April 21, 2025 | By: Kendall Bailey

This story is part of a collaborative project between Project: Cold Case and the University of North Florida’s Applied Journalism class.

Destiney Bocanegra was known by her friends and family for her big heart, pouring it out to everyone she met and inviting people in with her warm and comforting presence. “Her friends that she brought into our home, that were without parents, she’d always bring them here and we would feed everybody,” said her mother, Lisa Vega Alva.

The world has been missing her big heart since 2018 when Destiney was killed. One night Destiney went out to visit some friends and never made it back to her home in Fort Myers, Florida. She was killed at 25 years old in a drive-by shooting while heroically shielding her son from the bullets.

On Saturday, April 21, 2018, Destiney got off work from her nursing assistant job and dropped by her family’s house. She brought her sister, Elizabeth Alva, flowers as Elizabeth prepared for prom, before heading off to Chuck E. Cheese with her son and her boyfriend, her son’s father. As Destiney left the house, no one expected the events that were about to unfold. Prom ended for Elizabeth, and she received a call from Destiney’s phone. Thinking nothing of it, she answered, only to hear a random male’s shaky voice on the other end explaining that Destiney had been injured. Confused, Elizabeth asked for some clarity only to hear her 4-year-old nephew, Mikey, scream in the phone, “Titi, Titi, my mommy’s been shot.”

The shooting took place on a shaded, suburban street in Bonita Springs, Florida, where a friend’s house was located. “She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Lisa said about her daughter. She explains that the family later found out that the unknown attackers were intending to shoot her daughter’s friends who owned the house. Destiney was able to shield her son in time from him becoming injured, but she was shot in the heart, losing her life and the life she was carrying because she was pregnant at the time of the murder. “We have always had this saying that she had such a big heart,” said her sister. “It was just hard for it to get missed.”

People often noticed Destiney because of her long, black hair and her full lips. “Her lips were like her famous thing, everybody called her ‘lips’,” said her mother. “She was beautiful, just a beautiful girl.” Her now 11-year-old son Michael, otherwise known as Mikey, looks a lot like his mother when she was young. His gestures and facial expressions resemble Destiney’s as well.

Holidays in general, but specifically Thanksgiving, hold a special place in the family’s heart. One year in particular, Destiney had brought some friends over to her home for the holiday and the family had asked her to bring in “two big spoonfuls of stuffing” but somehow the “stuffing” part of the request got lost in communication and Destiney pulled out two big spoons, with nothing on them, leaving the whole room filled with laughter. Such a fun and simple memory still brings the family so much joy.

As each day passes, Destiney is kept alive in the hearts and memories of her friends and family members. There’s not a day that goes by where her name is not brought up in daily conversation, and pictures are displayed all over the family’s house in honor of their beloved daughter.

Cardinals have been a sign of remembrance for the family. “Cardinals represent Destiney,” said Elizabeth. These bright red birds help encourage Destiney’s loved ones to know that she is looking down on them. “When I am crying and just really in need, a cardinal will show up and I know that that is my sign,” said her mother. The family also feels her near because the cemetery where Destiney now rests is located right around the corner from the family’s home. They look out in remembrance but also in determination for justice for their daughter. “We honor her memory every day,” said Lisa. “My life is shattered because we still have no justice.”

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Anyone with information on the unsolved murder of Destiney Bocanegra is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at (239) 477-1000. To remain anonymous and possibly be eligible for a reward, call SWFL Crime Stoppers at (800) 780-TIPS.

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