YONKERS, Westchester County (WABC) -- Police have arrested a man in Arizona after police officers conducting a wellness check at a home in Yonkers Tuesday found a mother and daughter fatally stabbed.
The suspect, Luis Gabriel Ramos, was tracked across the country, where police authorities believe he was trying to cross the border into Mexico.
The victims were identified as 70-year-old Isabella Triano and her 38-year-old daughter Trisha Miller, found in their home on Shipman Avenue.
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Police say they both suffered knife trauma, and it is believed they had been dead in the home for several days.
Police believe the actual killings took place late Friday or early Saturday.
Miller was last seen on Friday, which prompted the call for the wellness check.
She worked at a nearby Burger King, while her mother was a custodian at Saunders High School.
Triano was described in a statement as "a beloved member of the school's family. She is fondly remembered as a caring and kind individual."
Ramos is believed to have some sort of relationship with Miller, but further details have not yet been released.
Detectives reportedly zeroed in on him as a suspect through an ex-girlfriend.
"This is an example of law enforcement at its absolute best," Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah said. "Working with urgency, our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level, and in other states, worked together to make sure that the suspect in a brutal stabbing of a mother and daughter was apprehended and charged. We are so grateful to our partners and their dedication to pursuing justice."
The motive for the stabbing remains unclear, but police had said they believed it was an isolated incident and that the victims knew their killer.
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"We want to make sure that the public understands that they can rest easy that there's not someone out here doing this kind of thing on a random basis," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said. "We think that the perpetrator knew the victims."
Authorities say there was also a hoarding condition inside the home, and bags of trash and other debris completely circle the outside -- hampering the investigation.
Neighbors told Eyewitness News they have long complained about the house.
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