SANTEE, Calif. (KGTV) - An East County family is channeling their pain into helping domestic violence survivors in San Diego.
The family's loved one, 19-year-old Kiera Bergman, was murdered last year in Arizona.
”What helps us is being able to help other people and we want her story and her memory to stay alive and that’s why we’re choosing to do donation drives, because we want to be able to help people that are in the same situation she was in," said Mindy Tarantino, Kiera's aunt.
Investigators believe Bergman's boyfriend, Jon Clark, is responsible for her death.
Clark faces first-degree murder charges and is set to stand trial in a few months.
“I'll look at pictures that I have of her and then all of a sudden you just get overwhelmed, I get anxiety really quick, and it just really hits me that she’s gone," said Kiera's grandmother, Sandie Bergman.
They are collecting various toiletries and items like diapers to donate to Becky's House, a nonprofit working to break the cycle of domestic violence and homelessness.
A donation drive was held in Santee on Monday, but you can also donate online through the family's Amazon Wish List.
