MATTAWA – A young Mattawa woman murdered on Saturday, Feb. 11, along with her unborn child, has been identified.

She was Esperanza Vicente-Mestizo, 28, according to Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison. Her unborn child was a boy, Morrison said.

Following an autopsy and investigation, Morrison has determined that the cause of death was gunshot wounds of the torso. The manner of death was homicide.

Vicente-Mestizo and her unborn child were shot Saturday night, and they died a short while later at the Othello Community Hospital.

Retenwald said authorities had little information. It appeared the shooting occurred while Vicente-Mestizo was unloading groceries from her car and her boyfriend was inside the house with their three children.

“This was not a drive-by shooting, and we don’t know if the shooting is gang-involved,” Rectenwald said. “We currently have no suspects, and we are asking the public for help identifying the shooter.”

Neither the victim nor her live-in boyfriend of 11 years have gang ties, Rectenwald said. The boyfriend is not considered to be a suspect.

Rectenwald urged anyone with potential information to share it with authorities.

“Any information, no matter how small it may seem, is important to us,” he said. 

Anyone with information that could help is being urged to call the MACC dispatch at 762-1160 or 888-431-9911.

The shooting was discovered at about 11 p.m. when police and EMS personnel were called to “shots fired” at 825 Third Place, No.102A, in Mattawa.

According to Rectenwald, responders found Vicente-Mestizo suffering from gunshot wounds. She was seven and a half months pregnant.

Vicente-Mestizo was transported by the Grant County Fire District No. 8 ambulance to Othello Community. She and the unborn child died shortly thereafter.