A Pennsylvania man who was accused of murder last month was officially charged on Monday with also killing the victim’s wife and 1-year-old son.
WCAU reported that Jose Rodriguez, 61, is charged with murdering Geraldina Peguero-Mancebo, 31, Junior Cabrera-Colon, 31, and their son, Jeyden Peguero. Reading police said Rodriguez shot the couple because Peguero-Mancebo would not leave Cabrera-Colon for him.
Rodriguez was accused of killing Peguero-Mancebo and her son on September 12, a day before Cabrera-Colon. Rodriguez reportedly picked up the mother and son in Reading and drove them to Ontelaunee Township, where he fatally shot Peguero-Mancebo as she held her son.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams claimed that Rodriguez then drove Peguero-Mancebo’s toddler son down the street, threw him face down in a shallow pond, and left him to die, according to WPVI.
“The defendant indicated to detectives that he was infuriated because he said that Geraldina was taking his money, and he admitted that he shot Geraldina in the back of the head,” Adams said.
Cabrera-Colon, Peguero-Mancebo, and Rodriguez worked together at a warehouse. Peguero-Mancebo’s apartment application listed Rodriguez as her husband — though apartment staff said they never saw him. Investigators determined that Cabrera-Colon was Peguero-Mancebo’s actual husband, but Rodriguez allowed her to list him as her husband on the application because Cabrera-Colon would not pass a background check.
A day after the mother and son’s murders, Rodriguez allegedly shot and killed Cabrera-Colon during an argument in Reading. Rodriguez reportedly confessed to killing Cabrera-Colon after confronting him about his involvement with his wife.
Rodriguez claimed Cabrera-Colon brandished a gun — which Rodriguez said he kicked out of Cabrera-Colon’s hands before picking it up and shooting him in the back of the head.
On September 13, Cabrera-Colon’s was found fatally shot in the head in some brush in Berks County. At the time, his wife and son were missing, but police had arrested Rodriguez on September 18 for Cabrera-Colon’s slaying.
On September 19, Peguero-Mancebo’s body was discovered 150 yards apart in a grassy area in Ontelaunee Township. The following day, Peguero was found partially submerged in a marshy area 150 yards from his mother.
An autopsy which listed the toddler’s cause of death as drowning also noted that mud was in his lungs, according to WPVI.
According to WCAU, Rodriguez showed detectives where he hid Peguero-Mancebo’s purse and cellphone. He reportedly also led them to the gun he used to kill her.
It is unclear whether Rodriguez will face the death penalty, though officials said it is a possibility. He remains jailed without bond.
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