GOSHEN, Calif. (KFSN) -- The tragic death of 43-year-old Maria Guadalupe Cardenas Meza in Goshen has left her loved ones in shock. "She was beautiful, she was a young , vivacious, beautiful lady, friendly," said Irma Gonzalez, a friend and neighbor of Guadalupe.
She recalls watching Guadalupe going on family walks in the neighborhood often, with her sons, "Lovely kids, happy go lucky children," Gonzalez said. The victim, known by many as Lupe, was stabbed to death on Friday night inside the laundry room at her home on Juniper Road. The Tulare County Sheriff's Office says the suspect is her long time boyfriend, 33-year-old Alfonso Fuentes Montes.
"When detectives arrived they determined that the suspect had stabbed the victim over an argument and as a result (cut out the stutter of him saying 'killed') the victim died," said Tulare County Sheriff's Lt. Brian Clower. Lupe and the suspect shared one young son together.
A GoFundMe page set up by Lupe's eldest son states she would do anything for her five boys. They were ages 19, 17, 15, 13, and 5. The four youngest were in the home at the time of the crime.
"This is a terrible situation when you have that many children whose lives have been completely uprooted and turned upside down. It definitely pulls the heartstrings of the investigators," expressed Lt. Clower.
Detectives say Child Protective Services has been involved in the placement of the minors and family members have also offered to care for them. Mental health professio.