Suspect in Irondequoit quadruple murder pleads not guilty in court Thursday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Julio Pimentel Soriano, one of the men accused in the murder of a family of four in Irondequoit, was in court Thursday.

Soriano and his brother, who is still on the run, are accused of murdering Fraime Ubaldo, Marangely Moreno-Santiago and their two young children— just two and four years old. They were found dead August 31 inside their burning home on Knapp Avenue.

It was the first time we have seen Soriano in-person, he came into the courtroom wearing a striped jumpsuit, he used a Spanish interpreter to answer some very basic questions to confirm his identity. He was stoic during the entire hearing, never once turning around to look at who was in the galley.

Soriano pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder in the first and second degree, kidnapping, burglary, and arson. While prosecutors handed over evidence they had against him to his defense attorney Thursday, it was under the stipulation that some of the information not be shared with the suspect directly.

“We want to make sure that any witness who has participated in the process, we do as much as we can to prevent them from being hassled,” said Perry Duckles, first assistant district attorney.

Investigators believe Soriano and his brother stabbed and murdered the family in their home along Knapp Avenue and then set the house on fire.

“The indictment alleges that Luis Soriano, the other individual is as culpable in the crimes alleged,” said Duckles.

When asked if authorities are still on the hunt for Luis Soriano, Duckles said, “I know authorities, law enforcement partners we have are currently searching for him. In fact, I’m hoping to get an update on his potential whereabouts later today.”

When asked about a motive, Duckles said, “I think the #1 question that everyone who looks at this case has is, ‘Why?’ Are you prepared to talk about a motive at this point? I’m not, only because as you well know, after doing this for a while, motive is not something that we have to prove in any case in a criminal court, certainly we look into motive and a motive can be good evidence if there is one present to provide to a jury or a finder of fact, we can continue to look for and look at every possible angle as to why this may have happened.”

Soriano is due back to Monroe County court on October 17. We of course will continue to follow any developments in the case.

RELATED:

• Funeral held for Irondequoit family found dead in home, community and family in mourning (Sept. 8)
• ‘I’ve lost sleep over this’; Neighbors speak after family of four killed in Irondequoit (Sept. 3)
• ‘I still cannot believe it’; Loved ones remember four people killed in Irondequoit at vigil (Sept. 6)
• ‘This was a horrific scene’: Parents and two children found slain in basement after house fire (Sept. 2)
• Two brothers indicted for quadruple murder of Irondequoit family found stabbed to death in August (Oct. 7)
• Suspect in Irondequoit quadruple murder is on top 10 most wanted fugitive list in Puerto Rico

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