Three "edge weapons" were used to carry out a gruesome slaying of six family members in their home in the Gage Park neighborhood of Chicago, police said.
Police found the bodies around 1 p.m. last Thursday when they were called to a small brick house in the 5700 block of South California Avenue after one of the men failed to show up for work.
Five of the six — 58-year-old Rosaura Martinez; her 60-year-old husband, Noe Martinez Sr.; their 38-year-old son, Noe Martinez Jr.; and the couple's grandchildren,13-year-old Leonardo Cruz and 10-year-old Alexis Cruz — died from either multiple sharp force or multiple sharp and blunt force wounds, police said.
Three types of knives or other bladed cutting instruments were used to carry out most of the killings, according to police, but those weapons were not recovered from the crime scene.
The young children's mother, 32-year-old Maria Herminia Martinez, died of multiple gunshot wounds, police said. A rifle gun was recovered from the home but is not believed to have been used in her shooting, police said.
Authorities are reviewing hours of surveillance video from CTA buses and nearby city cameras for evidence in the investigation. Police said they are closer to ruling out at least one theory on a motive for the slayings of three generations of family members. It's not clear who killed them.
Investigators continue to interview family members coming from Mexico with the aid of the Mexican Consulate in Chicago, which is working to bring the victims’ bodies to Mexico for burial.
The surviving family of the victims has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover funeral and burial expenses. As of Thursday morning it had raised more than $26,000.
A memorial in front of the home on Chicago’s Southwest Side continues to grow with candles, pictures of the victims and prayers.
