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A family of four, including two kids, were found dead inside their burning home — but it was not smoke or flames that killed them, authorities said.
Police and firefighters in Irondequoit, New York, responded to reports of a possible house fire on Saturday morning. Firefighters rushed inside to battle the blaze, but found there was no one left to save; the family was already dead.
Fraime Ubaldo, 30, his partner Marangely Moreno-Santiago, 26, and their two children, Evangeline, 4 and Sebastian, 2, all died at the scene. Their deaths were ruled homicides, meaning a person — not the fire or smoke — is believed to have caused their deaths.
The fire, as investigators later theorized, was likely lit to destroy the victims' bodies. During their initial response, firefighters found that multiple blazes had been set throughout the house, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.
Irondequoit Fire Chief Shane Metcalf said the fire was still under investigation while the town's Police Chief, Scott Peters, vowed to "bring these monsters to justice." So far, authorities have not made any arrests in connection to the family’s death.
“This was a horrific scene,” Peters told the Associated Press. “In almost 32 years doing this job, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He confirmed to Rochester First that police knew the family's cause of death, but was not ready to release the information to the public. He added the family’s injuries were not consistent with that of a fire.
Peters said the family was well known in the community and that their deaths have shaken up their former neighbors.
“[Neighbors] know that the family that lives there have been wonderful people, very nice,” he said. “I hate to use the term that it’s an ‘isolated incident,’ but this was not a random act.”
Police have thus far have revealed few potential leads to the public. No one in the family had any criminal history, and there were no suspects taken into custody in the aftermath of the fire.
Peters could not specify how many suspects are believed to have been involved in the killing, and has not determined a motive as of Monday.
Whatever the cause, Peters has vowed to solve the case, and seemed disturbed by the brutality shown to the children that were found inside the smoking home. He provided Rochester First with a vague sense of what the scene looked like inside.
“Mom was being a mom protecting her children, and dad, I can’t say. But, nobody should ever be able to do this or could ever think they could do that to a child. Let’s just leave it at that,” he told the reporters. “This is Labor Day. It’s supposed to be a joyous time spending time off with your family. This family doesn’t have that anymore. This [case] will be resolved. This will be something our department will work on 100 percent. We won’t stop until we do solve it.
