Border Death Backstory

When 22-year-old Francisco Javier Domín- guez was shot to death last year by a US border patrol agent, his funeral made the papers all over Mexico, and so did the days-long ritual where his family and neighbors in that country recited the rosary.

Thousands of miles north, others grieved under the radar of the press. They were connected with Bear Naked, one of the biggest granola companies in the United States. It was launched six years ago in Darien, Connecticut, by 23-year-old Kelly Flatley and a friend from high school, Brendan Synnott, a talent manager at Saturday Night Live. The two pooled a few thousand dollars and an idea for remaking granola's image: from aging hippie grub to sporty, youthful nibble. They were spectacularly successful. Late last year they sold their business to a Kellogg's subsidiary in a reportedly lucrative deal.

Until he died Domínguez was employed at Bear Naked's kitchen, in Stamford. His co-workers, who loved him, were also Latino immigrants. Company co-owner Flatley spent a lot of time in the kitchen, too. She knew Domínguez well and mourned alongside the workers.

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