Vigil Held For 2 Killed In Fire

The pain is still fresh for the loved ones of 28-year-old Jerry Villar and his 6-year-old stepdaughter Maria Luisa Leal.

The two were killed after a fire tore through their home last week along the 10 thousand block of Forest Ridge in El Paso’s eastside. On Monday night, dozens came out to remember the two in a candle light vigil in front of the home that now sits charred.

Those who knew them best describe Maria as “having a big heart,” Erica Villar said Leal “was always taking care of her little sister.”

That little sister was able to escape the flames after her mother Martha Leal was able to get her out through a window.

Martha Leal remains hospitalized at a Lubbock burn center.

Meanwhile, Villar’s sister said “he was always making people laugh, and never held a grudge against anyone” about her brother.

The fire that killed Leal and Villar is still under investigation.