DES MOINES — The man accused of killing a Des Moines mother and her two children allegedly waited to call police immediately following the shooting, according to court records.
Search warrant documents in the case of 31-year-old Marvin Esquivel Lopez detail the early steps in the investigation.
“On July 16, 2019 at approximately [11:01 p.m.], Des Moines Police Dispatch received a call from a male resident at 1003 Day Street. This caller was identified as Marvin Escobar-Orellana, DOB 6/16/1988 who called 911 … stating that he was at 1003 Day Street where two children were killed,” a search warrant application reads. “Escobar-Orellana stated the two children were still in the home. Orellana went on to say that a female adult had also been shot. Escobar-Orellana told dispatch on the recorded line that this woman killed the two children and he (Escobar-Orellana) shot the female. Orellana stayed on the line until law enforcement arrived.”
Esquivel Lopez, who has been deported twice from the United States, was known to federal immigration officials as Marvin Escobar Orellana.
While searching the residence at 1003 Day St in Des Moines, police found the three deceased victims—Rossibeth on the main floor of the home and the two kids in the basement—as well as spent shell casings.
“…it appears that all three victims were shot twice in the head,” a police investigator concluded after attending the victims’ autopsies.
Esquivel Lopez is facing three charges of Murder in the First Degree for allegedly killing 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores Rodriguez and her two children: 11-year-old Grecia Daniela Alvarado-Flores and 5-year-old Ever Jose Mejia-Flores.
“[Detective Jeff George] interviewed … the defendant’s wife on July 17, 2019. Detective George learned from her that the defendant had arrived home shortly before the shooting and was driving his truck,” court documents say. “This vehicle is registered to the defendant’s mother … This vehicle was towed to the DMPD garage on July 17, 2019 for safekeeping. Detective George also learned from [Esquivel Lopez’s wife] that there would have been a time lapse from the time of the shooting until the time the defendant called the police.”
Equivel Lopez is being held at the Polk County Jail on a $3 million cash-only bond, and is scheduled to be arraigned August 30.
