Tragically, the family has confirmed that the South Bay mom who was attacked and set on fire at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Chula Vista over the weekend has passed away.
Amanda Buchanan, 45, held a managerial position at the convenience store located on Broadway and L in Chula Vista. According to family members, she was caught off guard by her ex-boyfriend, Jose Villanueva, while she was at work on Saturday morning.
Villanueva made an appearance at the Chula Vista courthouse on Wednesday, where he faced charges related to an alleged attempted murder. The defendant entered a plea of not guilty in court to a range of additional charges, which include mayhem and torture.
According to police, Villanueva entered the convenience store at approximately 8 a.m. on Saturday. Jared Coleman from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Villanueva located Buchanan at her workplace launched a surprise attack, and cruelly set her ablaze using gasoline and a lighter.
ABC 10News interviewed Dominic Rivera, Buchanan’s son, who claims to have viewed the store surveillance video of the events that occurred on that Saturday morning.
“Anger. When I first heard the news, I wanted to come down here and find him myself,” Rivera said.
Rivera shared with ABC 10News that a significant portion of his mother’s body was severely burned in the incident. At that moment, the family made the difficult decision to remove Buchanan from life support.
