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A South Florida man strangled his two young sons with a rope at his estranged wife’s house and then used a gun to shoot one of the boys several times before he shot himself to death, authorities said Saturday afternoon.
Police say Isidro Zavala, 45, early Saturday went to the Boynton Beach home of his wife with the intention of killing her and their children, Eduardo Zavala, 12, and Mario Zavala, 11.
At the crime scene, detectives found a blue bag with a second firearm, extra ammunition, duct tape, cutting shears and a note addressed to Zavala's oldest son, who was not at the residence during the killings, police said.
Isidro Zavala carried out his plan, but with an exception: He spared his wife, Victoria Flores Zavala, 36, so that she could suffer, police said.
“What Mrs. Zavala had to go through -- watch her children killed before her -- is probably the most horrific thing you could ever imagine, at least for me,” said Boynton Beach Police Chief G. Matthew Immler, saying that he himself is a parent.
The motive for the killing "is just speculation at this point," Immler said.
Victoria Flores Zavala contacted police, who arrived at her house in the 400 block of Southwest Eighth Avenue about 1:50 a.m. Saturday.
Officers found one child dead in a back screened patio area. A second child was found dead in the kitchen dining room area. Officers found Isidro Zavala’s body in the kitchen, police said.
Victoria Zavala said that her husband killed their children, police said. She said she and her husband had been separated and that he no longer lived in the house.
She told detectives that she was watching TV when she heard commotion in the house, went to check on her children and saw Isidro Zavala choking one of his sons, police said.
Then he killed them. Mario was the boy who was shot repeatedly, police said. The mother had tried to stop her spouse.
“She tried fighting him off and begged him to kill her and not the children,” Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said in a press release. “He told her she was going to stay alive and suffer the loss of them.”
Detectives obtained a warrant to search the house, as well as a house in the 1100 block of Southeast Third Street, where Isidro Zavala had been living, police said.
The Zavalas have a 19-year-old son who does not live with his family and was not there when the killings occurred, police said. The note found at the crime scene addressed to him said something to the effect that "he was a good son," police said.
Detectives have called the state Department of Children and Families to investigate. “It should be noted that there is no history of reports of domestic violence or abuse noted at the house,” Slater said.
The Zavala couple married in 1993, records show. In 1999, the pair signed a $73,700 mortgage on the home where the killings occurred, Palm Beach County records show.
In October last year, Victoria Flores Zavala filed for divorce from her husband in Palm Beach County, a case that records showed was still listed as pending.
Immler called Saturday's case "an unusually brutal type of murder," but said such murder-suicide cases unfortunately have been known to happen.
"And certainly I’ve seen it over the years of being a police officer, that there are mentally disturbed people out there who commit these types against their own family members, against their own loved ones," he said.
The police chief turned his attention to the surviving Zavalas.
"Hopefully, as time passes, perhaps their wounds will heal. I doubt it," he said. "You know, I don’t believe you could ever recover from something like this.
"Hopefully, the surviving Zavalas can get the help they need and somehow go on with life."
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Check the husband for gun residue. Just to verify her story. As likely as her story is true, its possible that its not. She could have shot all 3 as he was bringing them home from a visit. It would be a good way to start over, collect insurance, and get a whole pile of pity points, all in one go.
That said.. If it was him, what a coward and loser. I don't know if this woman tried to get any help, but there should be more help for women with abusive husbands.
The autopsies on the children will show distinct markers for death by strangulation, or the attempt to kill by strangulation. So; do you think she strangled the kids, shot one of them and then shot the husband when he walked in on her dirty deed?
My prayers go out to Isidro Zavala. May God welcome him warmly into heaven.
Who cares if his gun was legal or not. All he had to do was plug himself and leave the kids alone. Instead the POS had no soul or even cared one bit for his own children. To bad his wife couldn't have protected herself and her children. If you are going through a divorce and feel in danger, you better carry a gun with you to not protect just yourself, but your children too. If you don't like guns, then get a killer dog that can be trained to attack anyone in your home that is not suppose to be there. Disgusting how parents can kill their own kids instead of just ending their own life when things are that terrible. Just another sign of how people cannot respect anyone, let alone love one of their own family members when they have to kill someone else too. This guy can now burn in h__l for eternity.
Seems to me we are letting a lot of whackos in the country lately. But I guess they only come here for the jobs nobody else wants, at least thats what I'm told.
Hello, you are making it sound as if the only people who do this kind of thing are hispanics or other minorities. Most of the family killings and mass killings lately have been done by white folks.
Stupidity, selfishness, cowardice, and ignorance comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and ethnic backgrounds.
Haha, whackos lately?
Medea anyone?
Tarzan7
How do you know this family was here illegally? Because they have a Spanish name? Then again; what kind of reasoning do you expect from someone who swings through the trees?
What has become of parents these days? What is with this compulsion to exterminate their children every time one or both of them start having some kind of issue in their lives. You know, the children did not ask to be born to these losers. But they surely did not ask to be blown away either.
If this couple had issues, they should have handled them in a more mature way. The children should have been kept out of it all together. No where does it say that if you want to do away with yourself, that it is obligatory that you do away with your kids as well. Fight your own battles, by yourself or get help, any kind of help.
