Yvonne Rodriguez, 46, of Whittier, California, was killed on December 23, 2020, during a violent altercation with her estranged husband, Enrique Acosta, inside a Kohl’s department store in Whittier. Their eight-year-old son witnessed the dispute. Family accounts and court filings describe years of physical and mental abuse by Acosta preceding the fatal incident; he shot Rodriguez and she was left dead on the store floor.

Acosta fled but was later captured in the Barstow area and charged with multiple offenses including first-degree murder, child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, violation of a court order, domestic violence with a prior conviction, possession of a firearm by a felon, and hit-and-run property damage. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also filed a special allegation of personal use of a firearm. Court records state Acosta had a prior voluntary manslaughter conviction from 2000 and had violated a protective stay-away order related to a 2019 domestic violence conviction.

The family organized a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses and provide for the children, including emergency counseling for the son. Does anyone have information about Yvonne’s life in Whittier or about the events at the Kohl’s that day?