Three found dead in motel parking lot

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.

Blanca Ferrel is Flores’ sister who lives in Fort Worth. She said Hector, Ali and Aaden, 7, were living in Clovis but wasn’t sure of the exact nature of their home situation.

Ferrel said they had planned to spend Friday night in a home their mother owns in Clovis but for reasons unclear they’d been unable to get into the house. Flores’ mother now lives in El Paso and wasn’t able to help them gain access. So they’d gone to the motel to possibly stay with Flores’ friend.

“But I guess they ended up staying in the vehicle,” Ferrel said. “We don’t know why.”

Ferrel said the couple was five months pregnant.

“He (Hector) was very excited, letting everybody know he had a new partner (in the baby). She was excited too. My nephews were already calling her Mom. She loved his kids and treated them as her own.”

In addition to Aaden, Ferrel said Florse had another son who lives with Flores’ mother in El Paso.

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.

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.

How to help

• A fundraiser for the family has been established at gofundme.com . The page can be accessed by searching for the organizer, “Blanca Ferrel.”