The mother of a Scottish lawyer who was allegedly murdered and dismembered in Los Angeles says the lack of information from US authorities has made her grief even harder to bear.
June Bunyan, 37, from the Isle of Arran, was found dead at her LA apartment in September last year, shortly after giving birth to her daughter Regina. Police in America were called to June's flat after her husband Jonathan Renteria was found injured in a hotel room.
Case details and charges
Renteria, 25, is currently behind bars on suspicion of murder, disinterment, mutilation and sexual contact with human remains. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer has suggested he may have been experiencing psychosis at the time of June's death.
Police discovered June's dismembered remains at her apartment on September 11 last year. An autopsy found she died from traumatic neck injuries and had suffered around 10 sharp-force injuries.
Family's struggle for answers
Almost a year on from June's death, her mum Jill says she is still struggling to get basic information about the case – and she doesn't know for certain who is caring for her granddaughter. The latest court hearing in Renteria's case took place on September 4, the first anniversary of June's disappearance – but Jill and her family say they were not officially informed about the hearing until almost two weeks later. The case has now been continued until October.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Jill said: "My health has had an absolute battering, and it's not just with losing June. It's the lack of respect, the lack of communication."
"It almost feels like nobody cares. Nobody actually cares, and that is heartbreaking, and that is as bad as losing June because it just plays mind games with you. It is horrendous."
Granddaughter's whereabouts
June's baby daughter Regina was born less than two months before her death. The Record previously reported that the infant is believed to be living with Renteria's parents in the US while her father remains in custody. However, Jill says she is still not certain that is the case.
BBC Scotland said it had attempted to contact Renteria's parents but was unable to independently verify where Regina is currently living. Jill continues to crowdfund to pay for a lawyer to help establish where her granddaughter is and pursue a legal bid to bring her back to Scotland.
She said: "That is my daughter's daughter who I'd seen every day [over the internet]... pick up the phone, send a picture, just let me know she's all right."
The Bunyan family previously launched a fundraiser seeking £40,000 to cover legal costs in their bid to bring Regina to Scotland. They said they believed the youngster's best interests were in being reunited with her maternal family and growing up surrounded by her mother's family and Scottish heritage.
Background and ongoing impact
June had moved from Scotland to Los Angeles to pursue a career in law and had set up her own paralegal service. She had previously filed a restraining order against Renteria citing domestic violence, although the application was later dropped.
Renteria was found injured in a hotel room after June's death alongside a note in which he allegedly confessed to killing her but he has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Jill and her family, who live on Arran, have now marked a year since June's death. She said: "Grief controls you, you don't have any control over grief. It points you in a direction and you just have to go with it. I'm heartbroken. That's never going to change. I'll be heartbroken until I go. I miss June terribly."
Jill said she was grateful for support from her local MP Irene Campbell and Victim Support Scotland, but criticised the level of help she had received from the UK Government's Foreign Office. She hopes to meet the Foreign Secretary to raise the difficulties faced by families whose loved ones die abroad. "It doesn't have to be this difficult," she said. "It's difficult enough without having to fight everybody to get answers to simple questions, but I can't get answers."
The day after Jill spoke to the BBC, she received an apology from prosecutors in Los Angeles over the lack of communication about Renteria's court case. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. The Foreign Office said it was supporting the family of a British woman who died in the US and was in contact with local authorities.
