Son sought after two bodies found buried at Litchfield Park home of missing parents

Coverage spread: 3 sources — 3 unrated

Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.

Where they agree

Two sets of human remains were found buried in the backyard of a Litchfield Park home on Aug. 6, discovered during a missing persons investigation.
The homeowners’ adult son, 27-year-old Matthew Flores, is named as the prime suspect and is believed to have fled the country.
The U.S. Marshals Service and FBI are assisting Avondale police in the search for Flores.
Formal identification of the remains has not been completed; autopsies were still pending as of the reporting.

Where they differ

AZFamily provides the most detail on victim identification, citing medical examiner records listing ages 69 and 63 matching homeowners Hector and Larissa Flores, plus their professions as realtor and psychiatric nurse practitioner.
AZFamily includes forensic science context from an outside anthropologist explaining how burial affects decomposition, which other outlets omit.
FOX 10 emphasizes neighborhood and personal reaction, including quotes from an unnamed neighbor and a former high school classmate describing Flores as kind, details absent from 12 News and AZFamily’s coverage.
12 News’s articles are brief overviews that largely summarize the situation without adding new reporting details beyond what FOX 10 and AZFamily provide.

Avondale police are searching for 27-year-old Matthew Flores after two sets of human remains were found buried in the backyard of his parents’ Litchfield Park home. Investigators believe the remains belong to his parents, Hector and Larissa Flores, who had been reported missing along with their son before the discovery on Aug. 6. Police now consider Matthew Flores the prime suspect and say he may have already fled the United States.

What led police to the backyard?

The case began as a missing persons investigation after a husband, wife and their adult son were reported missing from the Litchfield Park home. Avondale police said detectives suspected foul play from the outset. That investigation, described initially as involving “suspicious circumstances,” led searchers to the home’s backyard, where two bodies were found buried on Aug. 6.

Who are the victims believed to be?

Police have not officially confirmed identities, but records from the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner list pending autopsies for two unidentified people with the last name Flores, ages 69 and 63, with a date of death of Aug. 6 — the same day the remains were discovered. Those ages match homeowners Hector and Larissa Flores. Public records describe Hector Flores as a realtor and Larissa Flores as a nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatric care. The couple lived at the home with their adult son, Matthew Flores.

What condition were the remains in?

Avondale Police Officer Daniel Benavidez said the bodies showed signs of decomposition but declined to say how long they had been buried, saying only that “the bodies are in a state of decomposition.” Forensic anthropologist Lauren Meckel, who studies decomposition at the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State, said early decomposition can show up as color changes in the face and abdomen. She noted that burial can actually slow decomposition compared with remains left outdoors, since flies — which typically colonize exposed bodies — can’t reach buried remains. In Arizona’s heat, exposed remains break down faster, so burial may have preserved more evidence for investigators. Retired Phoenix cold-case Sgt. Troy Hillman also noted that modern DNA technology can still produce results even from decomposed remains.

Where is Matthew Flores now?

Police say Flores, 27, is believed to have fled the country, though they have not disclosed where. The U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI are assisting Avondale police in the search. As of Friday, the family’s home was quiet, with only occasional police patrols passing by.

How has the family and community responded?

A statement attributed to the “Flores Semyonov family” said they are devastated by the events and are fully cooperating with law enforcement, asking for privacy during the investigation and thanking loved ones, neighbors and the community for their concern. Neighbors described limited but friendly interactions with the parents; one said he often saw Hector Flores working on a car outside and considered him a “hi and bye” acquaintance who was nice. A former classmate of Matthew Flores from Millennium High School described him as genuinely kind and sweet, saying it was “mind-boggling” to learn he is now a suspect.

What are police asking of the public?

Avondale police are asking anyone with information about the case to call 623-333-7000 or 623-333-7001. Autopsies for the two recovered bodies are still pending, and no timeline has been given for confirming identities or for Flores’s capture.

Why this case is drawing attention

The case has moved unusually fast from a routine missing-persons report to a suspected double homicide with an international manhunt in a matter of days. The involvement of federal agencies alongside local police, combined with the family’s professional standing in the community — a realtor and a psychiatric nurse practitioner — has added to public interest, as has the disconnect neighbors and former classmates describe between the ordinary, even friendly, impressions they had of the family and the suspicion now surrounding the son.

Sources

Featured photo: Marine 69-71 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)