Family mourns Avondale mom of five killed in murder-suicide

AVONDALE, Ariz. — The family of an Avondale mom of five, killed in what police say was a murder-suicide, is trying to cope with this tragic loss.

Through tears, Sandra Saldivar shared the pain of losing her daughter, 30-year-old Selena Felix, saying she tried to call her, but she wouldn’t answer and she didn’t know why.

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Later she learned her daughter was killed after a dispute over one of her kids… and that child – Sandra’s her grandson – saw everything…

“I heard a bang… the bang… and then I heard a peel out like a car skidding off,” said Ronald Hamilton, who lives nearby.

He recalled hearing gunshots fired outside his home near 67th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road early Monday morning.

“I didn’t really think too much of it, because people do this out here all the time and there’s fireworks all the time,” he said.

But then he saw the horrific scene when he went outside.

“I heard a lot of commotion… I came out and then I saw she was laying on the ground,” said Hamilton. “She was just laying kind of face up, and there were about 7 shots they had fired… whoever this person was.”

When officers arrived, they discovered Felix’s body on the street.

More than an hour before her body was found, police believe 23-year-old Alexis Torres left the scene in a vehicle.

Detectives say that the vehicle was linked to a traffic stop near Dobbins and 7th Avenue, where a man ran from a car and barricaded himself inside a home.

Police say officers tried to convince the man to surrender without further violence, but instead, that man, now known as Torres, shot himself.

Police say Torres was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Detectives believe Torres killed Felix and was pulled over while fleeing the area.

Police also found a child inside the car Torres was driving.

Thankfully, that child was not hurt and was then turned over to DCS.

“I didn’t know her, but you have someone that dies violently like that right in front of your house… it bothered me,” said Hamilton. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

After Ronald learned what happened, he reached out to Felix’s family.

“They were all here last night,” he said. “The sisters… she had little babies too, she had like five kids… ugh… it broke my heart.”

Hamilton says he plans to be there for her family to offer support.

Meanwhile, there are still more questions than answers for her family.

According to Avondale Police, the child found in the car was taken from a home in Avondale. It’s still unclear how Torres, Felix and the child are related.

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