Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Engaged couple, child likely victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hector Flores, Alizara Gallegos and Aaden Flores were expecting a new family member in four months.
Three people found dead in a Clovis motel parking lot were likely victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, police said Tuesday.
The victims -- Hector Flores, 29, Alizara Gallegos, 19, and Flores' young son, Aaden Flores -- were found in a running car on Saturday afternoon outside the La Vista Inn.
Police immediately said they did not suspect foul play. Inspection of the vehicle, described in police records as a black Chrysler, showed its "exhaust pipe was broken in half ... it looked like someone had done a home repair job on the pipe."
Deputy Police Chief Trevor Thron said officials on Monday tested the exhaust system. "(A)fter about 20 minutes of the vehicle idling, the carbon monoxide detector detected dangerous levels of carbon monoxide within the cab of the vehicle," Thron said.
Autopsy results of the victims were not immediately available.
Video from the motel's security system show the victims' car pulling into the parking lot a little after 1 a.m. Saturday, police records show.
The records show a friend of Flores was expecting the three at the hotel where he was staying. That friend told police he saw the vehicle with the three inside about 6:30 a.m. Saturday but thought they were sleeping and did not attempt to wake them. About 9 a.m., the records show, the friend knocked on the car window but left when he received no response.
The friend notified police when he was able to get inside the vehicle a little after 2 p.m. and found the victims non-responsive, records show.
A friend of Gallegos told The News that Gallegos and Flores were engaged to be married.
The Clovis area saw heavy rains on Friday and Saturday, with temperatures as low as the 40s and 50s.
Investigators initially were told the family could have been living in the car, but that was not confirmed. Attempts by The News to talk to family members of Flores and Gallegos were not successful.
Lighthouse Mission Director Richard Gomez said Sunday the shelter has a dozen beds available for those who need a place for temporary shelter.
"We can give (anyone) three nights' stay and go from there," he said, meaning the mission can also help provide information about long-term housing options if needed.
Clovis police routinely direct the homeless to the Lighthouse shelter for assistance, Gomez said. The mission is located at 407 L. Casillas Blvd. Its phone number is 575-769-7775.
