Family, Friends Say Final Farewell to Slain Newark Woman

Family and friends said their final good-byes to Evangeline Supena Contillo at a private, traditional Catholic funeral Mass and burial Thursday morning.

Contillo, 25, was found dead of apparent stab wounds at a Newark home on April 27. 

About 70 people assembled inside the St. Lawrence O'Toole-St. Cyril Catholic Church in Oakland to pray for Contillo, who was remembered as a kind, caring woman with unconditional love for her family.

Jomar Contillo  said his older sister would boast about her two sons, who did not attend the funeral services.

"She loved her kids so much. She'd always talk about how her kids and how much they missed my mom, dad and brother," Jomar Contillo said.

"I never knew it would end this way. Her life was cut short, at a very young age," Jomar Contillo said. "It happened so quickly that I didn't get a chance to say I love her … I love you big sis."

During an open-casket viewing Wednesday night, friends and family who grew up in Oakland after moving from the Philippines at the age of 8.

Contillo's niece Adrianna Domdoma said, "She was always there for everyone. She knew how to make you smile. She knew how to make jokes… She was the most fun, loving person you could know."

She is survived by her parents, Mario and Josephine Contillo, her younger brothers, Jomar and Mark, and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

A private burial service was held in Livermore after the hour-long Mass in Oakland.

Jason Otis Monroe, 32, of Newark faces for Contillo's death. He is scheduled to return to Alameda County Superior Court May 6, when a judge will rule on whether Monroe is competent to represent himself in court.