Just before gunshots rang out in the bustling concourse of Aurora Mall, Krystal Martinez tried to protect her boyfriend, Kyle Boyd, begging him to walk away from the two men taunting him.
Even when bullets flew, Krystal stayed by his side, family members said.
And when Kyle awoke at an Aurora hospital, and his ventilator was removed, he had just one question:
“Where’s Krystal?”
On Wednesday, Kyle joined dozens of Krystal’s relatives and friends at her funeral in east Denver. Out of view in a stairwell behind her coffin, Kyle sat in a wheelchair surrounded by protective relatives and friends.
His grandmother Armedia Gordon told mourners that Krystal, 19, tried to keep Kyle safe when gunfire erupted June 21 at the mall.
“She was a peacemaker,” Gordon said warmly. “She was trying to keep Kyle from going after the suspects.”
Kyle will love Krystal – always, Gordon said.
Then she turned angry, focusing her wrath on the two young men who are charged in the shooting.
“What kind of beasts are you that you would take a gun to the mall?” she said. “You could have killed a lot of people. And you brought a lot of hurt to a lot of people here today.”
Krystal and Kyle had been together for three years, friends and family said. The two were inseparable.
And Krystal was like a “beautiful cat,” Gordon said, always affectionately wrapped around Kyle.
Loy Jones, a pallbearer, stood before mourners at Heritage Christian Center and described how Krystal brought peace into his life.
“She kept me from doing stupid stuff myself,” Jones said. “Krystal would always say, ‘Just let it go.”‘
State Rep. Debbie Stafford, who was Krystal’s youth pastor, officiated at the funeral and spoke of forgiveness.
“Do everything in your power to offer forgiveness,” Stafford said. “Justice will be found here, and justice will be found on God’s side. We should not take matters into our own hands.”
Throughout the service, supporters were protective of Kyle, 23, who police have said is a vital witness in the shooting. The two suspects are affiliated with gangs, authorities said.
Several guards paced the hallways, and an Arapahoe County sheriff’s unit and an unmarked security vehicle patrolled the church parking lot.
As the service ended, Krystal’s coffin was wheeled to a waiting hearse, her mother and stepfather following with streaming tears.
Adriana Guerrero, 19, one of Krystal’s friends, watched the procession pass and said she was still coming to terms with the loss.
“Krystal was our protector,” Guerrero said. “She was the nicest, sweetest person you would ever know. It still hasn’t hit us that she’s really gone.”
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1190 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
