Woman found dead in Raleigh apartment was stabbed; family, friends gather for funeral
Family and friends gathered Monday - in person in Raleigh and across the internet, in English and Spanish - to celebrate the life of Christina Maria Matos and to shift the focus away from her tragic death.
Posted — UpdatedA funeral service at Lea Funeral Home Chapel began with memories shared by Matos' brother, who described her ambition and open mind.
"She loved the bright lights of New York and it's people," Abraham Matos said of her early years. "She always looked deeper into the picture itself. Christina had a lot of big dreams. She wanted first to be singer and later a lawyer like my mom, a radiologist and finally to be in flight school. Her mind was always dreaming to do big things.
"It was a blessing to have been her brother," he concluded.
Rev. Will Kelly, who officiated the service, had been Christina's youth pastor in Clayton. He recalled an inquisitive young woman who challenged him to study more deeply.
"She had questions, always had questions," he said. "That's a good thing. That's a good thing. That's a blessing. She loved to learn, she wanted to know everything, and ... that's a memory I'm going to hold very, very dear and precious to myself."
According to her death certificate, Matos was "stabbed by another person." She had "multiple stab wounds" to her neck.
Hernandez-Mendez, also 20, is charged with murder and being held in the Wake County jail without bond.
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