Fund-raiser announced to track down triple homicide killer

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Relatives of three young murder victims – two
brothers and a woman who'd been engaged to marry one of them – announced plans
Monday for an East County fund-raiser to bolster a reward fund in hopes of
tracking down whoever gunned them down last winter.

The families hope the April 13 benefit will help generate enough money
and public awareness to solve the murders of Gianni and Salvatore Belvedere, 24
and 22, respectively, and the elder sibling's fiancee, Ilona Flint, also 22.

The younger brother and the woman were found mortally wounded by gunfire
in a parked car at Westfield Mission Valley shopping center early on the
morning of Dec. 24.

Three weeks later, the body of Gianni Belvedere was found in the trunk
of a sedan outside a fast-food restaurant near March Air Force Base in
Riverside. He also had been shot in the head, according to police, who had been
searching for the former Utah resident since the earlier double shooting.

All three deaths were ruled homicides, SDPD Lt. Mike Hastings said.

Authorities have disclosed no suspected motive for the killings and have
released only a limited description of a possible suspect seen at the site of
the mall shooting – a roughly 5-foot-11-inch man in tan pants, white tennis
shoes and a black hooded sweat shirt with white bands across the upper parts of
the sleeves.

In addition to cash contributions, the victims' loved ones are
requesting donations of items – tools, electronics, gift certificates,
sporting goods, etc. – to be auctioned during the eight-hour fund-raiser at
Eastbound Bar & Grill in Lakeside.

Anyone interested in giving can get contact information online at a
website titled “Justice for Sal, Gianni & Ilona,” or show up at the event,
family spokesman Paul Donato said.

The owners of the Maine Avenue Tavern also plan to donate part of their
proceeds for the day to the cause, Donato said.