As the investigation continues into a murder-suicide that left three members of a Lake Linganore family dead, the focus is on finding a safe home for the surviving 5-year-old girl, authorities said Friday.
Benyam “Ben” Asefa, 40, Barbara Giomarelli, 42, and their 3-month-old son, Samuel Asefa, suffered fatal gunshot wounds in their home Wednesday night.
The couple’s daughter managed to escape to a neighbor’s house on Woods Court and ask for help.
Giomarelli, who was from Italy, was a researcher for the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology.
The Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia is working with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and was in touch with the family in Italy.
Members of Giomarelli’s family were expected to arrive in Maryland from Italy on Friday afternoon and meet with the sheriff’s office to discuss the investigation and custody, Clarke said.
“We’ll be with the family all weekend,” he said Friday.
Andrea Canepari, consul general for the Italian Consulate, said their priority is making sure the surviving daughter is safe.
“We are very sad about what happened. It’s an awful situation,” he told The Frederick News-Post on Friday. “We have to wait and see what will be the conclusion with the police and legal authorities in Maryland. … The first thing is to be sure the child is fine and that she will not be traumatized any more.”
Canepari said it was too soon to determine who will take custody of the little girl.
“I think it’s a little early,” he said. “We have two families involved. I imagine there are a lot of emotions.”
Benyam Asefa was a clinical immunologist at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, a subcontractor to Battelle Memorial Institute, according to the National Institutes of Health. He worked at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Frederick from March 19, 2012, to Sept. 26. He was also an adjunct professor of biology at Hood College from 2004 to 2012.
Asefa’s family lives in New York, Clarke said.
Aimee McBride, who lives in the same neighborhood of Lake Linganore as Asefa and Giomarelli did, raised money with others Friday to benefit the little girl.
“Our community is grief-stricken, but most of all my thoughts turn to a child left without her family; the only world she has ever known,” McBride wrote on an online fundraising page, which raised more than $2,000.
McBride said she hopes the money will help family members care for the child.
The child “is a sweet, sweet girl. She’s a sweet, precious little thing,” McBride said. “My heart just breaks for her.”
McBride said she got to know the girl, her parents and her baby brother while the families waited at the school bus stop together in the afternoons.
“The family was very sweet people — all of them,” McBride said. “Both parents loved their children dearly. From what I saw, it was a loving family. None of it makes sense.”
Susan Mitchell, the neighbor the 5-year-old ran to Wednesday night, said she had dinner with the family last week.
“They were very nice,” Mitchell said. “I never thought this was even possible.”
Clarke said the daughter is struggling with emotional trauma and is aware of what took place. The sheriff’s office is withholding further details of the murder-suicide until they can sit down with the family to discuss the case, he said.
“This little girl is here by the grace of God,” McBride said.
By Daniel J. Gross and Danielle E. Gaines News-Post Staff
![Saudi Arabia: A Dying Ancient Regime [By Kebour Ghenna]](https://www.ethiopianopinion.com/wp-content/plugins/top-10/timthumb/timthumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethiopianopinion.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F11%2Fkibour-150x150.jpg&w=&h=&zc=1&q=75 "Saudi Arabia: A Dying Ancient Regime [By Kebour Ghenna]")
