UWS murder-suicide family identified as building super, wife and sons

The Upper West Side family found dead Monday afternoon in what police believe was a murder-suicide have been identified as the apartment building’s superintendent, his wife and young sons, law enforcement sources said – noting that one of the boy’s bodies was so bloodied that they were initially misidentified as a girl.

Edison Lopez, 41, is believed to have stabbed his wife, 40-year-old Alexandra Witek, and their two young sons before taking his own life, police insiders told The Post.

The 3- and 1-year-old boys’ bodies, in particular, were in such terrible condition when they were found Monday afternoon that investigators initially misidentified them as a boy and a girl, they added.

Prior to the killings, the family had no emergency call history indicating any domestic strife, the sources said.

Lopez, Witek, and their sons were found in their home on West 86th Street near Riverside Drive around 3 p.m. Monday, when Lopez’s father called Witek’s younger brother after being unable to contact the family since Sunday, the sources continued.


The medical examiner's office removes one of the four bodies found at an Upper West Side apartment on Monday.
The medical examiner’s office removes one of the four bodies found at an Upper West Side apartment on Monday.
William Miller

The brother, who is the superintendent of a nearby building, alerted authorities when the pair drilled out the lock of the apartment and saw blood inside.

First responders initially discovered the two children in the living room with several stab wounds and two knives nearby, the sources said.

Witek’s body was found in the hallway with a deep cut to her neck, they continued, while Lopez was found lying on a bed in a bedroom.


Police gather outside the family's home after the bodies were found.
Police gather outside the family’s home after the bodies were found.
William Miller

The building where the killings took place.
Edison Lopez was the superintendent of the West 86th Street apartment building where his family lived.
James Messerschmidt for NY Post

The father of two also had a stab wound to his neck and there was a knife next to him.

All found individuals were pronounced dead at the scene.

The apartment deadbolt was locked from the inside, police said.


A distraught onlooker reacts to news of the family's death on Monday afternoon.
A distraught onlooker reacts to news of the family’s death on Monday afternoon.
James Messerschmidt for NY Post

The family has no known criminal history, and there is no record of police being called to their home in the past, sources said.