A Dominican man is suspected of murdering a family in their home in New York state after arriving in the country illegally and obtaining a fake ID.
The bodies of two adults and two children were found inside a burning home in Irondequoit, near Rochester, on August 31. It took almost two days to assess the scene and identify those killed.
Fraime Ubaldo, 30, Marangely Moreno-Santiago, 26, and their children Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno, 4, and Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno, 2, were all declared deceased by emergency responders.
“This was a horrific scene. In almost 32 years of doing this job, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Irondequoit Police Chief Scott Peters said at a press conference on September 2.
On Friday, the Irondequoit Police Department said it had made an arrest on September 7 and had subsequently charged Julio Cesar Pimentel Soriano, 34, with four counts of first-degree murder.
The Dominican man was believed to have entered the United States illegally through Puerto Rico and obtained a fraudulent New York state ID, which allowed him access to the mainland.
Newsweek reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement via email for comment on Friday afternoon.
Julio Cesar Pimentel Soriano, 34, was charged on September 13 with four counts of first-degree murder, after a family was killed in northern New York. Soriano is a known fugitive from the Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic National Police
Soriano is wanted for another murder in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and is listed as a fugitive by the Dominican Republic National Police.
ICE often steps in in criminal cases involving illegal immigrants, seeking to take custody once released by local law enforcement.
Chief Peters said on September 2 that limited information could be released on the manner of the family’s deaths, but said multiple fires were set in the home to potentially cover up the deaths.
“When you murder innocent children, there is no excuse for it,” Peters said.
The chief said he could not state whether the attack was targeted or random, but he told reporters that the home was on a quiet street (Knapp St.) with few reported problems.
Officials said the call for the house fire came in around 5:20 a.m. ET and crews arrived within minutes.
“Firefighters immediately began to search. They started where we would most likely find victims in a house fire—in bedrooms, sleeping presumably,” Fire Chief Shane Metcalfe said.
“They searched the second floor, searched the first floor and found some different fires throughout the building and ultimately found the deceased victims in the basement.”
Police said Friday that they were still limited in what they could say on the case as it was an active investigation.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
