PHOENIX — A family is still reeling from the news that their loved one -- a mother of four – was shot and dumped in a Phoenix canal last week.
“Whoever did this to her threw her in the canal like she was trash,” said Marlene Mercado, Janet Begaye's friend.
Janet's family and friends say she was a caring person who put her children first.
“She was a great aunt, sister, and friend to talk to," explained Jeanette Johnson, Janet's sister.
"A single mom that never stopped,” Yvonne Gonzales, Janet's aunt, said.
The Phoenix Police Department has offered little information on the body found in the 32nd Street and McDowell Road canal but confirmed that the victim has been identified as 37-year-old Janet Begaye.
Johnson would be the first family member to learn what happened to her sister.
“I was called to the house because my nephew said there were some police officers here, and they need to speak with an adult,” Johnson said.
Police told her Janet suffered a gunshot wound and her body dumped in a canal. Janet's car, phone, and wallet were nowhere to be found.
“I went numb. I keep hearing the ringing in my ears from it, over and over,” Johnson said. “Who would do that to my sister?”
For the family, the details don’t add up.
Her family says Janet was a homebody. She rarely left Glendale, so why would she be in Phoenix early Tuesday morning?
“We don’t know anybody out there, she doesn’t know anybody out there. What was she doing out there? Who was she with?” Mercardo asked.
Police have not provided answers to those questions, and a homicide investigation is ongoing.
“I just want to know why? Why did you do it? You don’t realize what you did to our family,” Johnson said.
The family plans to lay Janet to rest on the family plot on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico. They are asking for help through a GoFundMe you can access here.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: 'Desearía que esto nunca hubiera pasado': La familia exige justicia después de que una mamá fue encontrada baleada y arrojada en un canal de Phoenix
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