In the span of a week, the siblings, ages 1-14, have become orphans. "This is a nightmare," says a family friend.
Four children from Moreno Valley were grieving this weekend over their mother's death in the July 6 collapse of an ice cave in Washington state and holding vigil for their uncle, who lay unresponsive in a hospital bed there.googleoff: all
Then Monday, July 13, they received unfathomable news: Their father was shot to death late the previous night in San Bernardino.googleoff: all
In the span of a week, the children -- two girls, ages 14, 12, and two sons, 8 and 1 -- had become orphans .Annalisa Santanagoogleoff: all
"This is a nightmare," said Rachelle
Randle, a family friend.googleoff: all
Randle's 12-year0old son is close friends with one of the girls and is a classmate at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley.googleoff: all
"There's so many of (her) friends out here that are hurting," Randle said.googleoff: all
San Bernardino police said the father, Adrian Martinez Cardona, 35, of Redlands, got into an argument about 10 p.m. Sunday at a bar, Lulu's Hideout, at 1958 W. Rialto Ave. Cardona was asked to leave, and he was shot as he stood outside near his vehicle.googleoff: all
No one had been arrested as of Monday afternoon, Lt. Rich Lawhead said, and no other circumstances of the shooting were immediately being released.googleoff: all
A person who answered the phone at Cardona's home Monday declined to talk about him. Friends of Annalisa Santana, the woman whose body was found in the ice cave, are saying little about the family at their request.googleoff: all
Randle said she has known the family for about two years. She didn't know whether Santana and Cardona ever married, but they were estranged at the time of their deaths, Randle said. The children all took their father's last name.googleoff: all
Santana and her children flew to Washington on June 30, where they met up with her boyfriend, Dustin Wilson. On July 6, they visited the Big Four Ice Caves, a popular – and unstable – tourist destination formed by avalanches in the Cascade Range.googleoff: all
Signs warn tourists that the cave can collapse. On the day Santana was killed, higher-than-normal temperatures were causing it to melt.googleoff: all
Besides Santana, five people were injured. Among them were Santana's oldest child, who suffered an ankle injury, and Santana's brother, David, who had a head injury, Randle said.googleoff: all
David Santana was in critical condition Monday, said Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.googleoff: all
Adrian Cardona Sr. had spoken with his children daily after their mother's death, but he had been unable to go up to Washington, Randle said.googleoff: all
"His loved his kids," Randle said.googleoff: all
Those conversations took place only days after Cardona got out of jail. On June 9, he was sentenced to 24 days in jail for violating his parole.googleoff: all
Cardona also has convictions for possession of an assault weapon, driving under the influence, battery on a spouse or co-habitant, brandishing a weapon, violating probation, being a felon in possession of a firearm and being illegally in possession of ammunition, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records.googleoff: all
Randle bristled at comments on social media that criticized Santana for entering the cave and Cardona for getting in trouble at a bar. Whatever their choices, Randle said, the children need the public’s prayers and support.googleoff: all
They have a large extended family to care for them, Randle said.