Friends, Family Mourn Women Killed While Working at Rosemead Church

One of two women killed Friday while working in a Rosemead church was a vivacious, “full-of-life” grandmother who did bookkeeping to stay active, according to family and friends.

Harriet Baden, 61, of Temple City, was a retired widow who thrust herself into church affairs and gardening, said several of her children, who gathered together Saturday.

“She was a real fighter--just a retired lady doing something to keep herself busy,” said Roger Baden, who joined his sister, Christine Klima, a brother and other relatives at Klima’s home in Temple City.

Mrs. Baden and Ruth Lee Leung, 64, of Los Angeles, were slain while working at the Chinese for Christ Los Angeles Mandarin Church at 3342 Del Mar Ave., detectives said. Investigators said they may have been brutally beaten inside the plain, one-story church but declined to provide any details.

Mrs. Leung was a clerk at the church and a widow with nine children. Her family declined to answer questions about her death.

Mrs. Baden’s former neighbors described her as a “tall, handsome woman” with a unique talent for gardening.

“She was so full of life, so young,” said Phyllis Krumpos, who lived next to Mrs. Baden in Temple City for several years.

Mrs. Baden for years had been secretary and a well-known member of the First Lutheran Church in Temple City. She remained an active volunteer after she retired, and had worked as a bookkeeper for about two years at the Chinese for Christ sanctuary, said Lutheran church employees.

Mrs. Baden’s body was found in the Rosemead church and Mrs. Leung’s was discovered in an adjacent seminary building at about 1 p.m. on Friday, authorities said.

Detectives said they have no suspects, but Rickey Darnell Owens, a transient who worked at the church as a handyman, is being sought for questioning.

Owens is about 35 years old, 6 feet, 1 inch tall and thin, and on Friday was wearing a white shirt and dark pants, said Sgt. Ernie Roop of the Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities also are looking for a 1986 white Pontiac Sunbird with the license plate number 2GFP389, which was stolen on Friday from the church parking lot. The car belonged to Mrs. Baden, detectives said.