Sarah Marie Lovato was a quiet girl who didn't leave much of a public trace. But her violent death left family and friends with aching hearts.

High-school documents only indicate she registered for her freshmen year at Santa Fe High School. Secretaries at Salazar Elementary School do not have a recollection of her. Nor do staff at a local teen center where some say she went.

The only recent glimpses of her life are lingering on a MySpace page.

Lovato, a 17 year-old who was 36 weeks pregnant, was shot to death May 22 by her boyfriend, Marino Leyba Jr., according to police reports. Leyba, 22, also killed the fetus Lovato was carrying, police say, and Lovato's father, Bennie Ray Lovato Sr., 50.

Before the tragic shooting, Lovato had many plans that involved her unborn son, who was to be named Isaac Ray Lovato. The day of her death, she posted on her MySpace page a black and white sonogram image that showed a baby boy's face; he looked like he was taking a nap. Lovato titled the posting "My baby boy."

"Sarah was very happy about this baby," said her aunt, JoAnne Peña, adding that Lovato had an expected due date of July 4. The child would have been the family's first grandson. According to Peña, Lovato, her sister and mother had arranged to go shopping on May 23 for items for a baby shower.

Lovato — who had three older brothers and a younger sister — was a "real quiet" girl who didn't speak much until she got comfortable with people, her aunt recalled. When she was in elementary school, she wore "perfect pigtails."

"Oh how they bored you with the same movie over and over again," Peña said with a chuckle, recalling how fun-loving her niece was at 6. "They watched Mary Poppins all the time. They would laugh out loud. And when I would take my granddaughter over, they would play, jump on the bed and dance."

At every birthday, Lovato's mom, Linda Lovato, focused on making each child feel special, including Sarah in her turn. She baked a cake, bought birthday hats and invited family over to the house.

"We all used to stand around and sing happy birthday and she stood like a little princess," Peña said in a soft voice.

Lovato's best friend — her younger sister, Julie, 16 — was always there at her side.

"Her and her sister were always together," Peña said. "They were like two attached at the hip."

Lovato's older brother, Nick Lovato, said the family was not going to comment or release any details about his sister's death until after court hearings. But while the family attempts to cope with the loss, Lovato's MySpace page continues to serve as a focal point.

"R.I.P. Sara my sister, my dad Bennie, and my baby nephew Isaac Ray Lovato, I miss them so much I hope 2 C dem soon in heaven. Rest In Peace. Love & miss u guys," Julie wrote at one point.

On Wednesday, she wrote, "EEE I can't take it no-more I feel so lost, I miss my dad, sister, and my nephew RIP. I hold it in I can't no-more, I'm gonna crack. It hurts so much."

On Tuesday, one of Lovato's brothers posted: "RIP (DaD n Sis) Damn! I never Thought losing my father n sister wud effect me so bad, n wen I need my man 4 support He aint here! I'm so lost n down, missing them like crazy!"

Lovato's MySpace was called "Mommy 2 Be" and is decorated with a black background, sparkly lavender stars and Playboy emblems. Other than her family's comments, the page has a few sporadic posts made by her.

The ending of her quiet life has sparked a public debate both locally and nationally about New Mexico laws on the status of a fetus, abortion, domestic violence and dating.

Much of the criticism the family has received from the public is uncalled for, Peña said. "It's unfair. They don't know the family, the whole story."

Linda Lovato is ill with an unspecified spine disease and the late father, Bennie, was permanently disabled, Peña said. She added that it's easy for people to judge the parents and blame them for allowing Lovato to date an older man, but teenagers don't always obey.

"Her mom and dad were wonderful parents. And people are putting them down as if they weren't. No matter what you do, how much you protect the kids, they are going to do what they're going to do," Peña said.

An autopsy report from the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque indicates that Lovato was shot twice in the back and once in the lower left abdomen. The bullet to the abdomen hit the baby's left leg, traveled to the chest and lacerated the right side of the back of the neck.

About 200 people attended the funeral at Temple Baptist Church in Santa Fe and more than 100 joined the family at the burial at Santa Fe Funeral Options and Memorial Gardens, said Bob Clifford, the cemetery's funeral director.

Lovato's bare burial site only has a temporary green marker stuck in the dried, overturned brown dirt. Her father's casket was buried below hers.

"The baby was (buried) in the arms of his mother," Clifford said, adding that in his 40 years of funeral experience, this is only the third time he has witnessed the burial of three family members at once.

The baby was wrapped in a blue blanket, Peña said.

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at smartinez@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3062.

HELP THE FAMILY

JoAnne Peña has established an account at Century Bank to assist the Lovato family. Donations can be mailed to Century Bank, P.O. Box 1507, Santa Fe, N.M., 87504-1507. Make checks payable to Century Bank, JoAnne Peña for the Lovato Fund.