Family found mother's dead body eaten by dogs at LA homeless encampment. They're demanding answers

Amely Becerra said she brought flowers for her mother, Lucrecia Macias Barajas, on May 10, the day before Mother's Day.

Her mother wasn’t home, Becerra said, so she left the flowers and thought they would see each other the next day. But the holiday came and went with no contact from Barajas.

Two days later, Becerra’s sister, Ariana Macias, said she was searching for their mother in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles. A phone tracking app then led her to a homeless encampment, where she said she found her mother’s dead body being eaten by dogs.

The discovery of the 46-year-old mother's body — and the cause of death — remain under investigation by authorities. The family holds government officials responsible for not clearing problem encampments like the one where Barajas died.

LAist found that more than 20 requests to 311 had been made about homeless encampments near the site since 2018.

City officials have been trying to clear encampments by helping people get into housing with access to support services. They say it’s a more compassionate approach than clearing out encampments and issuing citations, but to the Barajas family it feels like carelessness.

A growing number of California policymakers, like Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie have pushed for more strict enforcement of encampment restrictions.

The Barajas family said city officials should do more to clear the encampments before other people go through a similar ordeal.

“It’s getting out of control,” Becerra said. “And to hear that this encampment has been there since forever, it's like, what's going on here? Are they allowing this stuff to happen?”

Lucrecia Macias Barajas

Lucrecia Macias Barajas was an Army veteran and loving mother, said Becerra, the oldest of Barajas’ six children. Barajas was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and suffered from depression, but Becerra said she did everything in her power to support her family.

Becerra’s sister, Ariana Macias, told LAist that their mother cared deeply for other people who were struggling.

Barajas would bring clothes and food to unhoused people even if she didn’t have much money herself, Macias said. The last she heard from her mother she was going to bring food to an unhoused friend. Macias said that’s how she wound up at the encampment in Westlake.

“ My mom wasn't a mom just to us,” Macias said.

According to the L.A. County medical examiner’s office, the body of a man identified as Fredy Pojoy Sajqui was found near Barajas in a tent on the sidewalk.

Macias said the man was her mother’s friend, who she knew as “Pablo.” The examiner's office said they have completed their examination, but are requesting additional testing. They said it could take months to learn the cause of death for both people.

Moving people out of encampments

City officials, like Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, said they have been focused on providing housing and services to help people get off the streets.

But Barajas’ family and others have criticized local officials like Bass and Hernandez for not doing enough to clear encampments.

A spokesperson for Bass told LAist, “This case reinforces our urgent need to address this grave humanitarian crisis. We will continue collaborating with the Council Office to bring more Angelenos inside and do all that we can to improve public safety.”

Becerra told LAist that residents near the encampment where her mother was found had been complaining about the site for almost a decade, saying it was unsafe and home to drug dealers.

A spokesperson for Hernandez told LAist their office was not aware of the specific encampment where Barajas was found, and that they would have sent help if they had known she was there.

Support teams who work with Hernandez’s office had known Barajas, the spokesperson said, and helped her get into temporary housing in 2023.

“This devastating loss underscores why we need real investments in harm reduction, housing-first policies, and wraparound services that center dignity, public health, and long-term stability,” Hernandez’ office told LAist in a statement. “This is a matter of life and death.”