SAN ANTONIO – A 24-year-old woman who Bexar County Sheriff’s Office investigators said was killed over a cellphone is being remembered as someone who was always smiling and had a bright future.
Almost immediately after enrolling in The Salon Professional Academy, Giovanna Barrera gained a reputation as someone who gave it her all.
“Giovanna was very passionate,” said Melanie Meador, operations director at the academy. “She knew that this was what she was going to do the rest of her life.”
Well-liked and respected by her peers, Barrera’s well-rounded talents suggested she would go on to become a successful cosmetologist and esthetician.
“She really loved it all, but her focus was hair. She loved doing hair coloring,” Meador said.
Early Wednesday afternoon, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Barrera was rollerskating like usual near her home on Tarrasa and Glen Mont. When she returned to take off her skates in her car that was parked in her driveway, Salazar said Daniel Calvillo, 28, approached her and demanded her cellphone. Salazar said Barrera threw the phone under her seat, and Calvillo shot her in the head before fleeing in a black Chevy HHR being driven by 20-year-old Keyana Jones.
Barrera’s peers are unable to make sense of the deadly violence.
“They’re absolutely devastated. Many of them aren’t here today because her loss was so great,” Barerra said.
Salazar believes the suspect had never even met Barrera. They were later apprehended at a traffic stop. Calvillo faces several charges, including capital murder. Jones may also face the same charge.
Barrera’s classmates say her ambitious soul will always be present.
A memorial that sat outside of Barrera’s locker Friday evening was another example of how much she was truly loved and will be sorely missed. Barrera was supposed to graduate in May. Her teachers say that’s still going to happen, posthumously.