DANBURY — A mother appears to have strangled her three children before taking her own life, police said late Thursday morning.
A preliminary investigation indicates Sonia Loja, 36, killed her children, Junior Panjon, 12, Joselyn Panjon, 10, and Jonael Panjon, 5, before killing herself in the shed, Danbury Police Detective Capt. Mark Williams said.
Williams said the children appeared to have died of strangulation and Loja died by hanging herself in a shed in the backyard. Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday.
The deaths left the normally quiet neighborhood in shock Thursday.
Some neighbors of the light blue one-story house, which sits at the corner of Whaley and Blaine streets, were stunned Thursday morning as police and media converged on the neighborhood.
“This is crazy. I didn’t get it,” said one neighbor, Ralph Bioger. “It’s just weird to me. … Four people died. In my neighborhood. Kind of a hard pill to swallow.
Danbury Police said they were called to the Whaley Street home around 6:30pm Wednesday for a welfare check. The male caller was distressed and crying, Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said Wednesday night.
Ridenher said officers found three children between the ages of 5 and 12 dead inside the home. Officers continued to investigate and found a dead woman in a shed in the backyard, according to Ridenhour.
Ridenher said police are not releasing the names of the dead pending notification of next of kin.
As of late Wednesday, no arrests had been made, Ridenher said.
He added that the incident appears to be isolated and there is no danger to the public. The police’s General Investigations Unit and Special Victims Unit are investigating.
The backyard and area around the front door remained cordoned off to onlookers with yellow police caution tape Thursday morning. In the backyard there is a well-tended garden, along with a children’s house and a swing.
Neighbor Atkin Guichard said he was shocked and “horrified” by the violent death.
“It’s a very quiet neighborhood, if something happens, everyone on the block should know,” said Guichard, who has lived there for 18 years. “But it’s a tragedy I can’t even begin to fathom.
“It’s shocking. I can’t believe it. I’m still shaking,” he said. “I can’t believe something like this happened on this street. It’s a very quiet street. You haven’t heard of such things happening here.
As the birds tweet, Guishard said, “If you’re listening now, that’s usually the case in this area,” he said. “It’s a quiet neighborhood.”
Biaugher said he has never seen police activity in his 25 years in the neighborhood.
“It’s a great neighborhood,” he said. “Great neighborhood.”
As for the nearby house at the center of the tragedy, he said children were often seen playing happily in the yard.
“They always wave at me when I get out of the car,” Bioger said. “When I left work, they were playing in the yard, laughing, riding bikes. Nothing unusual. You would never think something like this would happen.
This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day.
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