BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Renee Maese tries to hold back tears as she looks at pictures she took the last time she saw her granddaughter, Serenity Gandara.

"I didn't know that was the last time I was going to ever see my granddaughter. Grandparents don't think of something like that. It didn't cross my mind at the time, but now that I'm thinking about it, I will never see her again. That was the last time I got to spend time with her," she said.

Maese, who is Serenity's paternal grandmother, said it was over a year ago when Serenity, 3, and her 4-year-old brother were taken by Child Protective Services.

They were placed with their biological mother's brother, Alberto Garcia, and his wife, Carla Torres, to be adopted.

"They reassured us they would be fine with them. CPS reassured us they would be fine. We tried to get them to go with other family members of our side of the family," she said.

Maese said CPS told the family the Garcia and Torres were a better match.

A match Maese said now haunts her.

A family member found Serenity dead in her home on Summer Country Drive on Sunday morning, and her brother left alone, according to police.

Torres and Garcia are believed to have fled to Mexico. Just a few days ago they were wanted for questioning, but now police say they are wanted on murder charges.

"The system failed; the system failed. You can't go back and change things. All I can say is that I hope in the future they would look into who they would get for foster parents, and this tragedy would never happen to somebody else's family," said Maese.

Now both families have come together to remember the little girl who was known for always having a smile on her face.

"She was named Serenity for the heavens, and for some reason God wanted another angel," Maese said.

Serenity will be laid to rest Friday morning at 10 a.m. at Greenlawn Cemetery on River Boulevard. The public is welcome to attend.