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Utah widow seeks a good life for young daughter after her husband was shot to death

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Griselle Trujillo with her 19-month-old daughter Luna Faith Fernandez in Heber Tuesday April 24, 2018. Trujillo's husband Jose Fernandez was killed by an acquaintance with a handgun after an evening of drinking.

Heber City • She’s moving forward for the sake of her daughter.

A little more than two years after her husband was murdered at their Park City home, Griselle Trujillo is determined that their 19-month-old girl has a bright future.

Most days she drives from Heber City to Park City in time to drop Luna Faith Fernandez at day care at 7 a.m. Then Griselle is off to work at a resort hotel, where she can put in long days as a banquet server, often picking up the youngster in late afternoon or evening.

But this day, Griselle stayed home because her daughter isn’t feeling well and must visit the doctor. Normally, the little girl is curious and outgoing, her mother explains, as the youngster clings to her with sleepy eyes.

It’s a challenging life for a single mom with a toddler. It’s made more difficult by the fact that her dream of a good life with her husband was stolen so violently by a senseless act. An acquaintance, James Enoch Henfling, 29, fatally shot 36-year-old Jose Fernandez on Feb. 22, 2016, after the two men argued and fought during an evening that included alcohol.

Griselle was pregnant with her daughter at the time of the shooting. The youngster knows nothing about her father. It’s something that weighs on Griselle. Someday she will tell Luna about Jose and how he died.

The couple tried for years to conceive. But not long after that blessing came, Jose was killed. In the aftermath, Griselle had a difficult pregnancy and racked up a lot of bills. The challenges she faced were overwhelming as she mourned the loss of Jose.

Fortunately, Griselle has the support of her sister and brother-in-law. After Jose’s death, she moved from Park City to their home in Heber City.

“Without them,” she said, “I don’t know where Luna and I would be.”

Griselle is now focused on her daughter and a future that will fulfill what she and Jose had dreamed.

“My goal now is to raise my daughter,” she said. “We have a purpose here. And I want her to be whatever she wants.”