Shockwaves continue to be felt on Upper West Side following murder-suicide that left family of 4 dead
NEW YORK -- More has been learned about Monday's family tragedy on the Upper West Side, where police say a father stabbed his fiancée and two young children to death before fatally stabbing himself.
CBS New York spoke with people who were in the building when the bodies were discovered.
Two toy cars anchored a small makeshift memorial outside 328 W. 86th St. for 3-year-old Lucien Lopez and his 1-year-old brother, Calvin.
"Just devastated by the whole thing. I mean, two little kids," one building resident said. "They would go out every day. Either he would wheel them or she would. They had a normal life. So to hear it was a murder suicide ..."
READ MORE: NYPD: Family of 4 found stabbed to death in apartment on Upper West Side
Police were called to the building at around 3 p.m. on Monday. There, they found the two boys, along with their 40-year-old mother, Alexandra Witek, stabbed to death, police said at the hands of their father, 41-year-old Edison Lopez.
Officials said Lopez was also found dead, with self-inflicted stab wounds.
Investigators found bloody kitchen knives at the scene and no signs of a break-in.
"When things started unraveling you got sick because it's a 1- and 3-year-old and it all unraveled right in front of me because I live on the ground floor," resident Jeff Kimmel said.
Lopez grew up in the building when his father was the superintendent. Lopez then served as the building's super and had just taken a new job in the Westchester County town of Hastings-on-Hudson. His last day at the Upper West Side building was supposed to be on Friday.
"It was a good move for him and family. We were happy for them. I just spoke to him Thursday to congratulate him and he seemed happy about it," Kimmel said. "It was your typical Upper West Side family, happy as can be, strolling to Riverside Park or wherever."
Investigators returned to the scene of the crime on Tuesday morning, still trying to uncover what happened and why.
On a GoFundMe page, Witek's family said she was a devoted stay-at-home mother and former New York City teacher.
