Search continues for suspects in death of Fontana man

Police are continuing their search for suspects in the death of a Fontana man who was abducted in front of his house early Friday and whose body was found hours later inside his charred vehicle.

Alejandro Padilla, 40, left his house in the 6800 block of Beechcraft Avenue about 5 a.m. Friday morning when he was apparently attacked and abducted, family and friends said. A neighbor heard screams and called police.

Arriving at the scene, officers found blood on the driveway and a broken bat. Padilla and his black 2009 Nissan Versa were missing.

Padilla was found dead inside the Nissan in the 1000 block of West Etiwanda Street in Rialto about 10 p.m. after firefighters extinguished a blaze that had engulfed the car, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s office.

During a news conference on Saturday, friends and family of Padilla asked for the public’s help in finding those responsible for his death.

“We’re trying to serve justice here and find whoever did this to my dad,” said Emily Padilla, 18, the victim’s daughter. “Our dad was our provider of our family. And we just need… anything that will help.”

Padilla’s family said they had no idea who or why someone would kill Padilla, whom they described as a loving man, “the life of the party.”

“I’m at a loss for words,” said his wife, Liliana Pelayo. “I don’t know who could be capable of doing something like this, so horrifying… At this point we are clueless. We don’t know how many people might have been involved, we don’t know who would be capable of doing something so horrific…. We have nothing.”

As of Sunday, no arrests have been made in the case.

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