The man suspected of murdering his parents inside their Litchfield Park home before fleeing the country underwent strange behavioral changes before the deadly incident, according to an Avondale police report.
Another son of Hector and Larissa Flores contacted Avondale police on Aug. 4 to report that he hadn’t heard from his mother since July 29, which he found odd as he and his mother texted each other daily, and asked that police conduct a welfare check.
When calls to the couple and Matthew Flores Semyonov — a son who had been living with them — went unanswered, officers met with the other son outside the home around 6:31 that evening, according to the police report.
The son asked police to check the house without him as he feared what he might
find inside, the report stated.
Details surrounding what officers discovered were largely redacted from the report, but police previously said officers found large amounts of blood and signs someone had unsuccessfully attempted to clean it up.
Officers later uncovered two decomposing bodies that were buried in the backyard and later identified as Hector and Larissa Flores.
Their causes and manners of death remained pending, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office.
Hector Flores was an associate professor of management and human resources at Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration, while Larissa Flores worked for Circle the City, a nonprofit that provides health care to people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County.
The Flores Semyonov family issued a public statement stating it was cooperating with law enforcement and thanked loved ones, neighbors and the broader community for expressing concern but asked for privacy while the investigation remained active.
Vague threats and imaginary voices
When police asked the other son about Flores Semyonov, he replied that his brother had changed “a great deal” while in college, the report said. Flores Semyonov had stopped drinking alcohol or socializing and began making vague threats such as “you’ll get what’s coming to you,” according to the report.
Flores Semyonov moved back in with his parents after finishing college as he was unemployed, but discovered Hector had been cheating on Larissa and became upset at his mother for not leaving Hector, the son told police.
Doctors later diagnosed Flores Semyonov with a mental health disorder that involved hearing voices, the report stated. One evening, Larissa found Flores Semyonov watering their backyard plants in the middle of the night, which he said was because the plants had told him they were thirsty, the report said.
The reporting son couldn’t think of a place his brother might’ve gone, as he had no close friends or relatives to stay with.
Police tried to “ping” the cell phones for the three but could not locate them as they were all powered off, according to the phone carrier.
The U.S. Marshals Service has led the international search for the Flores Semyonov since Avondale police requested federal assistance Aug. 7.
Avondale police are seeking Flores Semyonov on suspicion of charges of first-degree murder, domestic violence and abandonment or concealment of a dead body, the U.S. Marshals said in a wanted notice.
The notice includes a photo of Flores Semyonov that the U.S. Marshals Service says was taken Aug. 3, one day before Avondale police conducted the welfare check that began the investigation.
Anyone with information regarding Flores Semyonov's location is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals' 24-hour tip line at 1-877-WANTED2 (1-877-926-8332) or submit a tip through the agency's Tips App or at www.usmarshals.gov/tips. Tips can be submitted anonymously.
Have a news tip? Contact The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com at newstips@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona man accused of murdering his parents had behavioral changes
