First Christian Church in San Bernardino, where Del' Andrae and one the suspects in her death attended services. (The Press-Enterprise)
The beating, robbery and subsequent death of 87-year-old Storma Del' Andrae has received widespread media coverage, including five stories in The Press-Enterprise.
Tomorrow, another will run. It focuses on a moderator at the First Christian Church on Arrowhead Avenue in San Bernardino. Lloyd Roberts knew Del' Andrae well, but he also knows one of the 16-year-old boys charged with using a hammer to kill her: Mike "Junior" Garcia.
Roberts told me that his church has been rocked by the case, because he respected Del' Andrae as well as Garcia's family, who often helped with services and clean up around the church.
"It's gut-wrenching for me personally," the 81-year-old Roberts told me. "It's just been deeply disturbing because the church was invested in all of them."
Roberts went on to tell me about his dealings with Garcia: including a plane ride over Redlands last year. The teen had expressed interest in becoming a pilot, said Roberts, who has had his license to fly for more than 50 years.
We talked for quite a bit. More information will appear in Thursday's newspaper story.
Meanwhile, Garcia and 16-year-old Cesar Pulido are next scheduled to appear in San Bernardino County Superior Court on March 26. They face six felonies each, including murder, robbery, burglary and elder abuse.
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