Police discovered a family of four, including two young sons, dead from stab wounds in an Upper West Side apartment in Manhattan.
The tragic event took place at 328 West 86th Street, near Riverside Drive, after a wellness check was requested around 3 pm on Monday, August 28.
NYPD officers, upon arriving at the scene, encountered a deadbolted apartment door with evidence of blood. Upon entering, they found the children, aged three and one, in a bedroom with stab wounds and knives nearby. The 40-year-old mother lay in the hallway, a severe cut on her neck. The father’s body was in another bedroom, a knife close by, with a stab wound to his neck, raising suspicions that he was likely the perpetrator.
The adult male was identified as Edison Lopez, 41. His wife was identified as 40-year-old Aleksandra “Ola” Witek, a NYC school teacher.
EMS personnel pronounced all family members dead at the scene. Investigators retrieved several knives from the scene
Sources indicate Lopez, also the building’s superintendent, had no known criminal history. No prior reports of police interventions at their residence existed.
Long-time resident Jeff Kimmel conveyed his shock and concern about the horrifying incident. The superintendent had lived much of his life in that apartment, taking over after his father, and resided there with his wife and their two young sons, Lucien and Calvin.
After failing to contact the family, Aleksandra’s father, assisted by his brother, peered through the apartment’s peephole, saw his daughter lying motionless on the floor and subsequently dialed 911.
Police say that they learned from his father-in-law that Lopez had taken a superintendent position in Westchester County and the family was required to vacate their Upper West Side apartment by September 1. The apartment at the new job site was not ready, which might have contributed to the superintendent’s stress.