Illegal immigrant charged with killing New York family found in burning home

Police in upstate New York said Friday that they charged an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic with murder after a family of four were found slain inside of a burning home.

Irondequoit police accused Julio Cesar Pimentel Soriano, 34, of killing two parents and their two young children last month in a “heinous attack” that raised authorities’ suspicions after the victims were found without burn-related injuries in the house fire.

Officials didn’t describe what kind of wounds the family suffered, but Police Chief Scott Peters said during a press conference earlier this month that “It was a horrific scene. In almost 32 years of doing this job, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The victims were identified as Fraime Ubaldo, 30; Marangely Moreno-Santiago, 26; Evangeline Ubaldo-Moreno, 4, and two-year-old Sebastian Ubaldo-Moreno.

The department also said Mr. Soriano is wanted in connection with a 2019 slaying in his home country.

Authorities said the suspect arrived in Puerto Rico illegally and obtained a fake New York state ID, allowing him to travel to the U.S.

Police originally responded to the Aug. 31 home fire around 5:30 a.m.

Fire Chief Shane Metcalf said crew members first searched the burning home’s bedrooms for the victims.

Firefighters found multiple active fires throughout the home, but didn’t find the family until they checked out the basement.

“At that point, obviously, with the suspicious nature of what they had encountered, all the fire department personnel [got] out and then turned the incident over to the police department,” Chief Metcalf said on Sept. 2.

Irondequoit is a suburb of Rochester.