Sheriff: Four people held in relation to Turnpike killings

One is suspected of doing actual shooting.

The Associated Press
Posted October 27, 2006, 11:49 AM EDT


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WEST PALM BEACH -- At least one of four suspects held on federal drug charges is believed to have fatally shot a family found dead along Florida's Turnpike two weeks ago, the St. Lucie County sheriff said Friday.

Sheriff Ken Mascara would not identify which one of the suspects is believed to have shot Jose Luis Escobedo, 28, Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, 25, and the couple's sons, Luis Julian, 4, and Luis Damian, 3. But he told The Associated Press that it appeared those responsible for the killings were in custody.

Earlier at a news conference, he said the four suspects were arrested Wednesday on unrelated drug charges, but were now "persons of interest" in the killings.

He identified them as Lianna Lopez, 18, of Greenacres, and West Palm Beach residents Daniel Troya, 23, Danny Varela, 26, and Ricardo Sanchez, 23. They had not been charged with the killings, he said.

Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Jeannette Moran said the four were charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and were scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court Friday in Fort Pierce. She did not have details of the allegations against them.

The family's bodies were found Oct. 13 in a grassy area off the turnpike near Port St. Lucie, about 100 miles north of Miami. No motive has been revealed.

Mascara said the investigation of the deaths quickly led them to believe this was a deliberate act on the family for drugs, money or both. He said Jose Manuel Escobedo, the brother of Jose Luis Escobedo, was involved in a significant heroin distribution organization and is believed to be a fugitive in Mexico.

Investigators believe the family's Jeep was pulled to the side of the highway and that someone inside the vehicle shot the family and drove away. Authorities have said the victims appeared to be lying down or kneeling when they were shot. The woman was found clutching her two sons in an apparent effort to protect them.

The bodies were reported by a passer-by who spotted them along the highway.

The family's Jeep was found abandoned 70 miles south in West Palm Beach three days after the killings.

The family had moved to the Palm Beach County town of Greenacres in June from the Brownsville, Texas, area, where authorities were also interviewing witnesses and chasing down leads.

At least seven state, local and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation.

On Thursday, St. Lucie County authorities said they were looking for a 1999 red Dodge conversion van and its owner in connection with the killings, but they declined to give details of any possible link.

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Associated Press writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.

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