The killing of a mother and her two young children in Virginia last weekend may have stemmed from a response to an argument over infidelity, according to details from a Herndon Police Department search warrant into the case.
Fairfax County police were first called to a parking garage at Reston Town Center just before 6 a.m. on June 19 for reports of a man standing on top of the building. Investigators identified the man as Jose Angel Iraheta Palacios.
Once an officer began talking to Palacios, he allegedly admitted that he killed his girlfriend and her two children at a Herndon apartment on the 500 block of Florida Avenue after an argument about cheating. After Palacios’ admission, police said he jumped from the garage, dying by suicide.
Herndon police went to the apartment upon learning of Palacios’ statement. The property manager let the officers inside the apartment, where they found a woman and her young son and daughter dead.
“All three victims were obviously murdered,” according to the search warrant.
The warrant is also asking for a judge’s permission to look at the woman’s phone, so police can get a clearer picture of what led to the family’s killings.
Police are not releasing the names of the victims.
Palacios has previously been convicted on gang-related charges, according to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.