If the lady needed protection from a maniac, I would have loaned her a quality firearm.
How could you guarantee it wouldn't be used against her?
What makes you think those used weren't hers? Events this weekend proved having a gun proves nothing.
So that she can suffer? Condolences, Ma'am. We are all so sorry for what he tried to do to you.
Isidro Zavala, 45, you don't even know yet what suffering is but you will soon learn from the darkness and fire where you are right now.
Actually I gotta agree that there should be restrictions on gun shows and online selling of guns. Sadly though, domestic violence is the worst type of situation and something that needs to be looked at and police need to make sure to take any rights of gun ownership away from the person causing the violence in the home.
ask Wayne from the nra what should we do?
we need more guns
The Muslim way - our POTUS's way of proving a point - same as other recent events that they ignore for the furtherance of their ill gotten political agendas!
Mrs. Zavalas should change her name.
Mario, age 11, was not only strangled to death but shot several times. Over-kill by his father. Isidro wanted to make sure his estranged wife would suffer nightmares for the rest of her life and never experience another moment of peace.
I would think most women would give their life for their children.
As I read the banner headline as usual my only question was Texas or Florida??
mpa said "Zavala has at least two mugshots online. It is likely he was not a "legal" gunowner"!~ Mugshots just prove you were arrested not that you were convicted. There is no evidence he had a criminal record or the guns were illegal. Right now we do not know if he was a legal gun owner or not. We do know he had a gun. Legal or illegal gun owner makes no difference to the fact there was a gun involved in the case. That is a fact!~ He shot one of his kid and killed himself with his gun.
"A South Florida man strangled his two young sons with a rope at his estranged wife’s house and then used a gun to shoot one of the boys several times before he shot himself to death'. Cayeres - Sadly, you cherry pick this story to fit your agenda. This man came to this house to kill. He wanted it be as personal as possible. That is why he used the rope first. It didn't happen as fast as he thought so he used the gun to finish the job. Murder is murder and sadly other means are used to commit it. Why do you think MSN put this on their site at this time? So people like you would try to use it to prop up their anti firearm agenda.
No, there were two mugshots on line with people having that name. One was from Texas. Just shows the stupidity of those posting. Neither one was said to be of this individual who by all accounts had no prior record.
You are right R. Scalzo. According to other articles, Isidro had no prior criminal record.
Too bad the kids did not have an approved NRA anti tank gun or some kind of machine gun that could kill everyone on a street, you know, to defend their rights to have guns.
Florida
Hot headed Latinos.... in South Florida no less. I am SO sorry.
Unlike the moron in Arkansas?
Brooke;
What a bigot you are; Let me guess. You are a white, true Christian woman from a state where only real Americans like you live.
(CNN) -- Minutes after locking out a social worker who'd brought his two sons for a visit, a man in Washington state blew up his house on Sunday -- killing himself and his boys, whose mother went missing more than two years ago, a sheriff's spokesman said.
Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer told CNN that the explosion "was done intentionally," saying Josh Powell committed a "double homicide" in addition to killing himself.
"This was all on him," Troyer said of Powell and the blast. "He set this up, he did it."
Days earlier, in an affidavit seeking custody of the children, Powell said that he had proven himself as a "fit and loving father who provides a stable home even in the face of great adversity."
"My inherent resilience as a person makes it increasingly difficult for (critics) to pursue their agendas," he wrote in the document, which was filed Wednesday in a Pierce County court, referring to those blaming him for his wife's disappearance. "I am standing tall for my sons."
On Sunday, authorities said Powell met a foster-care worker who had brought his two boys -- ages 5 and 7, having both celebrated birthdays in January -- to their father's residence for what was supposed to be a supervised visit.
As the children got close to the door, Powell brought them inside but prevented the case worker from getting in as well, according to Troyer. She tried "pounding the doors, trying to get in," with no success, he added.
The case worker reported smelling something similar to gas, said Graham, Washington, Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Gary Franz. About two minutes later, as she was calling her supervisor, the house exploded.
There you go; a nice white, Christian ( from Utah); just like you.
piece of garbage...if there is a hell.....he is paying DEARLY right now.
Just when you think men cannot possibly commit more horrific acts against their wives and children, they outdo themselves. What is wrong with these men? Does anyone know? He deserves eternity in a hell of hells for this.
I have seen plenty of horrific avt committed by women against children and men. Don't blame "men"....
This is the definition of evil.
.
May I point out that if the mother had a gun, she could've shot this deranged criminal?
Nancy Lanza had several guns, that did not work out so well for her.
Her son was not trying to kill his own children...stay on point if you can focus that long...
What a sick bastard this guy must have been. The world is better without him but his boys did not deserve to die. Heartless, sick bastard. I can't understand people who kill thier own children. Take your own life if you need to but let your children live to have a chance in life. Hell is the only place this mans soul will reside for eternity.
We need background checks for buying rope!
Please go away; everything is guns, guns, guns no matter what the subject is. You comment is redundant and getting so old and boring. Nothing more to add besides your obsession with guns?