survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence is available 24/7 at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). If you or someone else is in immediate danger or in an emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately.