A woman whose sister was stabbed over a love interest argument has opened up about her sibling’s final moments and documented her final hours of life over her phone.
Serena Recalde, 26, of Bakersfield, California, tragically lost her sister Angelina Betz in 2020 when she was murdered just two weeks before her 26th birthday.
Now, Serena – who regularly shares videos in honor of her late sister on TikTok – has posted a harrowing look at the events leading up to the brutal attack via the contents of Angelina’s phone, and everything from her latest selfies to her most recent call to 911 shared.
In a recent video, Serena explained that the device has just been returned to her family by police, two years after the attack that claimed her sister’s life – and just months after Angelina’s killer was found out by a judge aged eight and eight months in prison.
“POV: It’s been over two years since your sister was murdered and you finally got your phone back from the police,” she captioned the video.
‘You see a glimpse of her last days, hours and minutes.’
A woman whose sister Angelina Beltz (pictured) was stabbed has revealed the moments before her death as her sister Serena Recalde shared photos from her phone
Angelina from California (pictured with her niece) died two weeks after her 26th birthday and her sister took to social media to take a look at Angelina’s last living moments
Serena documented the terrifying days leading up to her sister’s death and even shared a photo of Angelina’s last call for help as she called 911
On May 20, 2020, just a day before her death, Angelina can be seen smiling in a selfie.
At 12:52 a.m. on May 21, less than an hour before her death, Angelina caught another smile of herself, not knowing what was to come.
Angelina’s phone records her last hours before she was stabbed
- May 20, 2020: A day before her death, Angelina took a smiling selfie
- May 21 at 12:52 am: Less than an hour before her death, Angelina snapped another photo of herself smiling happily
- May 21 1:46 am Angelina dialed 911 as a final call for help, the call takes three minutes but she is found dead when emergency responders arrive
The video ends with Serena showing a photo of Angelina’s last call for help.
At 1:46 a.m., a three-minute call was made to 911 from Angelina’s phone.
In the video’s caption, Serena described finding her sister’s phone extremely difficult to pick up.
She captioned the video: “The part of losing someone that nobody talks about. Clean up her house, get her phone, figure out what to do with it.”
In the comments, she clarified that she and her family would not “delete” or “get rid of” Angelina’s phone.
She added that she made the difficult decision to search Angelina’s phone because she felt she was “ready” to do so and wanted to save her “mother” from the heartache of seeing Angelina’s final moments through her phone.
It was later revealed that Angelina’s murder had been committed by a despised woman who had a romantic interest in the same man as the 26-year-old.
The fight over the unnamed man left Angelina dead and Jennifer Maldonado, 21, charged with murder.
An anonymous witness who lived with Jennifer told police he and Angelina drove to Jennifer’s house because she owed him money.
He made his way inside to get the money from her, but when Jennifer found out Angelina was with him, she went outside and attacked Angelina, “pretending to have a relationship with a man,” according to court documents. argued
The witness said he saw the horrific moment Jennifer stabbed Angelina with a knife.
Another witness told police that only Jennifer and Angelina were the only two fighting, and after being stabbed multiple times, Angelina was unable to stand.
Jennifer stabbed Angelina in her left leg, fatally severing her femoral artery.
At 12:52 a.m. on May 21, less than an hour before her death, Angelina caught another smile of herself, not knowing what was to come
Angelina was murdered by Jennifer Maldonado, 21, after Jennifer accused her of having a relationship with a man.
A witness told police he saw the horrific moment Jennifer stabbed Angelina in her left leg with a knife, fatally severing her femoral artery
The witness tried to drive Angelina to a hospital but crashed at an intersection, according to the report.
After the coroner identified the woman involved in the car accident as Angelina, police said it appeared she died from the stab wounds and not the collision.
Court documents revealed that several witnesses were questioned after Angelina’s death.
However, the only witness who saw Jennifer stab Angelina refused to sign a statement after positively identifying Jennifer.
Jennifer became the prime suspect for Angelina’s arrest, but she evaded arrest for eight months before finally being caught by the US Marshalls.
Jennifer was arrested on June 20, 2021 and charged with first degree murder.
After Jennifer’s arrest, Serena, her family and friends of Angelina were hopeful that their loved one would finally get justice.
However, when Jennifer filed a plea without a contestation of voluntary manslaughter, assault and carrying a hidden knife in connection with Angelina’s death and was sentenced to just eight years and eight months in prison, her hopes were dashed.
They were stunned, confused and angry that the sister’s killer would be released from prison at 30.
Jennifer became the prime suspect for Angelina’s arrest, but she evaded arrest for eight months before finally being caught by the US Marshalls
After Jennifer’s arrest, she entered into a plea with no contest to voluntary manslaughter, assault and carrying a concealed knife in connection with Angelina’s death
After the plea deal, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel described the case as a “challenging homicide.”
“I know I want to believe they did everything they could but it’s hard to believe given what we’ve been told all along.
“Lack of evidence, lack of witnesses, there were a lot of people who didn’t want to cooperate, I want to say that we’re really mad at a lot of people.
“You see it on the news people get short sentences and you don’t think it’s going to happen to you and when it happens it’s just a weird feeling,” Serena told 23ABC News.
After the plea deal, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Kinzel described the case as a “challenging homicide.”
“The evidence in the case was complicated by uncooperative witnesses, conflicting testimonies as to the circumstances of the fight and fatal stabbings,” he told Bakersfield News.
He described how Jennifer stabbed Angelina three times with “some kind of knife” and Angelina died before emergency services arrived.
Kinzel explained that the plea deal was made with the challenges posed by evidence in the murder case and Jennifer’s lack of a criminal record.
Judge Colette Humphrey read victim impact statements before sentencing Jennifer, stating that prosecutors decided to give her a plea deal because of the difficulties involved in proving intent to kill during a fight.
“It’s not that the prosecution doesn’t feel your pain too…but they need to look at what the possible outcome of the trial will be,” Humphrey said in the courtroom.
Angelina’s friends and family protested the deal by holding signs that read “Angelina’s life was worth more than eight years” and “Justice for Angelina”.
Serena told Bakersfield News that her sister’s death changed her life forever, explaining that she fears for her children when they play outside
Angelina’s loved ones describe her as a caring, fun and outgoing person who loved everyone she met
Serena, friends and Angelina’s younger sister, Holly O’Conner, 21, protested the deal by holding signs that read ‘Angelina’s life was worth more than eight years’ and ‘Justice for Angelina’.
Angelina’s loved ones suffer the pain of losing their friend, daughter and sister every day.
Serena told Bakersfield News that her sister’s death changed her life forever, explaining that she now fears driving and fears for her children when they play outside.
“No one can understand like Jennifer [Maldonado] ruined my life.’
The two sisters are proud to share Angelina’s story with others while holding onto the memories they shared with their selfless sister.
“She got along with practically everyone she met like it didn’t matter what their background was, she got along with them,” Holly told Bakersfield News.
Angelina’s loved ones describe her as a caring, fun and outgoing person who loved everyone she met.