“I know I’ve been truly blessed to have experienced the love I shared with her in this life,” said Robert Barrientos
Credit: Eliana Moreno/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Reporter Eliana Moreno and two others died in a KNBC helicopter crash in Los Angeles on Sept. 15
- Moreno’s fiancé, Robert Barrientos, shared a heartfelt tribute, remembering her passion for journalism and their plans for the future
- Moreno had covered breaking news from the air since 2010 and was a Chapman University graduate
Robert Barrientos, the fiancé of reporter Eliana Moreno, who was killed after a KNBC helicopter crashed in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, is speaking out.
Barrientos began his Sept. 22 Instagram tribute to his late fiancée by thanking everyone who has showered him with “love and prayers” since the tragedy that also killed pilot George Marciniw, 70, and bystander Edy Gutierrez Mejia, 29. Moreno was 38.
“I don’t have the words to express the pain I feel in my heart from losing my love Eliana this way,” Barrientos said.
Credit: Eliana Moreno/Instagram
Moreno died as a result of blunt force trauma, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Thermal injuries and inhalation of products of combustion also played a role in her death, per the medical examiner.
In his post, Barrientos remembered Eliana as someone who “loved and was passionate about what she did.”
While they sometimes joked that work was her “favorite place,” the two planned to retire one day and move to Tennessee, where they could “have some land and care for some animals.”
Barrientos said that while those dreams are now gone, “her memory will live in my heart and soul forever.”
“I know I’ve been truly blessed to have experienced the love I shared with her in this life,” he said. “Eliana was simply amazing – loving, kind, compassionate, giving, intelligent and extremely silly. If you knew Eliana, she had the best sense of humor.”
Credit: George Marciniw/Facebook
“She loved her 2 dogs Penrose and Fullerton more than anything in this world,” Barrientos continued. “I miss Eliana with every part of my body and soul. My heart aches for her return and wish I could hold her in my arms and tell her I love her.”
Barrientos ended his post by thanking his support system, including his two sons and Eliana’s family, for “showing me so much love during the hardest time of my life.” The post included photos and videos of their time together.
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Moreno graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism and political science from Chapman University, and had been covering Los Angeles’ breaking news from the air since 2010, according to KNBC.
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