AVONDALE, Ariz. — Nearly six months after an Avondale salon owner was murdered in her business by her husband, her children and customers are keeping her memory alive.
Ema Maldonado’s legacy will live on through her hair salon business, now named Ema’s Family Barbershop.
“Her legacy has to keep moving on,” said one of Ema’s sons, Jonathan Herrera. “And that’s one of the things helping us move forward, carrying on what she left behind.”
On September 11, Avondale Police said Ema’s husband, Jose Jesus Rodriguez shot and killed her and another man Rodriguez believed she was having an affair with.
Eight days later, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said Rodriguez was found unresponsive in his cell at Fourth Avenue jail.
“It wasn’t just my family that took a hit. It was the whole community,” Herrera said.
Nearly six months after the tragedy, Ema’s three children, with the help of customers, are set to reopen the hair salon again.
“I have so many memories in here,” Herrera said. “This place feels like home; it’s like the last part we have of her. We can feel her with us.”
Herrera hopes to honor his mother by continuing to spread the kindness and love she had for others.
“Everything that she did for the people. She saw them as a friend, not a customer,” he said. “And her work, she saw them as family, more than just working for her.”
A picture of Ema has been placed at the entrance of the business. Herrera said this is so his mother will continue to greet her customers.
“It will help all of us heal and move on, understand that even bad things happen, that you can pick yourself up and keep going,” Herrera said. “She won’t be able to be stopped.”
The hair salon and barbershop is set to open on March 24.
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