MARIANNA, Pa. (AP) — A man suspected of killing his wife and two young children in the family’s rural home in western Pennsylvania was arrested Thursday after a daylong manhunt and charged in their deaths.

 

Orlando Maurice Guarino, 38, was charged with three counts of homicide after being captured in Washington, Pa., said state police Capt. Sheldon Epstein.

As he was being led to his arraignment Thursday night, Guarino told reporters he didn’t commit the killings. But he also said: “It could be me, man, you never know. I’m not going to play it out in the media. … Anything’s possible, you know what I mean? You look at the circumstances, I mean, I would accuse me too.”

The Guarinos had a history of accusing each other of abuse and had recently separated.

According to a police affidavit, Guarino had previously said that he would take out anyone who interfered with custody of his children, then “take the children out and kill himself.”

Troopers captured Guarino after a foot chase, during which one of the troopers fired a shot, Epstein said. The shot did not hit anyone, he said.

The arrest ended a search in which authorities surrounded a motel and used electronic billboard messages on highways to ask motorists to look out for a white GMC pickup truck Guarino was believed to be driving. Helicopters also scoured the area.

The bodies of 22-year-old Ashley Guarino, her 2-year-old daughter Dreux and 11-month-old son Orlando Jr. were found by relatives around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. Ashley Guarino was found in a laundry room, Dreux was upstairs and the baby was in his crib, according to the affidavit.

Washington County Coroner Tim Warco said it appeared the victims were asphyxiated. He ruled the deaths homicides.

Court documents show Orlando and Ashley Guarino accused each other of abuse last month, and a protection-from-abuse order had been issued against Orlando Guarino. Among her allegations, Ashley Guarino claimed her husband had held the boy out the window of a moving vehicle.

Orlando Guarino’s request for a protective order against his wife was denied. He had filed papers claiming she and her father threatened to shoot him.

It was not clear Thursday if Guarino had obtained an attorney.

 

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