Family members ID teens found dead in suburban NY park
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Family members have identified the four victims whose bodies were found in a Long Island park earlier this week, reports CBS New York.
According to the station, family members told reporters on Thursday that two of the victims were Jorge Tigre, 18, and Justin Llivicura, 16. On Friday, CBS New York reported that the families of Jefferson Villalobos and Michael Banegas said they were also found dead in the park.
William Tigre told reporters near the scene that an acquaintance told him Wednesday night that his brother Jorge was among those killed. The acquaintance also indicated he knew of the killings because he had been there.
The acquaintance “called saying that my brother was here, dead,” Tigre, 21, said. “He just said, ‘I saw your brother dying, and I escaped.’ That’s the only thing he said. He didn’t say nothing else.”
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Timothy Sini confirmed to The Associated Press that police had begun a missing-person’s investigation for Jorge Tigre on Tuesday. He would not comment on whether the teenager was among those killed, but said that one victim was 16, two were 18, and one was 20 -years-old.
Jefferson Villalobos’ was reportedly visiting the area from Florida and handing out with his cousin, Michael Banegas, when family members say they were killed along with two others.
“Obviously, we’re hurt. We’re distraught in our hearts you know,” said Yency Fuentes, a cousin of Villalobos.
Fuentes and her family were at the murder site laying crosses and flowers on Friday. She said a friend who escaped told them about the attackers.
“A group of them came out with machetes and was yelling at them telling them to kneel down,” she said.
She said Villalobos and Banegas were not gang members, and said the attack may have been directed at someone else.
Police said the killings look like the work of MS-13.
“The manner in which they were killed was consistent with the M.O. of MS-13,” said Commissioner Sini.
Central Islip is just east of Brentwood, where two 16-year-old girls were found beaten to death in September. Subsequently, the bodies of three teen boys were found in the woods.
Investigators linked those murders to MS 13 gang members and arrested eight suspected gang members in March in connection with the brutal killings of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas.
Police have posted a $25,000 fast cash reward for tips that lead to an arrest in the latest killings.