Family of Missing Hiker Shot Dead by Boyfriend Holds 'No Grudges' Against Him as It's Revealed She Was Apparently Injured

It appears it was an impossible choice, a choice that led to two young lovers dying in each other’s arms under a tree in California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

The family of Rachel Nguyen, who was shot dead by boyfriend Joseph Orbeso, say they do not hold the 22-year-old responsible for his girlfriend’s death.

Nguyen and Orbeso were found dead and locked in an embrace three months after going missing. Both died of gunshot wounds — Orbeso’s were self-inflicted — in what investigators believe was a “sympathetic murder-suicide,” Nguyen’s family previously said in a statement.

“We thank God that we’ll be able to give Rachel a proper burial and lay her to rest,” Son Nguyen, Rachel’s uncle, told The Desert Sun on Saturday, adding: “Her parents … and myself are united, believing in the detective’s accounts of this being a sympathetic murder-suicide. We hold no grudges against Joseph or the Orbeso family.”

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Nguyen also shared the harrowing details of what may have happened before Rachel’s death.

“Rachel possibly injured herself sliding down a cliff and Joseph went after her and took care of her,” he said, adding that her T-shirt was wrapped around her head like a bandage and Orbeso took his shirt off and put it over her legs to protect them from the sun and heat.

According to Nguyen’s uncle, investigators think Rachel and Joseph reached a point where they wanted to ease their pain due to their lack of water and her distress from the apparent head injury.

“It was a hot day. I wish they had been better prepared. Until you are in the same situation … you don’t know how you would react,” he said of his niece, whom he described as an “average girl trying to make her way through young adulthood.”

On Friday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE: “Based on evidence located at the scene, detectives believe Orbeso shot Nguyen, then shot himself.” Orbeso brought a handgun that was registered to him.

Gilbert Orbeso, Joseph’s father, and members of the Joshua Tree Search and Rescue discovered the bodies on Oct. 15 after hiking for 12 days straight when the two were first reported missing. Gilbert was with the group that discovered the remains on Oct. 15.

“We are all very fortunate and relieved to have a proper and peaceful memorial service for Joseph and Rachel. God bless both of them and all the people they have touched,” Gilbert told The Desert Sun.