Brother Sought In Turnpike Slaying Of 4

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The family of four found shot to death along the Florida Turnpike was laid to rest Monday in Brownsville, Texas , and police consider the father's brother a person of interest in the case.

Jose Luis Escobedo Jr., 28, his wife Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, 25, and their two sons Luis Damian Escobedo, 3, and Luis Julian Escobedo, 4, were found two weeks ago fatally shot on the turnpike in Port St. Lucie.

Investigators said they believe the family's Jeep had pulled to the side of the highway before someone else in the vehicle shot them and drove away sometime in the middle of the night.

The mother was found clutching her two sons in an apparent effort to protect them. The body of the father, who was to turn 29 that Saturday, was found nearby. The victims appeared to be lying down or kneeling when they were shot, Sheriff Ken J. Mascara said.

Investigators said that each member of the family died from more than one gunshot wound.

Authorities found the family's 1998 four-door black Jeep Cherokee a few days after the slayings in an industrial section of West Palm Beach, about 70 miles south of where the shootings occurred, Mascara said.

Andrew Brown, an employee of Brandon Shipping Service in West Palm Beach, told TV station WPBF that he found the vehicle hidden next to a row of bushes and called police.

Mascara described the killings as "the most gruesome" murder scene he and his colleagues have ever witnessed.

"It was not a murder-suicide," Mascara said. "It was murder."

"If anyone saw the car that brought the bodies to the turnpike shoulder or the people who may have done this, I am asking that people call 911 in St. Lucie County or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-TIPS (1-800-273-8477) to report their information," Mascara said.

Police said that along with another unnamed individual, they are searching for wanted fugitive Jose Manuel Escobedo, slain Jose Julian Escobedo's younger brother.

Investigators said that they believe the younger brother has connections to a Gulf Coast drug cartel, and according to police reports, three years ago he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling cocaine.

Texas prosecutors said Jose Manuel Escobedo was convicted in a conspiracy involving 19 defendants operating in the Houston, Texas, area, trafficking illegal drugs.

According to police, Jose Manuel Escobedo was released to a halfway house in Louisiana to complete his sentence when he disappeared.

The Escobedo family said they have not seen or heard from the younger brother, only that he had disappeared around the time his brother's family moved to Greenacres, Fla.

Police told WPBF that the day the family was murdered was also the same day as the younger brother's birthday.

Police said that the younger Escobedo is still on the run, and may currently be residing in Matamoros, Mexico.

Matamoros is across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas.