Justice for Ciara
Donation protected
Ciara Ann Estrada: End of Watch: 01 Jan 2018
SEEKING TRUTH AND JUSTICE FOR CIARA; WHAT REALLY HAPPENED on New Year's Eve?
This GoFundMe account will assist us in finding the truth, filing a wrongful death suit, and holding anyone responsible. The fund goal was set by our original lawyer based on his experience with the cost to investigate a case like this.
Our daughter, Ciara Ann Estrada was 25 years old at the time of her death. Ciara was a sworn police officer for the San Diego Police Department who served her community with passion and dedication. She was a vibrant, strong, intelligent, accomplished young woman who loved her family more than anything, was passionate about her chosen career and had a heart of gold. Ciara was our angel here on Earth. The last time we saw Ciara was on the night of New Year’s Eve (12-31-17) as she got ready to go to a New Year’s Eve party at a local hotel with her boyfriend, who was also a Sworn Police Officer for San Diego P.D. Ciara was in a serious relationship for over two years that had become volatile sometime between 10 PM and 11:30 p.m. A verbal altercation occurred in front of SDPD co-workers who were also attending the New Year’s Eve party. This altercation was not de-escalated by these off duty officers or her boyfriend who likely created the situation and is known to have a short fuse himself. Ciara left the party close to mid-night and alone in an Uber. The exact times and details of the altercation and time of death have created nothing but doubt for the family. SDPD did not disclose all of the investigation material to the family after her death. The family had to generate questions in order to gain any insight as to what happened before she got home that night or what happened at the crime scene. Why was she dead only a couple of hours after being photographed alive and happy?
On January 1st, 2018 Ciara did not show up for her swing shift at work. We knew something was horribly wrong, as Ciara would never miss work without calling. Ciara was found inside her small apartment with a single gunshot wound. Ciara lived alone but her boyfriend had a key to the apartment. Suicide was never proven to the family. NO WAY!! Ciara was the happiest we had ever seen her earlier that same afternoon. San Diego PD chose to handle Ciara’s death investigation instead of calling in another agency/jurisdiction. This created a potential conflict of interest by investigating the death of one of their own who had last talked to another SDPD officer who was the source of an altercation less than two hours before her death. They immediately ruled the cause of death as a self inflicted gun shot. The crime scene was potentially contaminated and jeopardized. San Diego PD immediately informed us that they were sorry, ‘she killed herself,’ and it was definitely a suicide. No coroner or medical examiner was even on scene yet!! How on earth would or could they determine that so soon? Our daughter had no suicide ideations, was never depressed or on any medications. Ciara loved herself and her family way too much to ever leave this world in this way.
Ciara served as a Police Officer for the San Diego Police Department from August, 2015 to January 1st, 2018. We did not know that Ciara was becoming a YouTube sensation, until after her death. Ciara was dispatched to investigate a complaint of an unwanted homeless male. She didn’t know she was being videotaped upon arrival which is all the more impressive because she treated a homeless man with dignity and only later became aware it was uploaded on YouTube sometime in 2016 (Titled as, “Finally a nice cop”). The same homeless male was saddened when he learned of her death, and modified another version of the video to read, “RIP Officer Estrada.” Watching the video today is painful, because our hearts ache for our daughter; however, it will forever be an example of how Ciara treated every human being with dignity and compassion, regardless of their social status. More recently in December 2023, a complete stranger created a short TikTok video of Ciara and we are grateful for getting her story more visibility.
The Estrada family and Ciara’s close friends remain grieving over her tragic and mysterious death. We have spent countless hours trying to sort out what San Diego PD didn’t tell us and we have pieced together other theories and information from her digital devices. The details of who she text’d had physical or emotional contact with remains unanswered and has been kept from our family. We will need subpoenas to obtain all cell phone records/texts. Did San Diego PD ever pursue any primary suspect (who had motive, access, and means) and if so why couldn't that investigation material be provided to the family? In addition, Ciara’s death was kept a secret from the media. San Diego PD urged our family to be quiet and not talk to the media that was present at the crime scene. The death of a young vibrate Police Officer like Ciara is tragic and all the details of that night need to be uncovered and pursued wherever it leads. We are still seeking and fighting for answers to Ciara’s death. The evidence discovered during Ciara’s autopsy could be indicative of a physical struggle. After we met with the Medical Examiner to discuss the cause of death, she said that she couldn't rule out homicide. After reviewing some of her digital devices and talking to other SDPD officers, we learned how emotionally abusive her relationship had become with her boyfriend in recent months.
This GoFundMe account will assist us in filing a wrongful death suit, pay for expert witnesses, evidence discovery, and other various legal fees. It will also pay for any direct or indirect cost related to her death.
CIARA DESERVES TO BE TREATED WITH THE SAME DIGNITY AND RESPECT SHE TREATED OTHERS WITH DURING HER SHORT TIME ON THIS EARTH. WHEN CIARA’S TRUTH COMES OUT, SHE CAN FINALLY REST IN PEACE. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. #JUSTICEFORCIARA#GONETOOSOON#NEVERFORGOTTEN#OURBLUEANGELINHEAVEN
Organizer
Larry Estrada
Organizer
Murrieta, CA