An international manhunt is underway for a 27-year-old Arizona man police say killed his mother and father and buried their bodies in the backyard of their Litchfield Park home, then fled the country before investigators could close in.
Avondale Police detectives and the Phoenix Homicide Unit found two bodies buried behind the residence on Thursday, August 6, 2026, after a missing persons investigation flagged the disappearance of three members of the same household under what officials called "suspicious circumstances." The two dead were the parents of Matthew Flores, the third person reported missing, and the man police now name as the sole suspect.
Investigators found large amounts of blood inside the house along with evidence that someone had tried to clean it up, according to the New York Post. Officers said the blood and the attempted cleanup pointed directly to foul play. A mini excavator had to be brought in to remove the bodies from the yard, a detail that underlines how deeply they had been buried.
Authorities believe Flores left the United States before police reached the scene. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have joined the search, though officials have not disclosed which country or region they believe he traveled to.
Avondale Police Officer Daniel Benavidez addressed reporters at a press conference on Friday and confirmed the grim condition of the remains. He offered no estimate of how long the bodies had been in the ground.
Benavidez told Fox News:
"I can't tell you how many hours or days, but what I can say is that the bodies are in a state of decomposition."
No official cause or manner of death has been released. Police have not publicly detailed what specific evidence shifted Flores from a missing person to a suspect, and no formal charges or arrest warrant details have been disclosed as of the press conference.
The names of Flores' mother and father have not been released by investigators. The family used the compound surname "Flores Semyonov" in a public statement, though the relationship between the two names has not been explained.
A representative of the Flores Semyonov family issued a statement asking for privacy and expressing gratitude to the surrounding community:
"The Flores Semyonov family is devastated by recent events. They are fully cooperating with law enforcement. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time. Their deepest gratitude is extended to their loved ones, neighbors, and the community at large who have expressed concern."
The statement did not identify the representative by name or role, whether an attorney, a relative, or another spokesperson.
People who knew Matthew Flores told FOX 10 in Phoenix that they were surprised he had been named a suspect. They described him as a kind and sweet man. No verbatim quotes from those acquaintances have been published.
Litchfield Park sits in the western suburbs of Phoenix, a quiet, relatively affluent community, not the kind of place residents associate with a double homicide and a fugitive manhunt. Yet that is exactly what unfolded when the missing persons case turned into a murder investigation in a matter of days.
The involvement of both the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service signals that federal authorities take the flight risk seriously. Fugitives who cross international borders can evade justice for months or years, though federal agencies have a long track record of eventually bringing suspects home. In one recent case, an alleged COVID-19 fraud fugitive was captured in Jamaica and returned to face federal charges after fleeing the country.
Authorities have not said whether Flores holds dual citizenship, has family ties abroad, or had access to resources that would help him stay hidden overseas. Those are among the many open questions investigators have yet to answer publicly.
No timeline has been given for when the three household members were first reported missing, or how much time elapsed between their disappearance and the discovery of the bodies. The gap between those two dates could prove critical in understanding how far Flores may have traveled.
Accountability does not stop at the border. If investigators are right about Matthew Flores, the full weight of federal law enforcement will follow him wherever he went, and his parents deserve nothing less.