Philadelphia man stabbed wife, mother-in-law in double homicide in Crescentville
Officers found the bodies of Angela Trejo and her daughter Alma Barberena in the basement of a Crescentville home Tuesday afternoon.
Police arrested a Philadelphia man they say stabbed his wife and his mother-in-law to death in Crescentville on Tuesday afternoon.
Officers responding to a report of a person with a gun on the 6000 block of Bingham Street discovered the bodies of Alma Barberena, 58, and her mother, Angela Trejo, 75, in a basement. Both women had been stabbed multiple times, police said, and were pronounced dead at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Leandro Barberena, 43, Alma Barberena’s husband, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of murder, tampering with evidence, and related crimes, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore. Investigators learned that Barberena had returned to the home after the killings to try to cover up his crimes, said Vanore.
» READ MORE: Two women found fatally stabbed in Crescentville home
The doors to the home where Trejo and Barberena were found were locked when officers arrived, he said, so a neighbor had to let them in.
Neighbors said Trejo lived on Bingham Street with her husband.
There had been 101 homicides this year in Philadelphia as of Thursday, according to police department data. There had been 161 homicides by this time last year, marking a 37% drop.