Mom set on fire at convenience store, family speaks out

By Rachel Bianco

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    CHULA VISTA, California (KGTV) — Family and friends of a South Bay mom are coming together after she was set on fire at the convenience store where she works.

Amanda Buchanan, 45, is a manager at 7-Eleven on Broadway and L in Chula Vista.

She was at work on Saturday morning when family members said her ex-boyfriend ambushed her.

Her son, Dominic Rivera, watched the store surveillance video Monday afternoon.

“She couldn’t see him come in; as he came in, she had her back turned to go to the bathroom; he rushed in with a can of gasoline, doused her with it, they got into a scuffle, and that’s when he set her on fire,” said Rivera.

Buchanan’s co-worker tried to put out the flames but was seriously burned in the process.

When firefighters arrived, that woman was already outside, but Buchanan was inside, unable to move.

“The owner of the business next door came in with the fire extinguisher and put her out. She was burning for a total of forty seconds,” said Rivera.

Police arrested Jose Villanueva Saturday in Redlands. Buchanan’s friends say the two started dating in November of 2022, but she had been trying to get away from him.

Rivera lives in Idaho and had no idea his mom was having problems.

“I don’t know if she was just trying to protect herself or protect me in a way because she would talk really good things about him and say that he was a great guy and, you know, talked him up, so it made it seem like I had nothing to worry about when behind closed doors there was a lot to worry about,” said Rivera.

Villanueva has a violent criminal record. He’s in jail, facing more than a dozen felonies, including attempted murder, torture, and arson.

“I think the biggest thing I could take away from this, and anybody could take away from this, is don’t hide it in the dark, let people know what is going on cause you never know what’s going to happen,” said Rivera.

Rivera said his mom lives a simple life.

“She’d go to work, do her thing, then after work, she’d enjoy going out with her friends, going to bingo, casinos, and stuff like that,” said Rivera.

Rivera said Villanueva had been fired from the store and was living in Chula Vista unsheltered.

The family will meet with doctors on Tuesday morning to determine what’s next for his mom.

“As any female, they like to get done up, get ready, make themselves look nice. My mom is not going to be able to do all those things, especially because over 80% of her body is burned. She doesn’t even have enough skin to do skin grafts,” said Rivera.

Villanueva will be arraigned Wednesday. Rivera said he plans to attend the hearing.

“There were a lot of people who did not like this guy, but my mom would always try to protect this guy,” said Rivera.

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