'We're in hell': Mum faces two-year wait for answers about her daughter's LA death

June Bunyan had a love of adventure.

Brought up on a Scottish island, in 2023 she moved to California, where she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a defence attorney.

The law graduate had also met Los Angeles resident Jonathan Renteria, 25, online through a shared interest in martial arts.

They married, and in July 2025 the couple had a baby daughter called Regina.

Back home on Arran, June's mother Jill Bunyan spoke to her daughter regularly. She said June seemed happy and was "ecstatic" about the arrival of her baby.

But less than two months after Regina was born, 37-year-old June's dismembered body was found at her flat in LA. Her husband was charged with her murder.

Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find disturbing

Sitting in her living room, Jill Bunyan describes June as "bright as a button and easy to love."

She wants to know the truth about what happened to her daughter and is upset that the court process could take two years.

"It's two years you can't grieve, it's two years you can't move on, it's two years you're just waiting," she says.

"We're in hell. This is a nightmare. I've got a cabinet full of tablets to keep myself going."

To compound her grief, Jill has had no contact with baby Regina since June's death – and is devastated that her daughter's belongings have disappeared.

"I lost my daughter. Right now I can't see my granddaughter and I have not one thing, not one possession of my daughter's - and I want to know why," says Jill.

She faces expensive legal battles in the US to seek custody of Regina and to sue Renteria in relation to her daughter's missing property. The family has set up a crowdfunder to cover costs.

Jill says she would love her granddaughter to come to Scotland.

She believes Regina is currently in the care of Renteria's parents but BBC News has been unable to verify this.

"Right now, if I'm honest, I would like Regina to be in care until the court can look into me, look into his parents, they do some investigations into us all, and then they decide in fairness," says Jill.

June set up a paralegal service after she moved to LA. But her ultimate aim was to pass the US bar exam so she could practise law in California.

Shortly after she started her relationship with Renteria, June filed a restraining order against him citing domestic violence. That claim was later dropped.

June's body was found on 11 September last year. Jill believes she had been killed a week earlier and is desperate to know what happened during this time.

Police went to June's flat after Renteria was discovered injured in a hotel room alongside a note where he confessed to killing her.

Jill wants the details about what happened to her daughter in the public domain.

Officers discovered June's torso with missing limbs. The autopsy says the cause of death was traumatic neck injuries and that June suffered approximately 10 "sharp force injuries." One of her arms has never been recovered.

Jill believes baby Regina was in the apartment when June was killed.

The lack of documents in June's home when her body was found made it harder for the US authorities to identify her and she was initially classed as a "Jane Doe" - something Jill finds especially upsetting.

A police document seen by BBC Scotland News suggests that three months after June was killed, police recovered her passport and other paperwork from Renteria's parents. We don't know when or how June's passport may have come into the possession of the Renterias.

Jill says the missing passport delayed the repatriation of her daughter's body: "All the hoops we had to jump through would have been so much easier if we'd had June's passport."

BBC News attempted to contact Renteria's parents to ask them about June's passport and whether they have custody of baby Regina.

Jonathan Renteria's lawyer told us the family would not be answering any of BBC News' questions.

The Los Angeles Police Department declined to provide a statement in relation to the investigation and the District Attorney did not respond to our request for information about the prosecution of Renteria.

Jill says she wants her daughter to be remembered as "very beautiful, very intelligent, very funny, humorous, crazy, kind, loving, passionate".

She visits June's grave in Arran nearly every day and says she finds comfort speaking to her daughter.

"I know we're never going to ger her back, ever, but I just need to know what happened to her...

"June deserved better. Way better."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.