SAN ANTONIO — It all starts with a bus stop on Avondale and South Presa. That's where Michea Marquez's life changed forever.
"She was a real sweet, beautiful girl," she said as remembered the day she met Genevieve Ramirez. "I pulled my car up and Genevieve was sitting right here."
Marquez spends some of her nights ministering to women on the streets, hoping to convince them to go to seek shelter and Genevieve was someone Marquez wanted to truly help.
"She wanted to go to the Women's Home to change her life," she said.
But Genevieve never made it there. Just a block away from where Marquez and Genevieve first met, she was found critically hurt. She died a month later.
The public would later learn Genevieve was one of five women murdered by Johnny Joe Avalos. The San Antonio man acknowledged killing Vanessa Lopez in 2012, 15-year-old Natalie Chavez in 2014, Rosemary Perez, Celia Ann Lopez and Genevieve Ramirez in 2015. Last month 31-year-old Avalos was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
"We're calling them the twilight treasure angels," Marquez said as she listed off the woman's names. "Instead of remembering them as victims, we're remembering their legacy."
Marquez wants to continue that legacy. For the first time, her church is holding a vigil for all of Avalos' victims, to bring peace and healing.
"Since all this mess is finally done, all these years later, I think this is the perfect time for closure and to let them know that they're not forgotten," Marquez said.
The vigil will take place next Sunday at Victory Outreach Church on Hammond Avenue at 5:00 p.m. All are welcome.