Police still looking for person of interest in Palm Desert homicide investigation; victim’s daughter speaks out
The daughter of a woman killed in Palm Desert last month is speaking out. Police continue to look for the victim's husband, who is being called a person of interest in the case.
It's a nightmare Brittany Wagner wishes she could wake up from. Her mother, 57-year-old Sandra Mayor, was killed last month in her Palm Desert home.
"She was truly just one of a kind, beautiful soul," said Wagner. "My mom was one of the most beautiful, caring, loving, kind people that you could ever imagine being in your life."
Mayor owned and ran the pet grooming business Super Mutts of El Paseo for more than 16 years. Photos of her fill the shop, which her daughter has since taken over.
"Stepping into that position was really difficult. But I know that's what she would want. So just staying strong for her," said Wagner.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department named Mayor's husband, 53-year-old Thomas Daniels, a person of interest. He has not been found yet. Wagner said Daniels and Mayor were married for 32 years.
"It's a really weird feeling. It's kind of scary knowing that he's still out there. It's frustrating. It's angering me," said Wagner. "We were really afraid for a while, but at this point, I just want him to step forward and to turn himself in or someone just to spot him at this point."
Mayor leaves behind her three adult children and three grandkids.
"My children, they're not going to remember her, and that hurts. And my son, he's four years old, Hunter, he looks up at the moon, and he says hi grandma, and he says he misses her and loves her," said Wagner.
A GoFundMe was started Mayor's business and family following her death.
Click here to donate to the GoFundMe for Sandra Mayor.
The fundraising page says in part, "[Sandra] was a mother, grandmother, small business owner, and everyone's friend. Sandy had a way of making everyone she came in contact with feel truly seen. She held space for whomever she was with and loved wholeheartedly and without hesitation. Sandy never gave up on anyone. Now it is our turn to show up for her. She leaves behind a family and business that are going to need our help."
On April 5, the Sheriff's Department responded to a home in Palm Desert off Wisconsin Avenue just after 9:00 a.m. to check on the welfare of a resident after she did not arrive to work earlier in the morning. When deputies arrived, they found Sandra Mayor dead with traumatic injuries.
Investigators from the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station and the Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation, which is currently ongoing.
