Roslindale mother's life spun out of control

Angela Vasquez struggled with problems common to many single mothers: too many responsibilities, too little time, and too little money.

But for Vasquez, who lived a life filled with tumultuous relationships, the problems seemed insurmountable, friends said. Wednesday she quit her job. Friday and Saturday she called friends to say goodbye. Sunday, police found Vasquez, 31, lying at home with multiple stab wounds, along with the bodies of her children, Yasmine Burgos, 12, and Dennis Burgos Jr., 10.

Court records and friends yesterday painted a complex portrait of Vasquez. A victim of childhood neglect, she neglected her own children and was placed under state supervision in 1998, until she was deemed a fit parent by the Department of Social Services two years later. Neighbors saw her carefully watching over her children in the yard and taking them to school, where they seemed happy.

Only recently, her life seemed to spiral out of control. Vasquez got into a car accident, wept often, and seemed depressed, said her friend, Lula Fisher. Vasquez said she was lonely and was thinking about a breakup with a boyfriend in 2005.

"She was crying sometimes," said Fisher, 64. "I said: 'You're a pretty girl. You're a smart girl. You'll find somebody else.'"

Sunday night, a social worker called police and told them to check on Vasquez. Officers who came to Vasquez's duplex found the door locked. They kicked in an air conditioner and came upon the bloody scene.

"I never thought she would do something like this," said Juan Velazquez, a friend whose girlfriend received a call from Vasquez, bidding her goodbye.

"She loved those kids so much," Fisher said.

Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman, said yesterday that homicide investigators were interviewing people who knew Vasquez and were also planning to interview Vasquez, who is expected to survive. Police were also analyzing evidence from the house and awaiting results from the medical examiner's office on how the children died. Police have said the violence was not random.

"It does not appear that the children were stabbed," Driscoll said, adding that no one has been named a suspect in the case.

Many who knew Vasquez were in shock yesterday. On Maynard Street, neighbors placed white candles, pink carnations, and white balloons emblazoned with gold crosses on the sidewalk in front of the Vasquez house.

Vasquez "seemed like she was a doting, loving mom," said Lenita Richardson, program director at the Children's Learning Academy, where Dennis and Yasmine were students. "She always came to pick them up on time, and they always came with everything they needed."

Dennis, who loved sports and action figures, and Yasmine, who loved computers, "were happy children," Richardson said.

Yasmine "was very overprotective of her little brother," Richardson said. "She'd watch over everything he would do, and if he did something wrong, she would say, 'Now, Dennis, you know that's not what you're supposed to do.' If he was late for the bus, she would go into the classroom and make sure he came with her, and if he forgot his book bag it would be on her shoulder."

Vasquez was born in Boston; no father was listed on her birth certificate. In 1990, when she was 14, the state Department of Social Services came to her house in Roxbury and found she was being neglected. She later moved into a group home.

Vasquez was a teenager when she gave birth to Yasmine. Probate court records say the father was Dennis Burgos. A year later, he went to court to seek visitation rights with Yasmine, saying, "I want to get to know her and be her father."

In 1997, Vasquez and Burgos had Dennis Jr.

In 1998, DSS intervened after learning the children were being neglected. The state closed the case in 2000.

"We worked with mom and her boyfriend at the time to address the concerns and everybody was satisfied that mom was going to be able to take care of the kids," said Michael MacCormack, a DSS spokesman.

By then, the couple was living together, and Vasquez told the court during a child support hearing that "he supports me and my two children we have together."

The peace broke in 2001, when Vasquez obtained a restraining order. "Dennis Burgos came into my household and put me in fear of physically hurting me," she said in court papers.

In 2002, she told the court: "My children are not receiving child support at all. It has been very hard to maintain without child support. I have rent, day care, as well as other bills. And I feel I need the support."

A year later, Vasquez asked the court to give Burgos custody of the children during February and April vacations. "I have to pay extra because of day care, and I feel the father can take care of them," she told the court.

Fisher described Burgos as "a nice-looking man" who picked up the children on Fridays and brought them back to Vasquez's house on Sundays. Monica Perez, a friend who has known Vasquez for 13 years, said Burgos had recently been paying child support and getting along well with Vasquez.

Yesterday, Burgos declined to comment when reached at a house in Boston.

Since the death of her father a year and a half ago, friends said, Vasquez' troubles seemed to mount. She worried about being alone.

On Wednesday, Vasquez quit her job as an executive assistant at Children's Hospital, Perez said.

"She was just basically having issues with the office manager and the supervisor," Perez said. "And she said everything was just really overwhelming."

Children's Hospital released a statement yesterday saying it would not provide details but wished to "express its deepest sympathies to all those who may be affected by the tragedy."

Friday, Vasquez called Perez and left a long message, telling Perez to take care of herself and her children. She also said, "I'm moving on."

"There were pauses, and she just hung up," Perez said. "I automatically knew something was wrong."

Saturday, Perez called Vasquez, who told her, "I'm telling everybody goodbye."

"When I told her I'm very concerned about you, where are your children, she said, 'They're here'. " She told Perez she was silly to worry.

Javier C. Hernandez and John R. Ellement contributed to this report. Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com; Cramer at mcramer@globe.com.