A double murder-suicide that took the lives of a “loving mother” and her “shining light” daughter has shattered the Portland, Oregon, neighborhood.
Just after 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, Portland police responded to a report of gunfire at a home on Southeast 64th Ave.
Inside the home, they discovered the deaths of Maria Florencia Rubio, 48, and Liliana Morgan, 10. Both were shot and killed by Rubio’s son, 22-year-old Miguel Morgan, according to authorities.
Miguel then shot himself and committed suicide, according to authorities.
Rubio “loved our family with all of her heart,” her surviving son, 20-year-old Mateo Christian, wrote in a GoFundMe page he set up to help cover funeral expenses and bills, including the family’s mortgage.
His younger sister, Liliana, “had so much more to see and develop in. He wrote, “She loved cats, watching movies with her mom, and spending personal time with all of our family.”
He described her as a beautiful soul, saying she was close to her father and well-liked by her classmates and everyone around her. She spent her last few days thrilled about school, planning her clothes, going on outings with her father, having a matcha chiller, snuggling up with our mom and cat, and watching movies before bed.”
The grandparents of Rubio’s children are still stunned as to why Miguel would perform such heinous crime.
“Absolutely surprised by how this happened,” their grandma, Tonya Trutton, told KOIN. “You feel like, ‘What did you miss?'” How did you not notice this? What wasn’t he telling us? And there’s simply no response.
“It’s really hard to understand how this happened, how one beloved child gone is the cause or heart of the other child causing that loss,” according to Trutton.
Tonya and her husband Daniel also launched a GoFundMe page to help their son and the remaining grandchild pay for funeral expenses. “Any gifts of support are greatly appreciated,” the fundraiser stated, adding that the couple is “heartbroken” by the event.
Rubio is remembered as “a loving mother who always put her children first.”
Liliana “was and will always be the shining light in our family,” the fundraiser stated.
