SAN ANTONIO — The police investigation into a March 8 house fire initially believed to have killed a family a four has been officially deemed a murder-suicide case by the San Antonio Police Department.
Authorities responded that morning to a southeast-side home overtaken by flames in the 4400 block of Wrangler Run, where the victims were eventually discovered. They were initially thought to have been killed in the fire, but police later said it appeared to have been "set intentionally" to cover up a crime.
Police now say 44-year-old Alfredo Pescador shot and killed three family members – Blanca Pescador, 40; Leslie Pescador, 19; and Alfredo Pescador Jr., 13 – before setting the house ablaze and taking his own life.
Neighbors told KENS 5 earlier this month they expected the family would be headed to El Paso before learning they were inside the home when the flames sparked.
"Our whole world was turned upside down," relatives said in a statement, adding they created a GoFundMe to bring the victims' bodies back to El Paso.
'Only God knows'
Friends of the family told KENS 5 after the fire that while they were shocked by the incident, they weren't surprised when the investigation pivoted to homicide.
They called Blanca "an amazing mom" who was "all about her kids," and said Leslie had recently enrolled in college with hopes of becoming a police officer.
“Only God knows why things happened the way they did,” a woman said. “The only thing I thank God for is she is with her kids; they were everything to her.”
Another woman also told us her son was friends with Alfredo Jr. She described the seventh-grader as shy but "incredibly sweet."
“My son is just trying to comprehend (what happened),” she said. “All these kids are going to have a hard time grieving. It’s hard for kids to understand. I’m an adult and I don’t even understand.”
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