Friends and Family Mourn Land Park Woman Killed In Her Own Home

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — It was a goodbye nary 1 was prepared for arsenic hundreds of Land Park assemblage members gathered for a memorial Thursday successful grant of their neighbour and friend.

“I’m devastated, I cried, I can’t adjacent archer you however I felt. I didn’t judge it,” said friend, Colleen Houk.

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Colleen Houk met Mary Tibbitts—better known arsenic Kate—back successful the ’90s, hiring Kate for a occupation with the state.

“She was quirky, funny, if you cognize you know,” said Houk.

Hundreds of friends, family, neighbors and strangers gathered successful Kate’s Land Park vicinity Thursday for a memorial.

“Her smile, her generosity, she was conscionable a bully person,” explained friend, Susan Baker.

The 61-year-old Kate Tibbitts was killed wrong her home. The suspect, a parolee, was accused of murdering Kate and her 2 dogs earlier mounting her location connected fire.

Debra S. didn’t cognize Kate but felt compelled to signifier the lawsuit successful her honor.

“It gave maine a spot to enactment my fearfulness and choler due to the fact that I’ve said this dozens of times now, it truly could’ve been immoderate of us,” she explained.

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Neighbors held backmost tears arsenic they remembered the pistillate that meant truthful overmuch to truthful many.

“I conscionable privation to accidental however overmuch she was loved,” 1 pistillate said.

“My sister Kate was a loving sister, devoted and loving cousin, aunt, girl a fiercely loyal friend,” explained Dan Tibbitts, Kate’s brother.

Dan remembered his sister, focusing not connected however she died, but connected however she lived.

“We are each outraged astatine what happened,” helium said. “We volition speech astir the outrage different day. Today, we are present to grant my sister.”

Many admired Kate for her bosom for animals including her 25 years volunteering astatine the SPCA.

“She would instrumentality dogs in, foster them, she would prime them up, instrumentality them to their fosters. They could telephone her successful the mediate of the night, and she would go. She was a fantastic person,” explained Houk.

A assemblage successful mourning is hoping to support Kate’s representation alive.

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“I get goosebumps reasoning of what a nonaccomplishment this has been,” said Baker.

Velena Jones