LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A heartbroken mother is speaking out for the first time since her daughter was killed.
Investigators say 27-year-old Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez allegedly shot Tabatha Tozzi at a northwest Las Vegas home before fleeing the scene on April 22.
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Tabatha's mother, Regina Lacerda, said her daughter had a rocky relationship with Perez-Sanchez and had finally had enough.
"The day before this happened, she even told me that, 'mom, I'm not happy. I'm trying to break up with him but I'm afraid'," said Regina Lacerda, mother of Tabatha Tozzi. "I said, 'of what?' She said she was afraid he's going to do something to himself. So I go, 'to himself or to you?'"
On the morning of the shooting, Lacerda received a frightening call from Tozzi, asking for her to come and pick her up.
"I went blind because my heart said that something was very wrong. I couldn't make it. I couldn't make it there on time to save my daughter," Lacerda said.
Under tears and heartache, lies anger and frustration for Lacerda, knowing that Perez-Sanchez hasn't been caught.
Last Wednesday, on what would have been Tozzi's 27th birthday, the FBI announced that it had joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in the search for Perez-Sanchez.
Retired LVMPD police lieutenant Randy Sutton says the FBI's involvement is important in helping solve the case.
"You can run for a while but i can tell you this, they are on the scent and once they are on the scent, they are not getting off it," Sutton said.
While Lacerda prays for clarity and an arrest, she spends her days thinking of her daughter, Tabatha, who's light she says was dimmed by somebody who didn't want to see her shine.
"She is the love of my life. She's my everything," Lacerda said.
Metro police released a photo of Perez-Sanchez to the public 10 days after the shooting. Lacerda questions if releasing it sooner would have made a difference in the investigation.
If you know any information that could help lead to an arrest, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
