Community reels from news of apparent homicide of Laguna Beach restaurant worker, vigil planned Wednesday
The Laguna Beach community remained in shock this week after news spread of the loss of a local restaurant worker whose death is being investigated as a homicide.
Authorities released a statement Sunday evening that said a construction worker had found a body in a “secluded location” near the 200 block of Ocean Avenue at 8:20 a.m. that morning.
The deceased was identified as Tatum Goodwin, 27, of San Clemente, Lt. Cornelius Ashton of the Laguna Beach police department confirmed on Tuesday.
“Any crime where there is a victim, it affects all of us, whether it was a traffic collision fatality to a homicide, it doesn’t matter,” Ashton said. “Our community is our family, and we hurt, we suffer for those members, those victims. We want to bring their families justice, and we want to bring them peace that we can, and so we pour our hearts into our investigations.”
Mayor Bob Whalen said he was shocked when he heard the news of Goodwin’s apparent murder. “It’s so rare that we have a homicide in Laguna Beach. No matter how rare they are, they’re just shocking when they occur. My thoughts certainly go out to her family and friends. We will continue the investigation to solve this homicide event, but it is devastating.”
Goodwin, who was an assistant manager at Carmelita’s near the corner of Broadway and Coast Highway, had worked at the restaurant for four years. Carmelita’s staff organized fundraising efforts in support of her family through a GoFundMe, providing a QR code to the page at the bar.
“Tatum was a very hard-working young lady and always kept a smile on her face,” Marcos Heredia, owner and operator of Carmelita’s, said on the GoFundMe page. “Over the years, she had expressed her pleasure to be in Laguna and have her opportunity with us. We felt that we really had a family member here with us.”
Heredia went on to say that the goal of the fundraising effort was to help with funeral services, as well as to have a memorial put up in town so that the community would remember her.
The GoFundMe had raised $23,975, exceeding its $20,000 goal, with 458 donors coming forth by 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
A makeshift memorial of candles and floral arrangements was set up behind a fence in the alley where the incident was reported to have occurred.
Foot traffic passed the site to walk into the US Bank next door, but most of the surrounding businesses were shuttered or undergoing construction.
Resident Heidi Miller, who was conversing with others about the incident near the construction site behind the old movie theater, said the town is on edge with the suspect still at large. Miller added that Laguna Beach is typically a safe community, and she urged those with information about the incident to contact authorities to assist with the investigation.
Michael Gaspar, 25, of San Clemente, sat outside the Marine Room, another Laguna Beach business Goodwin had been known to frequent. He said he had hung out with her on a few occasions.
“I know her from just hearing stuff in passing, but then she’s really close with a lot of my close friends,” said Gaspar, an employee at Wild Taco just south of Carmelita’s. “I think that a lot of people are still in shock. It’s going to be a minute before it actually sinks in that this really happened. This guy’s still out there. The fact that that guy’s still roaming the streets is just so [messed] up.”
Plans have been made for a candlelight vigil for Goodwin at the San Clemente Pier on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Laguna Beach police have asked anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Det. Tanner Flagstad at (949) 497-0369 or via email at [email protected].
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