Tatum Goodwin Laguna Beach restaurant worker found murdered at car park close to her place of work at California resort town as authorities yet to identify suspect or make arrest.
The body of a much beloved restaurant worker was found beaten to death just feet from the Laguna Beach bar she managed on Saturday night.
Tatum Goodwin, 27, was enjoying a night out with friends at the popular California resort after the group had moved on to Hennessey’s Tavern on Ocean Avenue.
At 2am a local resident reportedly heard screaming and, just over six hours later, a construction worker found the hospitality worker’s body round the corner in a car park, behind an old movie theatre and the branch of Carmelita’s where Goodwin had worked for four years.
Had recently broken up with boyfriend
Responding authorities said the woman’s body was found to be consistent with trauma from a homicide, KTLA reported.
‘It’s affected not only me. It’s affected so much of our team,’ said restaurant manager Marcos Heredia of Carmelita’s.
‘She definitely did not deserve this, just a beautiful person.’
The Orange County Coroner’s Division were in the process of conducting a post-mortem on the assistant restaurant manager who had recently broken up with a boyfriend and appeared to be ‘upset’ when she left the bar in the early hours, according to underlaguna.com.
She had gone to Hennessey’s after leaving work and is also thought to have stopped for a drink at he Marine Bar on the opposite side of the street at some point in the evening.
‘She was just such a loving, honest person,’ said her friend Aleena Macintosh.
No suspect or arrests
‘You just wouldn’t think that anything would happen to her.’
‘I can’t even think right now. To think this happened right across the street from my work and to someone we all loved so dearly.
‘This world is to cruel to those who don’t deserve it.’
In the meantime, Heredia has organized a GoFundMe campaign to help her family with funeral costs and to create a mural of Goodwin.
‘I’m trying to gather some funds so we can get a mural made of her back in the area where her tragedy happened, so that no one in this city will ever forget about Tatum,’ he said.
Police are still trying to find Tatum’s phone which is sending out pings in the area of the bar.
‘We are saddened by this senseless act of violence,’ said Laguna Police Department Police Chief Jeff Calvert.
‘Our detectives are working diligently to bring the suspect or suspects to justice.’
To date no suspects have been identified nor any arrests have been made as authorities continue to investigate.
