A community in California is in shock after a house fire that killed a mother and her teenage son. The home Rossy Borquez lived in went up in flames in the early morning hours, and her son never made it out alive. The mother, who also has an older daughter, was able to get out of the house alongside a man who she was allegedly in a relationship with. Their burns were too severe, however, to survive the fire. In the aftermath of the deadly blaze, concerning details have been emerging about Borquez’s relationship. Additionally, police believe that her boyfriend may have had something to do with their deaths.
The fire startled the neighborhood.
Officers from the Montebello Police Department arrived at the home a few minutes after 4:30 a.m. May 14, 2026, a news release posted to social media noted. When they arrived, they found a man and a woman with “severe burns” in front of the home that was “fully engulfed on fire.”
The Montebello Fire Department showed up and extinguished the blaze. The man and woman were taken to the hospital, where they died from their injuries. Once the fire was put out, fire personnel found another victim dead inside.
Arson investigators are working alongside detectives to look into the fatal fire. Police announced they had “no outstanding suspects,” the news release shared.
Now police have identified the suspect as the man who died in the fire.
“At this time, we believe that the male involved in this case is the suspect. This does appear to be a domestic violence related incident,” Montebello Police Department Chief Luis Lopez told ABC 7.
Arson and police investigators reportedly spent hours going through the burned apartment, which was a detached unit, gathering evidence in an attempt to figure out what led up to the fire.
According to ABC 7, the man and the woman, who was identified as Borquez, were in a relationship. She lived in the home, but the police have yet to establish if he also lived there. The boy who died was Borquez’s 13-year-old son, Atriel.
Neighbors spoke with ABC 7, expressing their shock. “We saw a man and a lady just burning,” neighbor Alisson Gomez said. “Honestly, all her skin was off. Her hair burnt off completely, and she was just screaming for her son.”
Those who knew Borquez claimed that her relationship might have been abusive.
Her friend Hermalinda Anaya told the outlet that she spoke with Borquez days before her death about her relationship, calling the man toxic.
“She told me she’s so mad, she’s so upset at all the things that he do,” Anaya said. “He tell her, ‘I’m not gonna let you, nobody else be with you because I paid for your surgery, and I’m not gonna let you be with nobody else.’” She didn’t specify the kind of surgery Borquez had.
Anaya told KTLA that Borquez met her boyfriend, who has not been identified, through TikTok. They had allegedly been dating for about eight months. She also claimed the man took Borquez’s phone and was calling or messaging her contacts, telling them to stay away from her.
He also reportedly accused the woman of seeing other men, according to Anaya. In addition, he apparently followed her to a party because he was angry he wasn’t invited.
Borquez had an older daughter, who released a statement about the death of her mother and brother.
“She was the most hardworking person I have ever known,” the daughter wrote, per KTLA. “She went to another country without knowing the language just so her younger child could have better opportunities. I’m devastated, angry and missing my brother and mother. They were victims and now there’s no one to take accountability and direct my anger towards.”
Her daughter started a GoFundMe account to not only have a funeral for her mother and younger brother but also to send their bodies back to Mexico. “All the bureaucratic movements, and funeral services needed for their rest are a lot of money that, unfortunately, I don’t have,” she wrote.
“It’s a tragedy,” Chief Lopez told KTLA. “Anytime there is any loss of life, it’s tragic. When it involves domestic violence, it’s really tragic because it involves a family unit. When you have minors involved, as parents, as folks that have kids, it hurts more. This neighborhood is grieving. It will affect a lot of people for a long time.”
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter (domesticshelters.org).
