ORLANDO, Fla. – The mother of a teenager found shot and killed inside a friend's house said she wants justice for her daughter.
Lina Cuartas told News 6 that her daughter, Laura, was her only child.
"She was my only daughter, so I feel lonely," she said. "I feel like my heart is broken completely."
Cuartas said Laura came home from school March 30, and then went over to a friend's house on Bellsworth Way for a snack before work.
She said Laura had gotten her "dream job" at Universal Studios.
What happened inside the home on Bellsworth Way is still a mystery.
Cuartas said her daughter was shot on the right side of her body.
She said the bullet hit her pulmonary artery.
The 18-year-old was killed.
At first, Orange County sheriff's investigators said they responded to the home on Bellsworth as a reported suicide.
They told News 6 they soon realized it was not a suicide, and they were continuing their investigation.
"I got the death certificate that very clearly stated it was homicide," her mother said. "It wasn't a suicide. It was a homicide."
Now, Cuartas said she finds herself making sure her daughter's death investigation isn't put on the back burner by investigators.
She will not rest until someone is arrested.
"I'm going to stay here for her. I'm going to fight for her," she said. "I'm going to go above and beyond to get this resolved for her because I know that somebody has to pay for her death."
Friends of Cuartas have come to her side.
Some have set up a GoFundMe page to help her with funeral expenses.
If you have any information that can help investigators with this case, call CrimeLine at 800-423-TIPS.