Frances Lopez’s family is demanding justice after the 33-year-old mother of two died following months of recovery from an alleged arson attack at a California homeless encampment.
Lopez, of Oildale in Kern County, passed away at home near Bakersfield after her husband Steven briefly stepped out and returned to find her unresponsive, according to her family. Emergency responders were called but could not save her.
“She’s my everything… she was… still my everything. Now I’m just… lost without her,” Steven told KBAK 23.
Her grandparents, Michael and Claudia Gezzer, are pleading with the public to help identify the attackers. “Please, please, please help us to find them. They killed her,” Claudia said.
The July 11 attack left Lopez with second- and third-degree burns covering more than 30% of her body. She had been visiting a friend inside a tent at the encampment when three people arrived and began arguing over money.
“And then the guy goes out again and grabs a gas can and is like, ‘f–k it, let’s just light them on fire then,’ and threw the gasoline on us,” Lopez said in a past interview.
She described how one of the attackers prevented her escape. “When I tried to leave, he pushed me back, and I fell on my friend’s bed. And that’s when the girl lit the flame… and we went up in flames.”
Lopez managed to escape using the “stop, drop, and roll” technique before running to a nearby trailer park for help. “I was so cold, but I was hot. I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” she said previously.
Doctors at a specialized burn center in Fresno had to resuscitate her twice during transport and initial treatment. The fire caused deep burns across her back, legs, arms and face.
Her recovery required frequent 107-mile trips from Bakersfield to Fresno for medical care, as Bakersfield lacks a local burn unit. She underwent multiple surgeries before returning home in September to begin what her family hoped would be a long rehabilitation.
“It’s up to my family to do my care, and it’s a lot of stuff, like really a lot,” Lopez said previously about the burden of at-home treatment.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has not released an official cause of death, and the family was told a full autopsy could take several weeks. It remains unclear whether anyone has been arrested in connection with the July attack.
Lopez leaves behind two children. Her family continues to press authorities for answers while mourning a woman they describe as the center of their world.
The California Post reached out to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office for comment.