Family and Friends Remember Victor Moreno, Seek Information

The family and friends of 21-year-old Victor Moreno, of San Pedro, are asking for the public to come forward with any information about his whereabouts in the days leading up to his death. (Photo courtesy of the Moreno family)

Victor Manuel Moreno was a free spirited social butterfly who could always be seen wearing his signature hoodie, headphones, oversized sunglasses, and a big smile.

Friends of the 21-year-old beauty school student say he was known to frequently break into song and dance, loved playing video games, and possessed an ability to get people to laugh even in the midst of their roughest day.

He was a homebody who spent most of his time in San Pedro, where he hung out with his tight-knit siblings and friends. That’s why it was unusual when his family didn’t see him for a few days at the end of last month. On March 31, he was found dead in Glendale.

Police are investigating the case as a homicide while an autopsy is pending.

Last week, dozens of people — from friends and loved ones, to acquiantances and strangers — turned out for a fundraiser at M.V.P.’s Pizza to help Victor Moreno’s family with funeral costs.

“The fundraiser just opened our eyes to how many hearts Victor has touched. My mom was really happy to know that he touched so many people,” his sister Reanne Moreno told the Beacon. “It seems so unreal. I watch The First 48 all the time, and to know that it happened to you is just — the reality still hasn’t sunk in that it was my brother. I don’t want to believe it.”

She and her twin sister Bryanna Moreno are two years older than Victor Moreno. They also have an older brother, Hector Moreno, and a younger sister, Melissa.

“We’re all taking it our own ways. It’s really hard, but we all know we have to stick together and be strong for our mom because she needs it the most,” Reanne Moreno says.

In another tragic twist, Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the death of their father, Hector Moreno.

“One year ago my dad was murdered. My little bother Victor was always my dad’s favorite, so we see it as our dad needed his son,” Bryanna Moreno says.

When the news broke two weeks ago, Victor Moreno’s friends and family came together to remember him at a candle light vigil. The aspiring hairdresser loved watching Bad Girls Club, listening to Paramore and Miley Cyrus, and had a soft spot for stray animals. He was adored by his dog, who now senses his absence.

Friends remember Victor Moreno smiling and laughing, singing and dancing to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” proclaiming, “I’m 16 forever!” and always fixing his (and their) hair.

“He was one of those people who’d walk into a room and you would notice him no matter what. He’d brighten your day when you saw him walking down the street,” says Tanee Milton, who became friends with the Moreno siblings at San Pedro High School. “It was never a dull moment. You’d have tears in your eyes from laughing so hard.”

Her son, due in July, will be given the middle name Victor.

In a conversation that now seems like a premonition, she remembers him talking about how he knew he would leave a lasting impression. “He said, ‘No matter what, everyone will remember me. Everybody I meet will remember me one way or another.'”

In addition to the M.V.P.’s Pizza benefit, an online fundraiser for the family exceeded its goal, raising more than $2,600. Donations came in from friends and strangers alike, including a number of Glendale residents. The Marinello Schools of Beauty Lomita campus, where Victor Moreno was learning to cut and color hair, raised $740.

His mother Elisa Moreno is ordering rainbow bracelets that read, “In Loving Memory of Victor Moreno,” which will be given out for $1 donations.

“What’s going to support us the most is if anyone knows any information, even down to the smallest detail of the last time they saw him or who they saw him with, that information would be a big help,” Reanne Moreno says. “It’s going to help us piece together his whereabouts and who he was with in the days leading up to what happened.”

“We want closure, and we want justice for Victor,” Bryanna Moreno says. “He deserves justice and we’re going to get it sooner or later.”

Anyone with any information or tips can call the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-3987 or Glendale Crime Stoppers at 818-507-7867.