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FARMINGTON — Like many young boys, Kinyein Jereil Martinez loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and professional wrestling.

His aunt, Rustina Anderson, said he talked about being a bull-riding cowboy when he grew up.

“It was just heartbreaking to hear what happened to him,” Anderson said.

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Kinyein died alongside his mother Sharilynn NovaDawn Rustin two days before Christmas in a mobile home fire on County Road 7050 south of Farmington.

Kinyein’s birthday was Monday. He would have been 5 years old.

FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said Monday the bureau is assisting Shiprock Police Department in the fire investigation because it occurred on the Navajo Nation.

On Dec. 23, the day of the fire, Aldeena Lopez told The Daily Times that her son, Calvin Martinez, found himself trapped with his two boys and wife inside the burning mobile home shortly after midnight.

Martinez managed to save himself and his six-year-old son, Eilandrith, by crawling out of a window, Lopez said. But he was unable to reenter the home and save his 4-year-old son and wife. Chief Doug Hatfield of the San Juan County Fire Department said on the day of the fire that officials suspected that a wood-burning stove ignited the blaze.

Calvin Martinez was treated at San Juan Regional Medical Center for minor burns to his hands and ears, Lopez said.

He and Eilandrith are currently staying at a family member’s home while they search for a new place to live.

Lopez said community support for the family has been tremendous.

“As a family, we struggle to make ends meet,” she said, crying. “But when something like this happens — you don’t expect the community to help so much.”

She said officials from the American Red Cross have stayed in touch with the family and provided clothing, food and personal hygiene items.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 400 W. Apache St. in Farmington, has provided emotional and spiritual support and community members have donated money to help pay for living and death expenses.

She said that distant relatives living in New York heard about the tragedy and donated money.

Lopez said of the two young brothers, Kinyein was the outspoken one.

“He was the outgoing one that would sometimes speak for (Eilandrith),” Lopez said. “If we couldn’t understand his brother, (Kinyein) would sometimes tell us what he was saying.”

Lopez said Eilandrith is handling the loss of his younger brother the best he can.

“His dad and other family members talk to him and let him know what is going on,” Lopez said.

Rustin was 24 years old when she died.

Anderson said she and her sister were raised in the mountains near Whiteriver, Ariz.

Rustin loved animals and the outdoors, so much so that her mother teasingly called her “cat lady.”

Anderson said she would talk with her sister regularly by telephone. She last saw Rustin the day before Thanksgiving.

Anderson said Rustin loved Calvin Martinez — “her soulmate” — with all her heart.

Lopez said Rustin was like one of her own children.

“She was a really sweet girl,” Lopez said. “My family had really grown close to her.”

Donations to the family can be delivered to the Bank of the Southwest’s main branch on 320 W. Main St. in Farmington. The donation account, in Lopez’s name, is No. 3133748.

Steve Garrison covers crime and courts for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4644 and stgarrison@daily-times.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveGarrisonDT on Twitter.

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