Connecticut mother in murder-suicide left word for husband

The Connecticut mother who strangled her three youngsters earlier than hanging herself left a suicide word for her husband that learn, “Sorry, Pedro, I take my youngsters with me,” his cousin informed The Put up on Friday.

Sonia Loja, 36, had lengthy battled despair and had been crying for days over the shuttering of her unlawful child-care enterprise earlier than Wednesday’s horrific homicide suicide in Danbury, mentioned relative Digna Naulaguari, 47.

Loja’s devastated husband, Pedro Panjon, noticed no indicators of the approaching violence and solely realized that one thing is perhaps amiss when he obtained dwelling from work that day — and not one of the youngsters ran out as normal to greet him, the kin mentioned.

“I really feel horrible,” an exhausted Panjon informed The Put up on Friday, briefly talking by an interpreter outdoors the household’s Whaley Road dwelling, the place mourners had left a makeshift memorial of photographs, candles and balloons.

“There was nothing incorrect with how Sonia was appearing” earlier than the tragedy, he added.

However Panjon realized one thing was off as quickly as he arrived on the entrance door that night, his cousin mentioned.

“When Pedro got here dwelling from work, the children would at all times rush out to his automobile and yell, ‘Daddy! Yay! My Daddy got here again!’ particularly the lady, Joselyn,” Naulaguari mentioned.

“They might assist him convey his issues in, like his lunchbox and the whole lot. On Wednesday, he got here dwelling, and the door was locked, however the door was by no means locked. When the children didn’t come out … that’s when his coronary heart broke” as a result of he sensed one thing should be critically incorrect, the relative mentioned.

Panjon, who works as a landscaper and carpenter, rushed inside to the kitchen, put down his lunchbox and noticed the two-page suicide word, his cousin defined.

“The letter mentioned, ‘Sorry Pedro, I take my youngsters with me,’ ” Naulaguari mentioned.

“He didn’t learn nothing extra, he pushed the letter away. He nonetheless hasn’t learn it.”

Panjon then ran to a bed room, the place he discovered his 12-year-old son, Junior Panjon, on the bottom and 10-year-old daughter, Joselyn Panjon, on the mattress — each with cords, presumably electrical cables, round their necks, the cousin defined.

“He took the cables off, hoping he’d hear life, however it was too late,” she mentioned.

The youngest boy, Jonael Panjon, 5, was in one other room, additionally with a wire wrapped round his neck, the cousin mentioned.

The distraught dad referred to as the police when he couldn’t discover his spouse, however a dispatcher was having a tough time understanding him, so he went out to the yard to ask for a neighbor’s assist and collapsed to the bottom and was later taken to a hospital, his cousin mentioned.

Responding officers discovered Loja hanging within the yard shed – close to a swing set and toys that had been utilized by the youngsters in her unlawful daycare operation.

Loja suffered from despair, which had gone untreated as a result of she had no medical health insurance and it was “too costly to go to the physician,” Naulaguari mentioned.

Her latest troubles over her illicit enterprise, which was twice cited by the state final month, solely exacerbated her psychological situation, the cousin mentioned.

“Her job was babysitting, however the metropolis closed her enterprise down, they mentioned it was unlawful. She was not working,” Naulaguari mentioned. “Then she was crying, she was so unhappy. She would say, ‘I must work,’ however she had three youngsters, so she wished to do business from home. She wished to remain and care for her youngsters and the opposite youngsters.”

The state Workplace of Early Childhood cited Loja for working the unlawful daycare middle in her dwelling twice final month, a rep informed The Put up. An nameless tip led officers to the home June 2, when Loja was cited the primary time, consultant Maggie Adair mentioned. A follow-up go to 4 days later discovered youngsters within the dwelling once more – however Loja claimed they have been relations, Adair mentioned.

The company adopted up June 29 and located the unlawful daycare nonetheless working, slapping Loja with a “Demand to Stop” letter, in accordance with the workplace. A go to a day later discovered no youngsters in Loja’s care, Adair mentioned.

On Monday, Loja referred to as her sister in Westchester County to inform her she hadn’t slept in days as a result of she was “underneath plenty of stress,” Naulaguari mentioned. Loja’s sister promised to go to this weekend for a barbecue with different relations, the relative mentioned.

“Two days later, and she or he was no extra,” Naulaguari mentioned.

The Connecticut State Chief Medical Examiner’s Workplace confirmed Loja’s reason behind loss of life as suicide by hanging Friday, the Hartford Courant reported.