Family of slain Fontana man asks for public’s help

Friends and family of a Fontana man who was abducted and whose body was found hours later inside a charred vehicle Friday are asking for the public’s help in finding those responsible for his death.

Alejandro Padilla, 40, was found dead inside a parked vehicle in the 1000 block of West Etiwanda Street in Rialto about 10 p.m. after firefighters extinguished a blaze that had engulfed the car, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s office.

“We’re trying to serve justice here and find whoever did this to my dad,” Emily Padilla said during an afternoon news conference in front of the family’s Fontana home. “He doesn’t deserve this. Nobody deserves this…I know that if you were in my position, you’d want to find who killed your father.”

Padilla left his house in the 6800 block of Beechcraft Avenue about 5 a.m. Friday morning when he was apparently attacked and abducted, family and friends said.

Arriving at the scene, police found blood on the driveway and a broken bat. Padilla and his black 2009 Nissan Versa were missing.

His family said they had no idea who or why someone would kill Padilla, who they described as a loving man, “the life of the party.”

“I’m at a loss for words,” said his wife, Liliana Pelayo. “I don’t know who could be capable of doing something like this, so horrifying…At this point we are clueless. We don’t know how many people might have been involved, we don’t know who would be capable of doing something so horrific. ….We have nothing.”

Police on Saturday declined to comment on the case.

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irfan.khan@latimes.com