Quadruple Murders in Upstate New York Have Similarities to 2014 Case

By Jack Phillips
December 28, 2017 Last Updated: December 28, 2017
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The details surrounding a quadruple-murder in Upstate New York are notably similar to another murder in 2014—that took place only a few miles away.

Police have not identified a suspect in the murders over the Christmas weekend in Troy, New York. The victims were two women and one of the women’s two children. Their names have not been released.

“We are certainly appealing to people in the community that would have any knowledge as to what may have transpired there to contact us as soon as possible,” Police Chief James Tedesco told reporters, reported the New York Post.

The causes of deaths for the four people were not revealed, but reports say the murders were “savage.”

“There are indications at the crime scene that this was not a random act,” Tedesco said, according to the Albany Times-Union newspaper. “After being in this business for almost 42 years, I can’t describe the savagery of this. I don’t have the word.”

“It was the number of people killed, the manner in which they were killed,” Tedesco continued. “And the children being involved.”

Tedesco added that the victims were an 11-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, and two adult women, ages 22 and 36, Fox43 reported.

Troy Police Capt. Dan DeWolf told WTEN that he thinks the deaths are an isolated incident. He called on residents to stay vigilant, however.

“Unfortunately, it’s horrible, terrible, sad — especially at this time of the year — that there’s four deceased folks in there,” he told the outlet. “We’re going to do everything we can to look into this and get to the bottom of what happened here.”

Police, in reports, seemed to indicate that the suspects or suspects were known to the family.

In 2014, police discovered four bodies of two children and their parents in Guilderland, located a few miles from Troy. They were later identified as in Feng Chen, 39; wife, Hai Yan Li, 38; and sons, Anthony, 10; and Eddy, 7.

“There’s nothing that we’re not looking at,” New York state police Senior Investigator John Camp said at the time. “We’re trying to see: Is it human trafficking? Is it money laundering? Is it gang related? We’re basically leaving no leaf unturned.”

The Chinese family had been savagely killed in a similar manner as the family that was found dead over the weekend.

“We all believe that the house and the people were targeted,” Marcel Lajoy, who is an attorney who lived two homes down from where murders occurred, was quoted in 2015 by the NY Post as saying.

Officials were never able to figure out the motive in the 2014 case. The suspect was never discovered.

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