Kong had previously helped Mora when mental health and financial struggles loomed large for Mora during the pandemic. Prior to their split, Mora and his girlfriend had been members of the church, along with their daughters.
When the couple separated, Kong offered Mora a place to stay in the back house of the church property while he sorted out what to do next. During that time, Mora’s former girlfriend and children stayed at the home of another church member.
It is unclear what exactly led to the tragic murder-suicide or what motivated Mora to shoot his own daughters. Mora’s former girlfriend, the mother of the three girls who were murdered, was not present at the church at the time of the killings.
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Members of the church and community have expressed devastation regarding the loss of the three young girls as well as a church leader. Speaking of Kong, one church member told the New York Post, “He was always so giving and all he wanted to do was help.”
“There are very few words that can give comfort right now for this unspeakable tragedy,” the Natomas Unified School District in northwestern Sacramento said in a statement. Members of the community have created a small memorial with flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, candles, and written notes outside the church building.
Faith Whitmore, who serves as chief executive of the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center, told the Associated Press that Mora’s former girlfriend had come to the agency for help in April of 2021. The organization that provides services to victims of domestic abuse had worked with her to file the restraining order that had resulted in Mora’s psychiatric hold and loss of custody.
In the wake of this tragedy, Whitmore said that Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center will begin advocating for trained professionals to chaperon supervised visitation moving forward and that they plan to seek further funding to cover the costs.
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