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'She lit up the world': Loved ones grieve after Avondale mother was fatally stabbed by relative

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Published  June 17, 2021 6:30pm MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix

Loved ones grieve after Avondale mother was fatally stabbed by relative

FOX 10's Justin Lum reports.

AVONDALE, Ariz. - A Valley family is remembering an Avondale woman who was stabbed to death over the weekend, and police say the suspect was a member of her own family.

Avondale Police say the situation is still ongoing, and they're still trying to figure out why a boy allegedly stabbed two family members: a young girl and 38-year-old Marlaina Houser.

Houser's fiance is heartbroken. 

"She was an amazing woman, loving mother, loving fiancée," said fiance Jared Jarvis.

Jarvis had just proposed to Marlaina the week before her death.

Last Friday, police responded to a home near Buckeye and El Mirage roads. That night, they discovered Houser and another girl with stab wounds. 

The girl survived, but Houser died at the hospital. Jarvis had lost the love of his life.

"Wherever she went, she lit up the world," Jarvis said. "She didn't care who you were, she would help you - friends, at work, family members. She'd help you out."

Police say the suspect is a boy related to the victims. He has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault, according to Avondale Police.

Loved ones are devastated, remembering Houser as someone they could turn to at any time.

"I would always call her, ‘Laina, can we have a barbecue at your house this weekend?’ She'd be like, ‘Yeah!’ said Jaclynn Goodwin, the victim's cousin. "She would cook everything, Jared would barbecue, it would just be a great time. Gonna miss all those times that we had.

"She just was that person that if I didn't know the answer…I'm gonna call Laina and I know she'll have the answer," Goodwin continued.

Houser, a mother of two, worked in data entry and was ready to plan her wedding. Jarvis is traumatized, unsure how he will move on from this tragedy.

"My parents tried taking me in, but I had to go back to my house, so sleeping without her is pretty hard," Jarvis said.

Houser would have turned 39 on June 18. Family members are rallying around the young girl, who is recovering from her injuries.

Visit the family's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-expenses-for-marlaina-houser

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