Heartbreaking photos show mom, kids killed in UWS murder-suicide
Heartbreaking social media photos show an Upper West Side mom and her two young sons cuddling just a few months before police said they were stabbed to death by their husband and father, who then turned a knife on himself at their home this week.
Alexandra “Ola” Witek, 40, can be seen cradling her sons – three-year-old Lucien and then-six-month-old Calvin – against her chest while sitting on a bench in a photo uploaded to Facebook on Jan. 3.
“They’re the best,” the doting mom said of her children, in response to a friend’s congratulatory comment.
Another photo from 2016 shows Witek grinning from the edge of a scenic cliffside, while yet more pictures show her happily posing with friends over the years.
Two workers at the family’s West 86th Street apartment building confirmed the images were of Witek, who was found fatally stabbed in her fourth-floor apartment Monday afternoon, along with her two boys.
Police believe Witek’s husband and the boys’ father, building super Edison Lopez, 41, killed his family before fatally stabbing himself, according to law enforcement sources.
The kids’ bodies were so ravaged in the attack that they were initially misidentified as a boy and a girl, the sources said.
Before the baffling suspected murder-suicide, the family had no emergency call history that indicated domestic troubles at home, according to sources.
An acquaintance of the couple’s shared with The Post a photo of Lopez lined up as a groomsman and grinning in an undated image.
The family of four was found when Lopez’s father called Witek’s younger brother after being unable to reach the family since Sunday, sources said.
The pair alerted authorities when they drilled through the apartment lock and saw blood inside.
Lucien and Calvin were subsequently found stabbed to death in the living room with two knives nearby, sources said, while Witek was found in the hallway with a deep neck wound.
Lopez was discovered lying on the bed in a bedroom, also with a stab wound.
A third knife was found laying beside his body, sources said.
The apartment door was locked from the inside, police said.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.