Twice-Deported Illegal Alien Charged In Triple Homicide

A Guatemalan man who apparently entered the U.S. illegally after being deported twice has been charged with killing an Iowa woman and her two children.

Marvin Oswaldo Escobar-Orellana has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez, her 11-year-old daughter and her and 5-year-old son. Police say their bodies were found Tuesday night at the home they shared with Escobar-Orellana.

Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said Thursday that investigators have been told Flores-Rodriguez came to Iowa to work with Escobar-Orellana, who was a self-employed roofer. Police have also been told she met the suspect in her home country of Honduras.

The Des Moines Register reports that 31-year-old Marvin Oswaldo Escobar-Orellana asked the judge during an initial court appearance in Des Moines on Thursday why he’s charged with killing Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez, her 11-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son, when he only killed the mother and in self-defense.

Police, though, say an unidentified witness told investigators that Escobar-Orellana shot Flores-Rodriguez during an argument Tuesday before going inside the family’s condo and shooting the children. Police also say ballistic evidence supports the witness’ account.

Judge Becky Goettsch set Escobar-Orellana’s bond at $3 million cash and assigned the case to the public defender’s office.