The Upper West Side family found massacred in a murder-suicide in their apartment this week died of knife-induced neck wounds, according to the city’s medical examiner.
The findings support authorities’ theory that Edison López, 41, murdered his longtime love Alexandra “Ola” Witek, 40, and the couple’s two children, Lucian, 3, and Calvin, 3. 1 year, before cutting his throat on the inside. the West 86th Street house where she grew up.
The mother and her children died from “sharp injuries” and “incisive wounds,” which are usually clean, sharp cuts made with a razor blade or a piece of glass or, in this case, kitchen knives, according to the police.
The incision wounds are what killed the children, the coroner’s office said.
Witek died from acute wounds to the neck and chest that damaged major blood vessels, according to the autopsy.
Their deaths have been ruled homicides.
Lopez, who worked as the building superintendent after taking over for his father on the job, died of self-inflicted injuries, according to the ME.
The stunning murder-suicide has left family, friends and neighbors in shock after authorities found the four bodies in the apartment near Riverside Drive on Monday afternoon.
Alexandra “Ola” Witek and her two little ones, Lucian, 3 years old, and Calvin, 1 year old, in a Facebook photo.Facebook / Ola Witek
Neighbors have created a small memorial outside the Upper West Side apartment building where Edison Lopez allegedly killed his longtime love and two children before committing suicide.Robert Miller
Lopez’s father, Mario, said he and his wife first discovered the grisly scene when he drilled the lock on the front door of the fourth-floor apartment and saw blood inside.
He said they had not been able to contact the family since Sunday.
“We saw them inside,” Mario, the 66-year-old superintendent of a nearby building, told Gothamist. “They were already dead, whatever happens, maybe it happened the day before.”
Once inside, the police came across a scene of incomparable horror.
The children were so mistreated that officers first mistook one of the couple’s sons for a girl.
Both boys lay in the living room, with two knives by their sides, police sources said. Witek, a school teacher, lay in the hallway with his throat slit.
Authorities found the bodies after Lopez’s mom and dad stumbled across the gruesome crime scene.William Miller
Edison Lopez, 41, allegedly slit his own throat after killing Witek and her two young children. COPY ART
López’s body lay on a bed, with his own throat slit. Another Blade was sitting next to him, according to sources.
Several teachers at Lucian’s school, West Side Family Pre-School, were in tears when they spoke to The Post.
“It’s a shock,” one teacher said as he looked at a memorial with flowers, toy cars and a teddy bear set up outside the apartment building. “We knew the family very well… Ola was the best.”
Witek taught at Rodeph Sholom School, an independent Reform Jewish day school on the Upper West Side. But he had taken some time off after Calvin was born: the little one had just turned one in July.
Witek with his brother Lukas. Facebook / Ola Witek
The couple had known each other for decades: Lopez graduated two years before Witek from Beacon High School, which they both attended.
Lopez’s family declined to speak to The Post this week. Witek’s family could not be located.
A friend who stopped by the memorial on Tuesday told The Post that the senseless tragedy left him sleepless and helpless.
“I just had to come and feel their vibes,” said the friend, who went to high school with the couple. “I’m just horrified by what happened… He wasn’t on medication or drugs that I know of. I have seen him have a beer but nothing excessive.”
“There was a lot of love in him,” the friend said. “The last time we corresponded was when he sent me some photos of his children and he told me how much he loved them.”
Friends and neighbors say Ola, as Witek was known, was a loving mother who had taken time off after the birth of her youngest, Calvin. Facebook / Ola Witek
Lopez did not appear to have a history of mental illness and police said there were no prior 911 calls or reports of domestic violence in the home.
Police and neighbors have said Lopez seemed stressed about a job change — he was leaving his building for a new job in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County — and the big move that would accompany it.
But there seemed to be some problems with his plan. According to police, it was unclear whether his new apartment would be ready when the family had to leave their old one on September 1.
That might have caused Lopez some mental strain, NYPD Deputy Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny told reporters Tuesday, adding that, speaking with relatives and neighbors, they appeared to be a “very stable family, a very loving family.”
Witek and Lucian were found with their throats cut in the apartment. Aleksandra “Ola” Witek & Sons/Gofundme
The couple’s youngest son, Calvin, was also stabbed to death. Aleksandra “Ola” Witek & Sons/Gofundme
Some neighbors also reported that he seemed more stressed than usual.
But others said he was excited for the new opportunity and the chance to put down roots in a house larger than the one-bedroom apartment they had been sharing.
“It was a step forward,” said Richard Allen, a 74-year-old resident who has lived on the sixth floor since 2000.
“It’s a natural thing,” Allen continued. “I talked to him about it; He was happy.”
One tenant said Lopez was still in his Upper West Side apartment because the former Westchester County building manager he was taking over had recently died and the family was still cleaning up their old digs.
“We weren’t asking him to leave,” the tenant said. “He wasn’t under a cloud here. He [had not been ] disciplined. He was here for years. He could have stayed for years.”
“We are all humanly frustrated,” the tenant continued. “Everyone would feel better if they knew what happened. And, more importantly, if they knew why.”
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
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Source: vtt.edu.vn