Hector and Larissa Flores, the husband and wife found buried behind their Litchfield Park home, worked in health care and higher education, according to their employers.
Larissa Flores worked for Circle the City, a nonprofit that provides health care to people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County. Hector Flores was an associate professor of management and human resources at Cal Poly Pomona in Southern California.
Circle the City described Larissa Flores as a “cherished member” of the organization who treated patients with “compassion, warmth, and dignity every single day," said Director of Marketing and Communications Hunter Scott in a statement.
“Her impact will be felt for years to come," Scott said.
Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business
Administration told faculty in an email that Hector Flores, an associate professor of management and human resources, had died.
Flores joined Cal Poly Pomona in 2015 and taught strategic management, senior project and internship courses, according to the email. He also served on university committees and represented faculty through the California Faculty Association.
Flores had taught last spring semester and was scheduled to teach this fall, the email said.
Before entering academia, Flores spent more than a decade with International Paper and held leadership positions, including as general manager of Temple-Inland in Phoenix, according to the email.
Avondale police identified Hector and Larissa Flores on Aug. 11 after investigators found two bodies buried behind their home during an investigation that began with an Aug. 4 welfare check. Their causes and manners of death remained pending, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office.
Police identified their son, Matthew Christopher Flores Semyonov, as a suspect. The U.S. Marshals Service is leading an international search for him.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Colleagues mourn couple found buried at Litchfield Park home
