WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Nearly two weeks ago, a woman was found by a cleaning crew in a Washington City vacation rental, she had been stabbed 12 times in her torso.
But the scope of what had happened went far beyond this community and even beyond California where the woman was from - it was felt on the other side of the world.
The victim was identified as Andreea Mottram, who was going to turn 48 on March 29. Six days before her birthday, her body was found in the Sienna Hills community vacation rental she had been staying in.
The two teens charged with her murder are 16-year-old Mihaela Sorescu and 17-year-old Abilagel Flanagan. They were formally charged with first-degree felony murder on Friday.
Sorescu is Mottram’s adoptive daughter.
Mottram was a social worker and co-founder of disability and refugee aid associations in the U.S. and Romania, including the Chicago-based American Romanian Coalition for Human and Equal Rights (ARCHER) and the leading advocacy and aid group for autistic individuals in Romania after her two biological sons were found to be on the spectrum.
In a video for ARCHER, Mottram talked about discovering love.
“At that time, my son was nonverbal and he's still nonverbal in the meantime. He learned how to say, I love you,” Mottram said. “I don't know how much you know about the Romanian culture but it's very hard for us to say 'I love you.' And 'I love you' comes very hard in Romanian families.”
Mottram was also an advocate for the Roma people.
She later adopted a third child, a Roma girl named Bella, who was also known as Mihaela Sorescu- one of the teens now accused of killing her.
Victim's daughter identified as one of teen girls charged with murder inside Washington City rental home:
Washington Attorney Eric Clarke told FOX 13 that Sorescu and Flanagan are being charged as adults for murder, as well as car theft, after allegedly taking the vehicle Mottram had rented back to California.
Mottram's sister, who lives in Romania, said she and her family were too distraught to speak about Andreea.
On the same day police said Mottram was killed, she made her last post on Facebook, simply stating "This is... almost 48." Four days before, she had posted, "The trouble is, you think you have time."
