Memorial blossoms outside victims’ home
By Laura Gossman
lgossman@postbulletin.com
DODGE CENTER — Vehicles slowly drove through Valley View Mobile Home Park in Dodge Center on Monday afternoon.
Some people stopped to light prayer candles and pay their condolences at a makeshift memorial in front of the home where a mother and son were killed and a father and two daughters were injured Saturday night.
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The father, Ismael Bugarin, 33, is in serious condition at Saint Marys Hospital and remains under guard.
Dodge County Sheriff Gary Thompson has called him a "person of interest" in the deaths of his wife, Teresa Bugarin, 27, and his son, Ismael Nicholas Bugarin, 12. Teresa was found dead in the family’s home. Nicholas had run to a neighbor’s home with his two younger sisters, Jasmine, 8, and Sabrina, 5.
Nick died in the arms of a neighbor from stab wounds. The girls were taken to Saint Marys Hospital where both were in good condition Monday afternoon.
Cory Rahn, 31, of Dodge Center, was walking his dog Monday afternoon, and slowed when he came upon the memorial.
Several candles flickered in the cold, and stuffed animals surrounded the photos of the mother and son.
Teresa Bugarin was a licensed cosmetologist and was also employed part-time as a Spanish interpreter in family support services at the Dodge County Courthouse.
Rahn said he didn’t know the family well, but he said that they always seemed friendly.
"It’s too bad this happened," he said. "I saw the boy often, and he always smiled and waved."
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Nick was a seventh-grader at Triton Middle School, loved going to movies and enjoyed sports, his friends said. A mother of one of Nick’s friends said he had planned to go to the movie "Madagascar 2" on Sunday with friends.
Teachers read a statement to their students explaining the situation at the beginning of classes Monday. Students were allowed to use "comfort rooms."
Laura Gossman covers news in Olmsted, Dodge, Fillmore and Houston counties. If you have news tips and story ideas, call her at (507) 285-7619.
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Triton School District http://www.triton.k12.mn.us
