Family of woman who died after being beaten call for justice

    MAKAHA, Hawaii (KITV) -- Andrea Cortez, known as aunty China, was just 45 years old when her family says she was brutally beaten after stopping to talk with a friend on the side of the road in Makaha.

They say she was the victim of an unprovoked attack last month by an intoxicated woman with a metal pipe.

"She was struck once in the abdomen and the female that did this to her lifted her off the ground by her collared shirt, threw her back down and started stomping on her ribs where she hit her," said her niece Francisca Carrillo.

The beating left Cortez in the hospital where she died earlier this month.

"It was a completely senseless crime," said her other niece Frankie Carrillo. "It's rocked our world, it's rocked our world."

"So young, so young, she didn't deserve this," Francisca added. "It wasn't her time to go. She fought hard for us as long as she could, but in the end, it was just so extravagant and tragic it took her life."

The family said the assailant is still on the loose and a danger to the community.

"From our understanding she had already been intoxicated and she was already acting belligerent before my aunt actually got there," Frankie said. "She was kind of just trying to punk anyone she could and my aunt just happened to be her victim."

They said aunty China was loved by all and remembered for her generosity and kindness.

"She was literally the person that would, if you needed a shirt off her back, she would give it to you," Francisca said.

"She's a once-in-a-lifetime type of person," Frankie said. "There were so many times where we would just gift her amazing items and then we'd come back and she'd be like, 'Oh but my friend needed shoes.' So she's that type of person that was literally willing to give you her last dollar. The world is going to feel her loss."

Her loved ones held a vigil over the weekend, demanding justice.