The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office released the identity of the 71-year-old woman who died in a house fire last year.She's been identified as Beatrice Rodriguez. She died 8 days before her 72nd birthday. On Nov. 20, 202 4, around 11:18 p.m., a fire broke out in Rodriguez's home on 11th Street. According to neighbors, they said her body was found near the back of her home.Six days later, fire investigators ruled the fire was accidental. They believe an extension cord started the blaze that killed Rodriguez inside her home.It was a complete shock to us," friend of Beatrice's Santana Villarreal said. "It was surreal what happened, you know. It was a tragic event. It was difficult to cope with her loss. According to Joe Hayen, the Director of Operations with the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office, the woman's remains were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, where forensic analysts conducted DNA tests on Rodriguez's remains.UNTCHI is also the center that identified the remains of Caleb Harris, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi student who was found in a wastewater lift station on Lexington Road.UNT notified the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday, March 25 that the remains sent to UNT were those of Beatrice Anne Rodriguez, who was lovingly known as Sugar. UNT forensic team identifies the remains of Corpus Christi woman who died in Nov. 2024 house fireNow four months since the fire, friends and family finally have the answers they were looking for.If it had not been for KRIS 6, that intervened, who knows how much longer we would be waiting," Hildago said. According to her niece Sharla Rodriguez, from Austin, Beatrice got the nickname Sugar as a child because she was the youngest sibling in her family.Sharla said her aunt served the Corpus Christi community as a dedicated social worker for over 40 years. She helped those with mental health issues and those battling drug addiction. Rodriguez also helped counsel high-rise pregnant mothers and provided care for geriatric patients in residential facilities."She had a passion to help individuals that had serious medical disorders and serious drug addiction problems," Villarreal said. "She was able to get their lives back together."She was a member of the South Texas Social Worker Society who constantly advocated for her clients. Rodriguez was also known as a gifted musician who played the piano, guitar, and banjo with friends.Her family is planning a memorial service in her honor on Friday, May 2 at St. Theresa Catholic Church at 1302 Lantana St., with her funeral mass beginning at 10 a.m. Friends and family will now be able to celebrate her life and the helping hand she was for the community.I am at peace because I know that now her family is at peace...and all of us too," Hildago said. ...read more read less