‘We just had each other,’ says mother of teen girl killed in Selma

Lydia Magaña said she and her 15-year-old daughter Desiree Austin didn’t have a car to get around in, but they didn’t mind.

Magaña, a manager at Family Dollar, and her daughter, a sophomore at Selma High School, would have long conversations on their walks through town. “We would talk about different stuff,” Magaña, a single mom, said. “It was just me and her. We just had each other.”

Then on Thursday night, Desiree went with her male friend to a barbecue at a house near Mill and Locust streets. While the teens were outside the home, an SUV pulled up, and according to police, someone stepped out and started firing. Desiree was shot from the back three times – once through the heart – taking Magaña’s only child.

“When the shots rang out, she ran,” Desiree’s aunt, Sylvia Movsesian said. “They all scattered and she was left.”

When paramedics arrived, a teen neighbor was helping Desiree. But paramedics weren’t aware she was shot in the heart until she said “it burns,” Movsesian said. Police say Desiree died at Community Regional Medical Center a short time later.

Movsesian and police both said Desiree had no ties to gangs, but was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. “This wasn’t intended for Desiree,” Movsesian said. “It infuriates me. She was just with friends at a barbecue. She was trusting and she had no idea.”

Desiree was an honors student and planned to go straight to college after graduating, her mom said. She was already thinking about either Fresno State or Fresno City College, and looked up to Movsesian’s daughter Jocelyn, who attends Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. “Jocelyn inspired Desi,” Movsesian said, adding that Desiree looked to follow in the footsteps of her many other family members who attended college.

Desiree also loved visiting the outdoors and hanging out with her family. “She loved going to McDonald’s and she loved tacos,” Magaña remembers. “I have so many memories of her. I’m going to miss her.”

Her family also remembers her as kind-hearted. “I never saw her upset, we never saw her mad,” said Movsesian. “She was poised and mature. She chose how she reacted.”

Movsesian said she and Magaña had just started to plan Desiree’s sweet 16 birthday in December. Desiree had already picked out what she was going to wear, and Movsesian said she will be buried in her dress.

A candlelight vigil organized by Desiree’s friends will be held at Brentlinger Park on Sunday at 9 p.m., and a viewing for the public will be held Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Page Funeral Chapel in Selma. Desiree’s burial is scheduled for Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Floral Memorial Cemetery.

A GoFundMe page set up will also go to helping Magaña with expenses.

This story was originally published September 2, 2017 at 1:02 PM with the headline "‘We just had each other,’ says mother of teen girl killed in Selma."