Man charged in murders of a mother and daughter in Ashtabula

ASHTABULA, Ohio - The suspect in the killing of a mother and daughter in Ashtabula has been charged with murder.

Records at Ashtabula Municipal Court show 32-year-old Gilberto Torres appeared in a courtroom Tuesday morning and entered no plea. He's facing two counts of murder in the deaths of 40-year-old Amparo "Patty" Torres and 20-year-old Hilda Delores Garcia Rodriguez, whose bodies were found at a home on Kain Avenue Monday.

Garcia's boyfriend called the family after he hadn't heard from his girlfriend in a few days. When the family went to the house, they found Torres' husband – Gilberto Torres – asleep on the couch with a gun. Family members told NewsChannel5 they grabbed the gun and got Torres into a position so he couldn't hurt anyone.

"In the first room, we found Amparo dead in her bed. It looked like she has been beaten. Then, we went to Hilda's room to see if she was in there and we found her in bed. There was a lot of blood everywhere," said a family member, who didn't want to be identified.

Police confirmed both women were found naked -- Patty Torres with a gunshot would to the back of her head and Garcia appeared to have been beaten to death.

There's no word yet on any motive.

Chief Investigator Richard Mongell of the Ashtabula County coroner's office told the Associated Press that Patty Torres died of a gunshot wound to the head and Rodriguez died of asphyxia from smothering.

Police Chief Robert Stell told the AP that Torres was found unresponsive at the home and taken to a hospital and then jail.

A vigil was held for the mother and daughter Monday night in Ashtabula.