Report details behavioral changes in Litchfield Park murder suspect before parents’ remains found

An Avondale police report reveals that family members had grown alarmed by mental health and behavioral changes in Matthew Flores, 27, in the months before his parents, Larissa and Hector Flores, were found buried in the backyard of their Litchfield Park home. Flores is now the subject of state and federal warrants and is believed to have fled the country before officers performed a welfare check at the home on August 4.

What did the police report say about Matthew Flores’ behavior?

According to the report obtained by ABC15, a sibling told investigators that Matthew changed noticeably during college and grew upset after learning his parents were having marital problems. After finishing school he moved back in with his parents, stopped drinking alcohol, and at one point made what family described as vague threatening remarks, including telling relatives “you’ll get what’s coming to you.” The report also recounts an incident in which his mother, Larissa, found him outside in the middle of the night watering plants; he reportedly explained that the plants had told him they were thirsty. The report says he was eventually diagnosed with a condition, but the specific diagnosis was redacted from the documents released to ABC15.

What happened when family reported them missing?

Family members told police they became concerned after not hearing from Larissa and Hector Flores since July 29. Police tried pinging the phones of all three family members before learning from the family’s cell carrier that the devices had been powered off. Officers eventually went to the home on August 4 for a welfare check. What they found inside was redacted from the report, but at a press conference, Avondale police spokesperson Daniel Benavidez said investigators identified “a large amount of blood” along with evidence suggesting an attempt to conceal it, which led them to believe foul play was involved. Separate police records show officers had been called to the home twice in 2022, for an assault and a citizen’s dispute, though it’s unclear whether those incidents are connected to the case. The next calls to the home weren’t until early August, tied to the welfare checks.

Who is Matthew Flores and what is known about him?

Flores graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and cognitive science. Before college, he worked at the YMCA between 2016 and 2017. People who knew him, including a college friend, told reporters they were shocked by the accusations, though the friend said they had noticed Matthew’s behavior becoming concerning around the time of his degree studies. He is now wanted on both state and federal warrants and is believed to be a fugitive outside the United States, according to a flyer released by the U.S. Marshals Service.

How does this compare to the unrelated Gilbert case reported the same week?

Separately, Gilbert police arrested Kristopher Michael Lauchner, 52, on August 11 in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Cindy Miller, 55, whose body was found August 8 inside her Gilbert home near Islands Drive and McQueen Road. According to court records cited by FOX 10 Phoenix and ABC15, Lauchner told police he and Miller used drugs together at a Valley hotel between the night of August 4 and the morning of August 5, when she became unresponsive. He said he checked for a pulse and attempted CPR but did not call for help because he knew she was dead, later telling detectives he acted out of “self-preservation.” Lauchner allegedly dressed her body, buckled her into the passenger seat of her own Mercedes, drove to her home, and placed her in bed under the covers. He then pawned two of her jewelry items, a diamond ring and necklace, at a Tempe pawn shop and sent text messages from her phone to keep her family from worrying; her phone has not been recovered. Lauchner was already on pretrial release and wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor tied to an earlier domestic violence case involving Miller; records show the monitor had not functioned since July 12. He was arrested outside a Phoenix apartment complex after trying to flee on foot, and police found a handgun belonging to Miller in a fanny pack he was wearing. He faces charges including abandoning or concealing a dead body, second-degree burglary, trafficking stolen property, unlawful use of means of transportation, and prohibited possession of a weapon, and is held without bond at Lower Buckeye Jail.

Why do these two cases matter together?

Both cases, unfolding in the same week in the Phoenix area, involve deaths discovered only after family welfare checks and both suspects allegedly went to lengths to delay discovery — Flores by fleeing the country, Lauchner by moving and concealing a body and impersonating the victim by text. Neither report resolves the central legal question of intent or cause of death; in the Flores case, key findings from inside the home remain redacted, and Flores has not been apprehended.

Sources

• ABC15 Arizona — Report details family concerns, suspect’s ‘lifestyle’ changes before remains found at Litchfield Park home · Gilbert man accused of concealing woman’s death, moving and hiding her body for days after she died
• 12 News Phoenix
• FOX 10 Phoenix

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