The family of four found dead inside their Upper West Side apartment in what police described as a murder-suicide has been identified, as more details of the tragic case are revealed.
The bodies of all four people were discovered with knife wounds in the fourth-floor unit on West 86th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue around 3 p.m. Monday. Police had been called to the building to help perform a wellness check on the family, and after gaining access to the apartment, officers found a man, a woman and two young boys.
Police identified the father as 41-year-old Edison Lopez, who neighbors said worked as the building superintendent. Many residents said they knew him for years and grew up in the building before taking over the post from his father.
Investigators said Lopez's father had not heard from the family since Sunday morning, so he and the wife's brother went to check on the family. They removed the peephole from the door to look inside, which is when they saw three bodies on the ground, police said.
The bodies of Lopez's wife, 40-year-old Alexandra Witek, as well as his two sons, 3-year-old Lucien Lopez and 1-year-old Calvin Lopez, were found inside the home as well. The mother and two children were found with multiple stab wounds and their throats cut, according to police, with two knives next to their bodies.
The father was found dead in bed with his throat cut as well, with a knife next to him, police said. No note was left behind offering any explanation or motive for the heartbreaking killings.
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The building remained an active crime scene for hours as detectives and the city's medical examiner continued their inspection of the apartment. The official manners of death for the wife and two boys were ruled as homicides, while the husband's was found to be suicide, according to the medical examiner's office.
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Police said the family had been on a playdate with another family at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum earlier in the day prior to the killings. There had been no indication of any trouble at that point.
Residents were shocked to hear about the death of a man they had come to know for many years. One woman said the 41-year-old man had recently accepted a new job at a building in Westchester and planned to move his family. They had to be out of their home by Sept. 1, but the new job was not yet ready to him start, and the family move in, by that time.
"He kept things in check, he was reliable, as a super. I'm telling you, we all really liked him," neighbor Jeff Kimmel said.
Lopez had no previous arrests or history of mental illness, according to police. The only prior involvement with police came when he called about a trespasser at the building a few years ago, and may have helped make a burglary report for a tenant.
Flowers and toy cars now sit outside the building in memory of the two children.
An investigation is ongoing.
