Shipley worker fatally stabbed

Jenny Marder

The small apartment in Anaheim that used to buzz with old-school

tunes, funk and oldies music has been quiet since Yolanda Acevedo

Veloz was fatally stabbed on Friday in an alley behind her home.

A stillness has also settled over Surf City’s Shipley Nature

Center, where the 17-year-old worked, pulling weeds and tending to

trails and native plants.

Veloz and her sister-in-law Yesenia Mendoza, 19, were allegedly

attacked by two women just after 10 p.m. Friday in the 1800 block of

West Glencrest Avenue in Anaheim.

“Friday night, there was an exchange of words between Yolanda and

her companion and the two suspects,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick

Martinez said. “The exchange of words led into a fight involving beer

bottles and ended up with Yolanda being stabbed.”

Veloz died of stab wounds later that night. Anaheim police

arrested two teenage girls on Saturday, and the girls have been

charged with her murder. They are being held without bail at Orange

County Juvenile Hall.

Mendoza was treated for minor injuries after being hit above the

eye by a glass bottle while trying to defend her sister-in-law.

Veloz was a member of the Orange County Conservation Corps’

Huntington Beach crew. The Conservation Corps is a nonprofit group

that helps at-risk men and women ages 18 to 26 develop a work ethic

and gain leadership skills and self-esteem while completing their

high school education.

The Conservation Corps is collecting money to help Veloz’s family

with funeral and basic living expenses.

“We were just outside, like we were any day,” Mendoza said. “These

girls just showed up. In a way, we knew what they wanted.”

Mendoza believes the attackers were motivated by jealousy. Family

and friends describe Veloz as arrestingly beautiful, joyful and

outgoing. Even at work, which often involved planting and pulling

weeds in the dirt, her hair and makeup were flawless.

“She was a striking beauty that just kind of stopped you in your

tracks,” said LouAnn Murray, Independent columnist and a volunteer at

the center. “She showed up every day in full makeup and beautiful

hairdo.”

Colleagues described Veloz as a hard worker, likable and

easygoing.

“She worked to the best of her ability and she was a fast

learner,” said Benny Ramirez, the crew’s supervisor. “She was what

they call an upbeat person. She wasn’t one that always stays to

herself.”

Known by close friends as “Nana,” Veloz was the baby of the

family, Mendoza said. She helped her mother around the house and

hoped to one day work in a beauty salon. But her greatest dream was

to graduate from high school.

“Mostly, she wanted to get her diploma, improve her life and do

better,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza had been close friends with Veloz since high school.

Tearfully, she remembers how her sister-in-law helped her through the

birth of her child.

“She was there when I had my baby,” Mendoza said. “She was there

with me in the room. Now she’s gone, we can’t really do nothing now.”

“I just really miss her a lot,” Mendoza said. “She always will be

in our hearts no matter what.”