JOHNSTON, R.I. (AP) — Police on Monday charged a man with killing his girlfriend and her adult daughter and then kidnapping her young son, touching off a search that ended when the 2-year-old was found wandering alone outside.
Daniel Rodriguez broke into the home of Evelyn Burgos, 40, on Sunday before fatally shooting her and her 25-year-old daughter, Vanessa Perez, and abducting Isaiah Perez, Johnston Police Chief Richard S. Tamburini said.
Isaiah Perez was found unharmed Sunday night after a police officer spotted him at a public housing complex in Providence, about 10 miles from the town where his mother and sister were killed. He was taken to the hospital and was temporarily placed in the care of state child welfare officials.
Rodriguez, who is either 27 or 28, was arraigned Monday on two counts of murder as well as on burglary, kidnapping and gun charges. He was arrested in Providence on Sunday and is being held without bail; police did not give an address for him. Rodriguez had no comment as he was led out of the Johnston Police Department to be taken to the state prison.
Authorities said Rodriguez is Burgos’ boyfriend but not the boy’s father.
Police initially said another man, Malcolm Crowell, 22, had abducted Isaiah Perez. They included a picture of Crowell in a nationwide Amber Alert that was issued soon after the boy’s abduction.
Crowell was arrested on Sunday in Fall River, Mass., but released on Monday after police determined he had no involvement in the kidnapping or killings. Crowell was Vanessa Perez’s boyfriend and attempted to help authorities find Isaiah Perez, Tamburini said.
“He’s not involved at all,” Tamburini said of Crowell.
Police were still trying to determine how Isaiah Perez ended up alone in Providence, Tamburini said. Police also did not offer a motive for the killings, saying the investigation was ongoing.
Two other children were in the home at the time of the shootings, Tamburini said. One is another son of Burgos and the other is Vanessa Perez’s daughter. Officials said the two children were in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families on Monday but would be released into the care of family members.
The victims’ bodies were discovered about 5:20 a.m. Sunday at a home in suburban Johnston, a town of 30,000 residents outside Providence. The house is in a quiet wooded neighborhood near a reservoir.
Deputy Police Chief Daniel Parrillo said investigators believe the victims were killed between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday. Tamburini said five shots were fired.
(Photo: AP)
