Pinole mom violently killed in front of her child, identified by family
PINOLE, Calif. - Grief-stricken family and friends have revealed the identity of Pinole mother Brittany Ligdis, who was shot and killed in her home, right in front of her little boy.
"Her smile would just light up a room," Ligdis’s aunt Nancy O’Neil told KTVU. "Life will never be the same."
Pinole Police said the 30-year-old mother was shot on the morning of Feb. 16 inside her basement apartment on Summit Drive.
Ligdis’s own ex-boyfriend and the father of her son, 36-year-old Jeffrey Kendall, was identified by police as the suspect, hours after the shooting.
According to O’Neil, Ligdis called police when Kendall broke into her home, and then hid in the laundry room with her 4-year-old son Liam.
O’Neil said her niece was shot in the head, right in front of the little boy.
"He keeps saying ‘mommy’s dead, mommy’s dead'," O’Neil said. "We replay it in our heads over and over every day."
Kendall was seen on a neighbor’s doorbell camera running down the street moments after the shooting.
California Highway Patrol would arrest Kendall in Santa Cruz late that night.
"I knew something was wrong," Kassandra Santiago said, who had quickly become close friends with Ligdis when the two moms went back to school to study nursing at Diablo Valley College.
"She had so much going for her."
Ligdis was popular on campus and known for helping other students study by sharing her passion for nursing with them.
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She recalled the last text she received from her friend, days before the shooting, regarding the couple’s relationship being on the rocks.
"She said to me ‘I’m doing okay, but it’s really hard. He’s very unpredictable right now.'"
Santiago said her friend was worried about Kendall recently buying a gun because she was concerned he would harm himself while struggling with anxiety.
O’Neil offered the following advice when it comes to getting help: "If anyone’s feeling this doesn’t feel right, trust your gut. You’re probably right."
Police called it a tragic case of domestic violence.
Kendall was booked into the Contra Costa County Jail and charged with homicide, possession of an assault weapon, and child endangerment.
The 4-year-old is with relatives.
Family members said Lidgis had just broken up with Kendall a week before her murder, and that he was struggling with mental illness, had a history of drug use, but no history of abuse or violence.
Santiago said she was looking forward to graduating alongside Lidgis, with the two friends each earning nursing degrees, and planning a future of caring for others.