Family members gathered Thursday to mourn a 21-year-old man who was fatally stabbed on a Malibu beach.
Emmanuel Baltazar, 21, was found dead near a lifeguard tower on Las Tunas Beach, just before midnight Aug. 23 in Malibu. Grieving family members attended a candlelight vigil at the moonlit beach Thursday to remember the father of a 3-year-old son.
"They tore out a piece of my heart," said Patricia Silva, the victim's mother.
No arrests have been reported in the killing.
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"We think about it every day, that he is no longer with us," said Roberto Tapia, the victim's uncle.
Deputies responded to the scene and found Baltazar stabbed in the chest and neck. He died at a hospital.
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Witnesses said they heard two people arguing before the attack.
Authorities said they are looking for a woman in connection with the stabbing, but a detailed description of the attacker was not immediately available. During a news conference last week, the sheriff's department said the stabbing might have stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Family members said Baltazar was separating from his partner. It was unknown whether the two were together on the night he was attacked.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477, and tips can be sent to lacrimestoppers.org.
"Emmanuel was a good-hearted, kind-spirited person loved by everyone he came across," the family said in a GoFundMe post. "He was a loving son, brother, and amongst all- an amazing father. Just his mere presence would light up any room he walked into.
"He left behind all his dreams, and plans for the future, also leaving behind all of his family with a broken heart."
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