SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Oceanside police are investigating the death of an 83-year-old woman as a homicide after she was found inside her apartment earlier this week. The victim has been identified by loved ones as Joyce Cunneen — a longtime animal advocate described as vibrant, compassionate, and deeply woven into the fabric of her community.
Friends and rescuers who knew Cunneen for decades say the loss is devastating.
“Joyce would take anybody and anyone that just needed the help,” said Faye Schultz, a longtime resident, animal advocate, and close friend. “Some of them she even had for over a year.”
Schultz says Cunneen spent nearly 16 years fostering animals through the local rescue group SPOT — Saving Pets One at a Time.
“In those 16 years, she fostered probably about 30 dogs for us,” Schultz said. “And they weren’t always easy dogs.”
To her friends, Cunneen was a source of light — someone whose energy touched everyone around her.
“To me she was vibrant,” Schultz said. “It just exuded her persona, and then she lent her vibrancy to the community to do good.”
Cunneen’s commitment to animals stretched far beyond fostering. She was involved in local efforts supporting animal legislation and worked to bring dogs into classrooms to teach humane education to children.
Her daughter confirmed to ABC 10News that Cunneen was found dead inside her Canyon Club apartment on Tuesday. Oceanside Police later arrested her 25-year-old next-door neighbor in connection with her death.
“When you have the nicest person in the world taken out in such a horrible way, it hurts your soul,” Schultz said.
In a statement to ABC 10News, Cunneen’s daughter called her mother her hero, sharing memories of the rescue work they began together decades ago.
'My mom was my hero. We had been doing animal rescue since the early 1970’s, before there were animal rescue organizations. When I was a little girl, we went to a park that had a duck pond, and they also fished. The ducks would often swallow the bait and get hooks stuck in their throats. We would bring the ducks home and try to get the hooks out and rehabilitate them. This was before there were wildlife sanctuaries that could help . People thought we were a little bit weird but this was when dogs were chained to trees in the front yard so that’s just the way it was back then. But she was the sweetest and happiest person I knew.'
-Joyce's daughter
When asked what she’ll miss most about her friend, Schultz didn’t hesitate.
“Her kindness, her love, her empathy — just everything that she gave the world.”
Oceanside Police say the investigation is ongoing.
