A California family is in shock and mourning after a devastating discovery no one should ever have to face. Lucrecia Macias Barajas, a 46-year-old mother of six and a U.S. Army veteran, was found dead in a Los Angeles homeless encampment, and in a truly horrifying twist, her body had been mauled and eaten by dogs.
The heartbreaking story unfolded just after Mother’s Day. According to LAist, Barajas’ daughter, Amely Becerra, had stopped by her mother’s home to drop off flowers for the holiday. But something was off. Her mom wasn’t there. At first, Amely figured she’d see her the next day, but when the hours passed with no word, the dread started creeping in.
Two days later, her sister Ariana Macias used a phone tracking app to follow what would turn out to be a gruesome trail. It led her straight to a Los Angeles neighborhood known for its homeless encampments and — disturbingly — animal issues. That’s where she found her mother’s body, lying lifeless and disfigured..
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Amely told KTLA5, still trying to wrap her head around the nightmare her family is now living through.
Lucrecia wasn’t alone when she died. The body of a family friend, Fredy Pojoy Sajqui, who went by “Pablo,” was also discovered at the scene. His cause of death, like Barajas’, remains under investigation. And while some might jump to conclusions based on the location, Barajas’ family is adamant: she wasn’t homeless, and she wasn’t struggling with drugs.
California Army Veteran Found Mauled By Dogs At Homeless Encampment
“She was not a drug addict, she was not homeless,” her family told the media. So why was she even in that area? That’s one of the many questions her loved ones are demanding answers to.
Adding to the frustration is the slow pace of the investigation. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner says it could take months to determine how Barajas died. That’s a long time for a grieving family to sit in limbo, especially when they’ve already had to endure such a graphic and painful loss.
City officials, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, have come forward to reinforce their focus on addressing the homelessness crisis with housing-first strategies. In a statement, a spokesperson for Mayor Bass said, “This case reinforces our urgent need to address this grave humanitarian crisis.”
They’re not wrong. As California continues to grapple with the growing homelessness epidemic, stories like this serve as chilling reminders of how vulnerable people are, not just the unhoused, but anyone who happens to wander into these increasingly dangerous environments. It’s a harsh truth that’s becoming impossible to ignore.
“This is straight out of a horror movie. So sorry for the family,” one person commented online.
Lucrecia Macias Barajas was more than a victim of tragedy. She was a mother, a soldier, a cancer survivor, and a woman who had overcome more in her lifetime than most ever will. Her story deserves to be told, not just because of how she died, but because of who she was.
Now, the California family is left searching for peace, justice, and answers. And the rest of us are left with a sobering question: how many more stories like this will it take before something actually changes?
Kendra Quinn 
Nina Franklin 
Casey James 
