Avondale police had the simple task of conducting a welfare check on a couple and their adult son seemingly missing from their home in Litchfield Park.
But that routine check quickly turned into something more insidious when police found two unidentified bodies buriedin the backyard and evidence that their son had fled the country.
Avondale officers first entered the home on Aug. 4 with the help of a family member when they noticed signs of foul play, according to Officer Daniel Benavidez, a department spokesperson.
Since then, officers have given sparse updates on the case.
Officers found a large amount of blood inside the home, along with signs that someone had tried to conceal it, though Benavidez wouldn't say in what manner.
The decomposing bodies
found buried in the backyard remained unidentified as of Aug. 6, but Benavidez said Matthew Flores, 27, was a suspect in the homicide investigation. Investigators believe Flores fled the country before officers conducted the welfare check, though Benavidez said detectives did not know how he left the country or where he went.
Police recovered the bodies but had not identified them, and autopsies were still pending, according to Jenny Chavez, another Avondale police spokesperson. Chavez clarified that no deceased animals were found inside the home. The U.S. Marshals Service and FBI were also assisting with the investigation.
The Phoenix police homicide unit was assisting in the investigation.
Litchfield Park is located about 16 miles west of downtown Phoenix with a population of about 6,850, according to the city's website.
Beige homes with well-tidied yards and various landscaping styles lined the streets, with hardly any foot traffic aside from news camera people lugging equipment from their vehicles along with the occasional officer.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Avondale police at 623-333-7001.
Neighbors shocked by discovery of buried bodies
Nabeel Ilyas, who lives across the street from the home where police conducted their investigation, said he did not notice anything suspicious before officers conducted an initial welfare check.
Ilyas said he often saw the husband outside working on one of his cars, though the two rarely spoke beyond a friendly greeting. Although Matthew Flores was later confirmed to live at the home, Ilyas said he rarely saw him around the neighborhood.
"Maybe if he was, like, driving in or whatever," Ilyas said. "I used to see the dad more."
Ilyas said that was common for the neighborhood whose residents mostly went about their own lives for the most part.
"People don't even trick-or-treat here," Ilyas said. "It's very quiet."
Ilyas said he spoke with detectives in the days before and provided footage from his doorbell camera, which captured part of the street. Officers removed the police tape around the home on the evening of Aug. 6, he added.
Crystal Potter, 49, said she had been neighbors with the Flores family for 17 years and wished she had been closer with them and more connected to the surrounding community.“I wish I knew them better,” Potter said, “We can't always prevent terrible things from happening, but we can choose to know our neighbors to look out for one another, and to create a community where people feel seen, supported, and valued.”Potter said her now-ex-husband had worked with Flores' mother, though the two never interacted outside of work.
“That’s the sad thing, when we talked about the tragedy, he had no idea, I had no idea, there was no real connection," Potter said, “but there could have been, and that could’ve changed everything.”As a mother of four, Potter understands the struggles of parenting, and how isolating it can sometimes be with solving issues within your home and without a community.After the tragic events that occurred in her own neighborhood, Potter hopes to restore a sense of community within the area.“This tragedy has made me reflect on how important strong families and strong communities really are," Potter said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mystery pervades case of unidentified bodies found in Litchfield Park
