Cathy Tenedorio is living a mother’s worst nightmare after her son, Matthew, was killed during the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.
“He just was a happy kid,” Tenedorio told CBN News of her son, reflecting on his attributes as a child and adult. “He was very expressive. He was very particular [and] meticulous.”
She continued, “He was just a wonderful, wonderful person.”
Tenedorio and her family have been left grappling for answers after a terrorist drove a rented truck through a Bourbon Street crowd, killing 14, including her 25-year-old son.
Linda Fleck, Matthew’s aunt and Tenedorio’s sister, told CBN News the family still doesn’t have clarity on how Matthew died, as they’ve reportedly received conflicting reports with no definitive clarity.
”We know that the terrorist didn’t hit him with the truck,” Fleck said. “Because his two friends that were eyewitnesses there saw it. They were there with Matthew.”
Fleck, who was close with Matthew, said her sister and family deserve to know the truth. They brought a nurse with them to the morgue who said it appeared he was shot but that there might have been additional blunt-force injuries.
“We want answers,” she said. “She, as a mother … deserves answers. Any mother would want answers.”
As for Tenedorio, she said she respects law enforcement and the process but is anxious to know what specifically happened to her son — something she believes will come out as video and other elements are reviewed.
“The manner of his death is never going to change,” she said. “It’s a homicide. … We just want to know what happened.”
Even amid the pain, uncertainty, and lack of clarity, Tenedorio, Fleck, and the family are clinging to their Christian faith, turning to prayer, peace, and forgiveness to navigate the turmoil.
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“My faith is strengthened,” Tenedorio said. “My life is going to be forever changed. I’m going to be able to help more people than I already helped, because that’s my whole goal in life is to help people. That’s all I want to do.”
The grieving mother has long been a source of comfort to others and is now receiving the same ministering and care from those who she has assisted in the past — something she deeply values.
“It’s so beautiful to touch each other’s hearts,” she said. “That’s the most important thing — do what Jesus did. Serve.”
Ultimately, Tenedorio said her reaction to difficulties is “always forgiveness,” citing her Christian faith for giving her the strength to take that posture.
“A man took my son’s life, but I have to forgive him,” she said. “He has to meet with God. He has to answer for that — not to me, to God. That’s how I look at it.”
Fleck, too, is clinging to her faith as she struggles to comprehend such a monumental loss.
“It’s been very hard,” she said. “I’m very emotional, and I feel bad for my sister and my brother-in-law … that they’ve had to go through this.”
Fleck asked for prayers for the family and that “God would wrap His arms around” everyone as they navigate such a difficult time.
“Pray that we get the answers that we deserve and that the truth will come out,” she said.
Tenedorio explained that her husband is profoundly “broken” by what unfolded, as so many of the hopes and dreams the family had were shattered.
Still, they hold on to hope in the eternal as they deal with the painful reminders around them.
Tenedorio also said Matthew had a beloved German shepherd named Brutus, who he would often walk around the neighborhood — and the animal has also been left grief-stricken and confused.
“That dog’s still looking for him,” Fleck told CBN News. “Brutus doesn’t understand that Matthew’s not coming home.”
In offering some closing words to the public, Tenedorio cited 1 Corinthians 13, urging people to pay attention to the Apostle Paul’s words about love.
“Read it. Treasure it,” she said. “Because that’s … Jesus. ‘Love is patient. Love is kind. Love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs.’ That’s all I can tell you. Just love people, as I do.”
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