Public Safety

Family mourns Virginia woman and her two children, slain in triple homicide

By Stephanie Lai, Hannah Natanson and Jennifer Jenkins
June 20, 2021 at 5:16 p.m. EDT

Family members on Sunday mourned the deaths of a woman and her two children, slain a day earlier in what Herndon police called a “horrific” triple homicide the day before Father’s Day.

The woman was Claudia Menjivar, 34, and her two children, Dayana Gutierrez, 12, and Carlos Josué Gutierrez, 10, according to Erlinda Gutierrez, whose brother used to be in a relationship with Menjivar and is the father of the two children. The three died in their home in Herndon, police said. ... “She was a good mom to my nephews. She was a hard-working girl,” Erlinda Gutierrez said. “She didn’t have any problems with anyone.”

Few new details emerged Sunday about the killings, but police said the deaths appear to be linked to a suicide that took place early Saturday at a parking garage in nearby Reston. ... Fairfax County police responded just before 6 a.m. to a 911 call about “an emotionally disturbed person” at the parking garage in the 1900 block of Democracy Boulevard, according to Fairfax police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Officers arrived to find a man threatening to jump from the roof of the garage, which is at Reston Town Center.

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Erlinda Gutierrez said she and her family are struggling to process the deaths. She said it has been especially hard for her parents, Dayana and Carlos Josué’s grandparents. ... “I don’t know why someone would do that to two innocent kids,” Erlinda Gutierrez said. ... Saturday, she said, was Dayana Gutierrez’s 12th birthday.

By Hannah Natanson
Hannah Natanson is a reporter covering education and K-12 schools in Virginia. Twitter https://twitter.com/hannah_natanson

By Jennifer Jenkins
Jennifer Jenkins has worked as a news researcher at The Washington Post since 2011.