Friends, family remember murdered Kerman mother

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The best friend of a woman shot and killed on New Years Eve is talking about their final phone call, just seconds before she was gunned down.

The shooting happened Saturday, just before midnight.

The victim has been identified as 26-year-old Sarah Roberts from Kerman.

She was shot as she left a party on Hughes Avenue near Weber in Central Fresno.

Vanessa Martinez was the last person to talk with Sarah Roberts. The two were actually on the phone when the line went dead as Sarah was gunned down.

"I can honestly say that with talking, with knowing that she was happy and went away happy, that it's helping me cope and i just want to be able to share that with everybody, Sarah was really happy, Sarah had a lot to look forward to," Martinez said.

Vanessa says Sarah was waiting for her brother to pick her up when she was shot. Her friend says Sarah didn't want to drive and was walking towards her brothers house because she had a few drinks.

Her hometown friends say the single mother of two was a great cook who would help her family and friends at a moment's notice.

"I don't want them to remember her as the woman who got shot on New Years Eve, I want her legacy to be the love and support she provided for all of us for so long," friend Rosanna Garcia said.

Fresno police aren't saying much about what led to the shooting. Officers were alerted to the violence when Sarah's brother rushed her to the police substation for help. She died at the hospital a short time later.

Friends say Sarah took a bullet they can't believe could've been intended for her. They hope someone who was either involved or saw something will come forward.

Sarah's parents and brothers are working to find out who will care for her children in her absence.

Right now, they have another immediate problem: paying for her funeral.

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