‘I miss her so much’: family of Homer woman fatally shot in 2023 speaks out after sentencing

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - For the first time since a Homer man was sentenced for shooting and killing his 22-year-old girlfriend in 2023, Brianna Hetrick’s loved ones said they remain heartbroken, think her killer’s sentence was not harsh enough, and strongly dispute his version of how she died.

“I miss her so much,” Brianna’s mother Christina Hetrick said. “I wish she was here and that this never, ever happened to her, because I would love to hear her voice.”

“Just to see her, just to see her. That’s what I would love to have, but it’s all gone.”

“When she was born, that totally changed my life,” Brianna’s father, John Hetrick, added. “I had to take care of her and it was one of the best things that could have ever happened to me, and I wish I would have had a bunch more. But I really miss her every day because she’s my best friend.”

Brianna’s then-boyfriend, Arturo Mondragon-Lopez Jr., 37, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her death, with five years suspended, and will receive 10 years of probation once released.

According to court documents, in October 2023, Mondragon-Lopez Jr. and Brianna Hetrick were engaged in a sexual act at the time of the incident, in which Mondragon-Lopez told police that Hetrick told him to put the gun in her mouth.

He said that as the gun was in his hand, she grabbed it and it went off.

Brianna’s family insists that’s just not who she was. Brianna’s father John said she was known for having a fear and dislike of guns throughout her entire life, even going so far as to avoid bringing her father his gun while it was safely stored in its case.

Brianna’s sister, Destiny Gracia, agreed, sharing a story of her sister that Gracia said happened one day before her death.

“[Arturo] was trying to clean his gun in front of her, and she’s like, ‘I don’t want that in the house,’” Gracia said. “[She] calls me to come get her because she didn’t want to be around it. So I went and got her.

“You can’t tell me that she was willing to do it even the day prior when she called me to say, ‘There’s a gun in the house, I need you to come get me.’”

Following a February plea deal, Mondragon-Lopez pleaded guilty to Hetrick’s manslaughter on June 30. The original charges of second-degree murder and criminally negligent homicide were dismissed, according to court documents.

The agreement also required him to admit to other aggravators related to this case, such as committing a crime of domestic violence, and that he had been previously convicted of similar behaviors in 2005 and 2017.

As Brianna’s loved ones work to move forward, part of their memories include her time as an avid Homer High School athlete, playing everything from volleyball, softball, and basketball.

Homer High School coach Bill Bell coached Brianna for nearly five years. He described Brianna as a “coach’s dream.”

Though there were so many memories, Bell said in particular he remembers her laugh, contagious smile, and her overall joy for life.

After Brianna’s death, Bell said the school had a memorial tree planted just beyond the center field fence at the high school — Brianna’s tree — to pay tribute to the inspiration she was to everyone who knew her.

“Kind of the hope in her life [was] that she was one of our people that was going to carry this generation forward,” Bell said. “She was the perfect example, but she’s gone.”

Brianna’s loved ones feel after her death there needs to be a bigger conversation about sentences for Alaska domestic violence-related crimes being too lenient.

If you or a loved one needs help, click here for a link to the State of Alaska Department of Law directory of shelters and victim advocates.

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