Family, friends hold year-memorial for South Bend man killed at UP Mall

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- The mother and friends of a South Bend man shot and killed at University Park Mall held a memorial to mark a year since his death.

Benito Bueno was 27 years old when, according to police, Miguel Rosales shot him multiple times near Bar Louie in Mishawaka. On Monday, his mother, Nancy  Casarez said a year without Bueno has not been easy.

“There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that Benny, I just wish it would’ve never happened,” Casarez said. “That he would’ve never gone anywhere that day.”

She said every year she and the rest of her family will have to relive Bueno’s death, especially during his accused killer’s trial. Rosales is out of jail currently, awaiting his next court date set for June 22.

“I want justice,” Casarez said. “Benny should’ve never died the way he did, he shouldn’t have been treated the way he was treated at the end.”

She and a large group of Bueno’s friends gathered at his grave on June 11 to hold a rosary memorial to mark a year since he’s been gone. Casarez said everyone is still in shock and cannot believe the Benny  Bueno they knew  is dead.

“Don’t label my son,” she said. “He wasn’t bad, he wasn’t a thug, he wasn’t a gangster, he was none of the above. He was just a happy child and went to work and had loving friends. No, my son wasn’t a monster.”