Dina Lauro says when the love of her life, Brian Hiltebeitel, walked into her life he took her breath away.
"He was walking in the corridor, and I was walking down the steps and he's so handsome and I saw him, and I was like, 'Oh god, who's this guy coming in here,'" she said.
At the time, Dina and Brian were both living in Philadelphia in the same apartment building. Six months of friendship turned into 17 years of love.
"Just such a good, good person, he was exciting to be with, always in a good mood, never depressed, wake up happy," she said.
Dina would eventually move to Florida to work as a chef. Brian would soon follow. They would ultimately go into business together and open up Chunkie Dunkie to Dina's Vegan Deli & Desserts.
Lauro says on a typical day before work, Brian would go golfing in the morning. But early Monday, he helped a friend out.
She says that's why he was at Sandhill Crane Golf Club in the afternoon. Less than 24 hours after his alleged murder on that course, Dina is struggling to make sense of it all.
"Cause it's the shock, he's always there. Brian is my right arm," she said.
Dina's family loved Brian, and he loved them.
"Dina said the other day, she said I've never been so happy. He just made us happy; he was just the best guy ever," Dina's mother, Nancy Lauro, said.
Dina says the best way to describe how she's feeling at the moment is numb.
"I don't know how I'm doing. I'm just taking it moment by moment, that's what I'm going to do, that's the plan," she said.
