Pinyon Pines neighborhood reacts to recent arrests in murder case

“It was bad for the neighborhood. People starting locking their doors and stuff like that,” said Win Platzer, a resident of the Pinyon Pines neighborhood where the triple murder happened in 2006.

Neighbors in the tight-knit community of Pinyon Pines are still reeling years after the murder shook their sense of security.

“They have other cases too but this was a pretty drastic one, people really didn’t like it,” Platzer said.

Platzer moved to Pinyon Pines in 2005, just a year before the tragedy. He didn’t know the family personally, but recalls seeing the blaze from his home, about an acre away.

“I remember that I was on the property and heard helicopters, and I saw the house was burning,” he said.

Platzer is the only neighbor who agreed to speak with News Channel 3 on-camera. Others, who lived here when the murders happened, are still fearful for their lives. They said the neighborhood has never been the same since, and that different stories still float around about exactly what happened that September night in 2006.

“Well you know the neighborhood started talking, of course. There was a lot of rumoring and a lot of guessing happening,” Platzer said.

Nearly eight years after the murder, the foundation is all that remains of the house. While it was never rebuilt, neighbors hope the family can soon rebuild their lives after this case is closed.

“I would be very happy if it would be uncovered, really, because it’s heinous, it’s awful and it’s a bad example for other kids,” Platzer said.