2 Young Children Left Alone for Days at Scene of Triple Homicide in Va.: Detectives

A baby and toddler were alone for three days in a Spotsylvania County, Virginia, home where their parents and a teenage boy had been slashed to death, according to horrifying new evidence that emerged during a preliminary hearing for three of the five Philadelphia men charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder. 

On May 29, 2019, Rachel Ozuna, her 14-year-old son Kyrrus and her boyfriend, Michael Coleman, were found in their Arlene Acres Drive home bound with their throats cut.

A deputy’s body cam video played in court Wednesday showed Rachel Ozuna face down on the blood-spattered nursery floor, her 2-year-old son standing next to her and her baby daughter strapped into a swinging infant seat nearby.

The lead detective on the case testified investigators believe the murders took place May 26, three days before the bodies were found.

In the body cam video, the deputy speaks softly to the children, first picking up the 2-year-old, then the infant, and carrying them past the bodies and out of the house. 

Prosecutors also played a chilling 911 call from the teenager’s father, who had gone to the home to check on his son. 

Benjamin Jimenez sobbed throughout a 12-minute call as the dispatcher asked, “What do you think is going on in the house?”

“Somebody got murdered,” replied Jimenez. 

“Where is your son?” asked the dispatcher.

"He’s in the bathroom tied up and in a pool of blood,” answered the father. 

For the first time, investigators described the motive for the murders, saying Coleman was a large-scale drug dealer who often had as much as $100,000 in his home. They also found equipment used to package kilo-sized packages of cocaine.

During his testimony, the detective said cellphone data and videos helped tie the five defendants to the crime. They allegedly traveled from Philadelphia May 25, checking into the Quality Inn on Plank Road, where two of the men photographed themselves near the pool. Three of the accused men also went to work out at a nearby Gold’s Gym, signing into the facility. One of the defendants posted a video of himself flipping tires there. 

The detective testified evidence suggests on May 26 the men went to the Arlene Acres Drive home around noon and left around 1 p.m., heading back to Philadelphia that afternoon.

In a recorded phone call with a jailed relative, one defendant asked, “You hear that?” The slapping sound of a stack of bills can be heard as one of the defendants exclaimed, “That’s the money machine.”

One of the men also created a video showing large amounts of money on the floor. 

Defense attorneys argued that there was no physical evidence connecting their clients to the murders, calling the prosecution’s case circumstantial. 

But the judge ruled there is enough probable cause to certify the first-degree murder charges against Durward Allen, Hugh Green and Montel Wilson. They’ll be considered next by a grand jury.

A preliminary hearing is still pending for two other defendants, James Myers and Jamal Bailey.

Correction: A previous version of this story mentioned an erroneous date the defendants allegedly traveled to Virginia and went to the Arlene Acres Drive home. The detective testified they traveled from Philadelphia to Spotsylvania County in May, not March.