Linda Marie Mendibles, a 70-year-old Native American woman known on the streets as Mother Mary, was found shot to death the morning of October 20, 2021, at the corner of West 18th Street and South Frontage Road in Tucson, Arizona. She had been homeless for more than 50 years. Responding officers discovered her unresponsive with obvious gunshot trauma and she was pronounced dead at the scene during what was reported as one of the most violent weeks in Tucson’s history.

The Tucson Police Department opened an immediate investigation. Detectives conducted numerous interviews, analyzed forensic evidence, and executed several search warrants while working the case. In May 2022, investigators arrested 17-year-old Fabian Kristyan Montiel on Tucson’s Southside and charged him with first-degree murder; he was booked into the Pima County Jail with bond set at $1 million. Authorities characterized the killing as a senseless act of violence, saying they do not believe Mendibles and Montiel knew each other and that robbery was ruled out as a motive.

If anyone knew Mother Mary, saw her in that neighborhood in October 2021, or has information about her death, can you share what you remember?