A missing mother and son were found dead in a Berks County, Pennsylvania, field about one week after a man with whom they lived was found dead near a park in Reading, officials said Tuesday. Medical examiners have ruled the three deaths as homicides.
The mother and her 1-year-old son, who were reported missing, were found dead over the weekend in Ontelaunee Township, Pennsylvania, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office said. Investigators discovered their bodies in an area near East Huller Lane.
Chief County Detective Michael Gombar identified the missing mother as 31-year-old Geraldina Peguero-Mancebo and her 1-year-old son as Jeyden Junior Peguero in a news release. The two were last heard from on Sept. 12 and were entered as missing persons endangered into the National Crime Database, according to Reading police.Â
The morning after, on Sept. 13, investigators discovered a man’s body in the area of Baer Park. The man, later identified as 31-year-old Junior Cabrera-Colon, had been shot in the head, Reading police said.
Reading police were notified that Cabrera-Colon lived with Peguero-Mancebo and Peguero.
Investigators eventually identified 61-year-old Jose Luis Rodriguez as a suspect in Cabrera-Colon’s murder, which he ultimately confessed to on Sept. 18. Police said Rodriguez was charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and other related crimes. He’s being held at the Berks County Prison.
The night after Rodriguez’s confession, investigators began searching in a grassy field next to East Huller Lane in Ontelaunee Township and discovered Peguero-Mancebo’s body, Reading police said. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the area, where they began to suspect that the 31-year-old could be connected with the missing persons report.
“Based upon several descriptors, including her clothing, investigators began to suspect that the victim may be a missing person that had previously been reported to the Reading Police Department,” Gombar wrote in a news release. “Investigators were aware that the Reading Police Department was also searching for the female’s missing one-year-old son.”
Less than 24 hours later, on Sept. 20, a toddler’s body was found partially submerged in a marshy area, about 150 yards away from where the woman was found.Â
Investigators were ultimately able to determine that the bodies found were those of Peguero-Mancebo and Peguero.Â
The Berks County District Attorney’s Office Detectives are overseeing the investigation into Peguero-Mancebo and Peguero’s deaths. Anyone with information is asked to call the DA’s Office at 610-478-7171 or the Reading Police Department at (610) 655-6116.
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams is planning to hold a press conference on Monday, Sept. 29, to provide more information on the investigation.