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Frederick -- Five bodies -- four of them young children -- were discovered in a Hillcrest community home Monday afternoon, according to the Frederick Police Department. Police said the bodies of the children -- girls ages 9, 4 and 1, and a 3-year-old boy -- were covered in blankets and tucked in beds in different rooms of the three-bedroom townhouse at 1252 Danielle Drive. Police found the body of 28-year-old Pedro Rodriguez, the children's father, hanging from a yellow rope off the stairwell bannister, according to Lt. Tom Chase. Police have not released the children's' identities nor the cause of death. The bodies were removed from the home in two black funeral home vans about 6:45 p.m. and taken to the medical examiner's office in Baltimore. By 9 p.m. Monday, police had not located the children's mother, identified as Deysi Marlene Benitez, 25. It was unclear by press time if Benitez is considered a missing person or a suspect. The bodies were discovered about 3 p.m., when a liaison worker from Hillcrest Elementary School went to the residence because the two school-aged children had not been seen for several days. When no one answered the door, the worker notified police, who entered through a ground-floor window, Chase said. By mid-afternoon, neighbors and spectators had gathered around the beige end-unit townhouse as police investigated. Windows on the second floor, where the children's' bodies were found, were opened by police for ventilation. Neighbors, like Louise Lewis, were concerned about the family's whereabouts. She hadn't seen any of them for about two weeks, nor had their cars been moved in more than a week, she said. She regularly saw Rodriguez and the children outside, but Benitez less often, she said. "I thought it was strange that he was always out with the children more than she was," she said. As a board member of the neighborhood homeowners' association, she once approached the family about removing items from their patio. On Monday, a dishwasher, pink strollers and toppled tricycles cluttered the area. Maria Hernandez, Juan Soto and Oscar Velazquez, co-workers of Rodriguez, said he hadn't shown up for work at Masonite, a door manufacturer, in about a week. Rodriguez was always prompt, they said. When they couldn't reach him by phone, they went to the house Monday to check on him. There they found bright yellow police tape and people surrounding the property, which Rodriguez purchased in Aug. 2005. No one could be reached at Masonite on Monday evening to confirm Rodriguez's employment. Hernandez, who said she knew him for about six years, was shocked to learn about the deaths. She said she wasn't aware of any problems in the family. A friend of the oldest child knew of trouble in the household. "(She) said her parents got in a lot of fights and that's why she played outside a lot," said 11-year-old neighbor Tyler Mattocks, who attends Hillcrest Elementary. Chase would not disclose whether police had been called to the residence in the past. Mattocks' mother, Maria Taylor, said she had known the family for about a year and had given them used furniture and bicycles. Though the children often played outside, she hadn't seen them in a while, she said. She added she hasn't seen Benitez in at least a month. Taylor was visibly shaken Monday as she recounted her dealings with the family. "The kids always looked happy," she said.
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