BERKELEY (KRON) — There are heavy hearts Monday night in the East Bay, as friends remember a teacher who was brutally murdered in her Berkeley home.
The suspect is a UC Berkeley student, who was arrested Saturday in Burbank.
On Monday, KRON4 spoke with friends of Emilie Inman, who describe her as an artist, musician, and teacher who impacted so many lives.
“It doesn’t really fully feel like she’s gone because her energy is in all of her friends and her family,” friend Robin Liepmin said.
Friends are struggling with the loss of Inman, the young teacher killed in her Berkeley home. Twenty-four-year-old Pablo Gomez Jr. is accused of stabbing Inman and another woman.
Liepmin found out about Inman’s murder on Facebook.
“Emilie was a really creative, beautiful individual, completely unique and just had so much light and so many gifts to bring to the world,” Liepmin said.
Inman worked at Sienna Ranch in Lafayette.
The organization describes itself as a family-owned business. Its focus is on youth families, environment, and community.
No one at the school wanted to comment on camera, but according to its website, Inman was a fifth and sixth-grade science instructor.
“She had a lot of aspirations, there was music, she loved kids, and she worked with kids specifically doing outdoor education, and she had a lot of faith in the youth, and just saw the youth as being one of the most important parts of making the world a better place,” Liepmin said.
On the school website, it also says Inman lived in the French countryside, Paris, and moved to San Luis Obispo when she was 10.
That’s where Liepmin met Inman. Then, they both attended UC Santa Cruz.
He says while she may be physically gone, he can still feel her presence.
“A lot of us feel that she’s still with us and helping us out from another realm,” Liepmin said.
Police still haven’t released a motive for the attack.
There is a memorial service planned for Emilie this week in San Luis Obispo.