The suspect in the killing of three girls and two women in Village I, Modesto, Calif. on Saturday was arrested Sunday.
Martin Martinez, 30, was brought in by San Jose police after they were alerted by Modesto police that he might be heading their way. Authorities said Martinez has family in San Jose, according to The Modesto Bee.
Police saw the suspect's red Lincoln Navigator in San Jose on Saturday, but he had already left with a family member using another vehicle. Investigators then spotted the new vehicle he was driving and arrested him as he was walking back into the car at around 1 a.m. Sunday, The Inquisitr reports.
Police spokeswoman Heather Graves declined to give further details about the case except that the five murder victims were related and that the girls' ages were between 6 months and 6 years. Graves also said one of the women had a relationship with the suspect.
Update on Nob Hill Ct homicide: Martin Martinez has been located by @SanJosePD. The investigation in ongoing. No further details available.
— Modesto Police Dept (@ModestoPolice) July 19, 2015
Family and friends identified three of the victims as Dr. Amanda Crews and her daughters Elizabeth, 6, and Rachel, 6 months old. Martinez was reportedly the father of Rachel.
Paulette Beidleman, Crews' mother, was shocked over what happened. She said she spoke with her daughter over the phone on Thursday and there appeared to be no problem.
"It's shocking. I'm still in shock," she said, according to The Modesto Bee.
Modesto police discovered the five dead bodies Saturday afternoon when they responded to a request to conduct a welfare check at Crews' home. They declared the deaths as homicide but did not disclose information about the victims' manner of death, NBC News reports.
Martinez is being held for murder in Santa Clara County jail and will be transferred to Modesto. No motive for the killings has been released at this time, NBC News reports in another article.
