Man Allegedly Killed Girlfriend's Ex-Boyfriend and Ex's Girlfriend While 3 Kids Were in Nearby Van By Angel Saunders

Two couples are at the center of a deadly criminal investigation in California. 

Officers responded to an anonymous tip at approximately 12:26 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 19, for two bodies that appeared to be bloodied on the 100 block of 27th Street, the San Diego Police Department said in a Tuesday, Jan. 20, press release. When police arrived, they found the bodies of a male and a female who had been shot. Officers tried unsuccessfully to revive them using CPR.

Ruben Chavez, 31, and Evelyn Virgen, 28, were identified as the victims, police said.

Police also said they saw three young children, all under the age of two, inside a nearby parked vehicle, seemingly unharmed, in a vehicle registered to Virgen.

In a Jan. 20 broadcast by NBC San Diego, the outlet reported that the minors were Virgen’s children. 

Homicide detectives learned Chavez and Virgen were in a relationship, police said.

Investigators believe the couple had been involved in an ongoing dispute with Chavez’s ex-girlfriend, 25-year-old Princess Perez, and her current boyfriend, 21-year-old Ramses “Rex” Morales, according to the press release.

“Both Perez and Morales had been in the area when the shooting occurred, but fled prior to police arrival,” police said in their Jan. 20 statement.

They were later detained by Border Patrol at the San Ysidro Port of Entry as they attempted to re-enter the United States around 10 a.m. on Monday.

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PEOPLE reached out to the San Diego Police Department, but did not immediately receive a response. 

On Thursday, Jan. 22, Morales appeared in court where he pleaded not guilty to murder charges, NBC San Diego reported. Perez also appeared in court on an accessory charge for allegedly driving him to Mexico after Chavez and Virgen’s deaths. She also pleaded not guilty.

Morales is also facing three counts of child endangerment in connection with Virgen’s children. Should prosecutors pursue capital punishment, special circumstance allegations could make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

“We have alleged in the complaint two special circumstances, one of which is multiple murders,” deputy district attorney Martin Doyle said, per the news station. “The other is killing of the witness, at least in respect to the killing of the female victim.”

“It’s a complicated family situation. The investigation’s ongoing as to everybody’s respective relationships,” Doyle said, per CBS 8.

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Chavez was involved in a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend Perez, regarding their two children as he sought joint custody, but only had supervised visitation rights, CBS 8 reported, citing court records.

Perez and Morales were held without bail after Thursday’s arraignment. The investigation remains ongoing.

Chavez’s cousin launched a GoFundMe page to help his and Virgen’s nine surviving children.

“They leave behind nine children whose lives have been forever changed,” the fundraiser reads. “Three of the youngest children were present at the time of the tragedy and will carry the trauma of that day for the rest of their lives.”