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Aug 05, 2023

Butchered Upper West Side family died of 'sharp force injuries' and 'incise wounds', medical examiner says

Submit Δ Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission. The Upper West Side family found butchered in a murder-suicide at their apartment this week all died from knife-induced neck wounds,

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The Upper West Side family found butchered in a murder-suicide at their apartment this week all died from knife-induced neck wounds, according to the city medical examiner.

The conclusions support authorities’ working theory that Edison Lopez, 41, murdered longtime love Alexandra “Ola” Witek, 40, and the couple’s two boys, 3-year-old Lucian and 1-year-old Calvin, before slicing his own throat inside the West 86th Street home in which he was raised.

The mom and her sons died of “sharp force injuries” and “incise wounds” — which are typically clean, sharp cuts made by a razor blade or piece of glass, or in this case, kitchen knives, according to police.

The incise wounds are what killed the little boys, the ME’s office said.

Witek died from sharp force injuries to her neck and chest that injured major blood vessels, the autopsy found.

Their deaths have been ruled homicides.

Lopez, who worked as the building super after taking over the job from his dad, died of self-inflicted wounds, according to the ME.

The stunning murder-suicide has left family, friends and neighbors in shock after authorities found the four corpses in the apartment near Riverside Drive on Monday afternoon.

Lopez’s father, Mario, said he and his wife first discovered the grisly scene when he drilled out the front door lock on the fourth-floor apartment and saw blood inside.

He said they hadn’t been able to reach the family since Sunday.

“We saw them inside,” Mario, the 66-year-old superintendent of a nearby building, told Gothamist. “They were already dead, whatever happened, happened maybe the day before.”

Once inside, cops stumbled upon a scene of unparalleled horror.

The children were so badly mauled that officers first mistrook one of the couple’s sons for a little girl.

Both kids lay in the living room, two knives next to them, police sources said. Witek, a schoolteacher, lay in the hallway with a slashed throat.

Lopez’s body rested on a bed, his own throat cut. Another blade sat next to him, according to the sources.

Several teachers from Lucian’s school, West Side Family Pre-School, had tears in their eyes when they spoke to The Post.

“It’s a shock,” one teacher said while gazing at a memorial of flowers, toy cars and a teddy bear set up outside the apartment building. “We knew the family very well … Ola was the greatest.”

Witek taught at Rodeph Sholom School, an independent Reform Jewish day school on the Upper West Side. But she had taken time off after Calvin’s birth — the little boy had just turned one in July.

The couple had known each other for decades — Lopez graduated two years before Witek at Beacon High School, which they both attended.

Lopez’s family declined to speak to The Post this week. Witek’s family could not be reached.

A friend who stopped by the memorial Tuesday told The Post that the senseless tragedy left him sleepless and bereft.

“I just had to come and feel his vibes,” said the friend, who went to high school with the couple. “I’m just horrified about what happened … He wasn’t on medication or into drugs, not that I know of. I’ve seen him have a beer but nothing excessive.”

“There was a lot of love in him,” the friend said. “The last time we corresponded was when he sent me some pictures of his children and told me how much he loved them.”

Lopez didn’t appear to have a history of mental illness and police said there were no prior 911 calls or reports of domestic violence at the home.

Police and neighbors have said Lopez seemed stressed about a job change — he was leaving his building for a new gig in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County — and the big move that would accompany it.

But there seemed to be some problems with his plan. It wasn’t clear if his new apartment would be ready by the time the family had to leave the old one on Sept. 1, according to police.

That might have caused some mental strain for Lopez, NYPD Assistant Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny told reporters Tuesday, adding that from speaking with relatives and neighbors, they seemed to be a “very stable family, very loving family.”

Some neighbors also reported that he seemed more stressed than usual.

But others said he was excited for the new oppurtunity — and the chance to put down roots in a home larger than the one-bedroom apartment they’d been sharing.

“It was a step up,” said Richard Allen, a 74-year-old resident who has lived on the sixth floor since 2000.

“It’s a natural thing,” Allen continued. “I talked to him about it; he was happy.”

One tenant said Lopez was still in his Upper West Side apartment because the former super of the Westchester County building he was taking over had recently died, and the family was still clearing out his old digs.

“We weren’t asking him to leave,” the tenant said. “He wasn’t under a cloud here. He [had not been ] disciplined. He was here for years. He could have stayed for years.”

“We are all frustrated in a human way,” the tenant continued. “Everyone would feel better if they knew what happened. And, more importantly, if they knew why.”

Additional reporting by Joe Marino