Indianapolis – Candlelight flickered Sunday night as a neighborhood united on the street for song and prayer outside the home where seven family members were gunned down three days earlier.
Relatives said they were touched by the outpouring of support that crossed the lines of race and religion.
“The reaction of the community – we’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Luis Juarez, whose sister-in-law, Emma Valdez, was killed.
Some were comforted by news that police believed they had arrested the two men accused of gunning down 46-year- old Valdez, 56-year-old Alberto Covarrubias, their two adult children, two young children and a grandchild.
Among the 500 gathered at the bilingual memorial service was Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, who praised the community and thanked investigators.
Police said they had put pressure on people who knew the main suspect to ensure that they wouldn’t give him refuge during a two-day manhunt. On Saturday night, Desmond Turner, a 28-year-old prison parolee, surrendered to officers at a fast- food restaurant while accompanied by relatives.
Turner, who finished serving a 3 1/2-year prison term on drug and weapons charges last fall, was being held without bail Sunday on seven charges of murder and one charge of robbery.
Formal charges likely will be filed Tuesday, Marion County prosecutor Carl Brizzi said. He also said he would seek the death penalty against Turner.
“It deserves the strongest sanction possible,” Brizzi said.
Another suspect, 30-year-old James Stewart, was arrested Friday after a traffic stop. He was being held on a preliminary charge of murder, police said. Prosecutors had not decided whether to seek the death penalty against him.
Brizzi said Turner and Stewart mistakenly believed there was a large amount of cash in the home. But there was no evidence that the household was anything other than a hardworking family, he said.
The sidewalk in front of the home in a working-class neighborhood had become a shrine to the family with an angel statue, candles, flowers, ribbons and stuffed animals left in tribute.
“Today, we weep. We weep for the consequences of sin,” said Jay Height, director of Shepherd Community Center, where the two youngest brothers had attended programs.
