Andrea Rebello (Facebook)
Weeping mourners said tearful good-byes today to a beautiful Hofstra University coed, as cops continued their probe into why a career criminal targeted her house for a violent robbery.
Loved ones of Andrea Rebello, 21, packed St. Theresa of Avila in Sleepy Hollow to honor the young woman shot in the head early Friday morning in a house blocks away from Hofstra.
“During this tragedy a question comes to mind – why? Why Andrea, in the flower of her youth, she left us,” the Rev. Osvaldo Franklin told mourners.
“She was a good girl and, like [twin sister] Jessica [Rebello] she was a good student.”
Mourners lit brightly colored ceremonial candles — purple, yellow, white and red — to honor the fallen student.
Purple signifies grief, yellow the courage to confront sorrow, white the fond memories of Rebello and red the love mourners have for her, according to a eulogist.
“Andrea and Jessica were always smiling,” Franklin said. “They came from a family with good family values.”
Career con Dalton Smith, 30, busted into the rented house where Rebello and her pals lived in the early morning hours Friday.
The armed Smith ordered one of the housemates to go to an ATM and get cash.The terrified girl called 911 after her escape, drawing cops to the California Avenue house in Uniondale.
Nassau Police Officer Nikolas Budimlic went inside and confronted Smith, who had Rebello in a headlock and threatened to kill her, police said.
That’ when Budimlic fired eight rounds, seven that killed Smith and one that accidentally struck Rebello, authorities have said.
Cops are still trying to figure out why Smith picked Rebello’s house for the home invasion.
The decorated cop, who fired the deadly shots, has been inconsolable since last week’s tragedy. Budimlic’s union rep defended him, and put all the blame on Smith.
“There is some second guessing by people who think we should have stayed outside the house, but our job is to get inside and make sure we can protect as many people as we can,” said James Carver, president of the Nassau County Patrolman’s Benevolent Association.
Budimlic has been on sick leave, as police retrace all his steps from that violent confrontation.
“The officer sends his thoughts and prayers to the victim,” Carver said. “He is a religious man and has a strong family background, and he has a lot of support from his family and friends. And that is what he needs right now.”
During eulogies at Rebello’s funeral Mass, one of the housemates she loved living with Rebello.
“Living with you was the best choice I ever made. I was even able to convince others that we were triplets,” she said of of Andrea and Jessica Rebello.
“I’ll never forget the countless nights the three of us would sleep in my bed, because we didn’t want to sleep alone.”
A sorority sister of Rebello’s, who helped her get into Beta Sigma Pi, said the bubbly twin was a social hit from the start.
“Your first words for me were, `Are you sure it’s OK to meet everyone?’ As nervous as you were, I couldn’t wait to introduce you to the sorority. I knew I saw something special in you the moment we met,” the Beta Sigma Pi sister said.
“You always use to thank me for having your back. Now it’s time to thank you for having my back.”
With Post Wire Services. Additional reporting by David K. Li