The Alarcon family appears inset, on the left, against an image of their home of 15 years in Union, N.J. (Obituary; Google Maps)
New Jersey sheriff’s deputies serving an eviction notice on a family of four found their work transmogrified into a grim and gruesome commentary on the nature of precarity when every member of the family was discovered dead — shot and killed in a triple murder-suicide.
Ruben Alarcon, 51, Andrea Alarcon, 42, Scarlett Alarcon, 9, and Emma Alarcon, 6, were found at their home on Lincrest Terrace by members of the Union County Sheriff’s Department on the morning of Jan. 17. Each family member died from a fatal gunshot wound, according to a press release issued by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
Law enforcement only released the names of the adults who died. The full names of the family were mentioned in their online obituary.
“In tragedies of this magnitude, there are no words that can heal, nor explanations that can serve to make sense of them to the public,” Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said in a statement. “Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of these victims and to the Union community as a whole in the wake of this horrible event.”
Andrea Alarcon shot and killed her husband, then shot and killed her two daughters, before turning the gun on herself, according to the prosecutor’s office and Union Police Department. The murder weapon was located near the murderess’s body when law enforcement arrived late on the morning in question, a joint investigation determined.
A neighbor told New York City-based NBC flagship TV station WNBC that the Alarcon family had lived in the house for 15 years.
That was slated to change in fall 2023 when the bank that owned the title to their house decided to foreclose, according to NJ.com. The residence was sold at a sheriff’s sale in November for $332,000. The Alarcons were then given 60 days to vacate.
“Just walking outside this morning looking and just thinking like oh god I don’t understand what happened,” neighbor David DeCicco told regional cable news channel News 12 New Jersey.
The girls were in the first and third grades when they were killed.
Rafaela Remelgado, a teacher who taught Emma Alarcon in prekindergarten, recalled the younger child as a “petite little girl” with an “amazing family,” in comments to the New York Post.
“I cannot tell you what happened,” she told the Post. “But this was a family that was very caring, loving, nurturing and generous.”
The killer was described as a mother who “was on top of everything.”
Law&Crime reached out to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office and the Union County Sheriff’s Department for additional information but no responses were immediately forthcoming.
“This is a deeply tragic event that has shaken our community to its core,” Union Police Director Christopher Donnelly said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims. We understand that this may be a difficult time for many people, and we encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out for help. Resources are available, and you don’t have to go through this alone.”
A tribute fund for the victims’ extended family, available on the Alarcon’s obituary website, has raised over $24,000 as of this writing.
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