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‘She never stopped,' says brother of slain Puerto Rican evacuee

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Family and friends of a Puerto Rican woman who was forced off the island after Hurricane Maria only to be slain in a motel  room, gathered Tuesday to remember her.

Maria Santiago’s brother said Santiago worked hard for all that she had.

“I want to show the whole world that my sister was strong, you know? She never stopped,” said Juan Santiago.

Seven months before police said someone killed Santiago, Hurricane Maria forced her to move to Kissimmee with her four children.

She moved her family to a FEMA-funded motel room in Kissimmee and took a job in construction to work toward a better life for her children.

Her two youngest children were in the room with her when she died, police said.

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Juan Santiago said the children have shown strength that he believes they inherited from their mother.

He said he will never know why her future was taken from her, but he does know death could never end what she started in this life.

“Whatever you want for you and your family, don’t stop. Keep going. That’s what my sister did,” he said.