The city Medical Examiner has determined that the family found butchered earlier this week in a grisly murder-suicide all died from bloody neck wounds, according to an autopsy report released on Wednesday. The victims have been identified as Lopez, 41, his fiancee Aleksandra Witek, 40, and their two sons, Lucian, 3, and Calvin, 1.
The autopsy confirmed the suspicions of the New York Police Department (NYPD) that the four were victims of a murder-suicide. Lopez’s injuries were determined to be self-inflicted. The medical examiner stated that Lopez fatally stabbed Aleksandra and the two children before slitting his own throat inside their fourth-floor apartment.
Lopez worked as a superintendent in the building where the incident occurred; a position passed down to him by his father. The bodies were discovered by Lopez’s father around 2:50 p.m. on Monday. Autopsies revealed that the two children, found dead in the living room, had died from “incised wounds to the neck.” Aleksandra suffered “sharp force injuries” to the neck and chest, including injury to major blood vessels.
Relatives and friends of the family expressed shock at the tragic deaths. They described Lopez as an upbeat neighbor and a doting father often seen walking the neighborhood with his two children. Lopez had recently secured a new job as a superintendent in an apartment building in Hastings-On-Hudson, Westchester County. However, their apartment at the new job site was not yet ready for them, according to NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are looking into whether the delay in moving to the new apartment played a role in the incident. There were no prior indications of problems in the household, such as domestic violence reports or 911 calls.
Alex Hawkins, a close friend of Lopez for years, expressed disbelief at the violent end that befell Lopez’s family. She described him as kind-hearted and boisterous, making the tragedy difficult to comprehend.
