Kids hear dad say ‘I’m going to kill them’ before entering parents’ home, officials say

A 37-year-old is going to prison after he was accused of killing his parents and brother in 2021, Arizona officials said.

Brandon Michael Lujan’s two daughters were in his car when they said they heard their dad say “I’m going to kill them all” before entering his parents’ home, according to a July 24 news release by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

The following day, Phoenix police were called to a hospital after Lujan told staff he “murdered his family members the night before,” prosecutors said.

Lujan shot his brother, Matthew Lujan, first before entering the home and shooting his parents Lewis Lujan and Irene Lujan, officials said and news outlets reported.

“Uncle Lewis, he was always very giving,” Kyle Irwin, one of the couple’s nephews, told 12 News in 2021. “He was a plumber. I know he was out of work recently, [but] he’s a cancer survivor.”

“Irene had a very bubbly personality, she was big on games, she loved to play board games,” Irwin told 12 News.

Brandon Lujan fired so many rounds at his parents that he had to reload the gun, prosecutors said.

After investigating, police learned Brandon Lujan and his wife, Raylien Loest, had been kicked out of his parents’ home, officials said.

Loest was sentenced to three years in prison connected to driving the getaway car, officials said.

Brandon Lujan was found guilty of three counts of murder, officials said. He was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

“To murder your family in such a deliberate, callous manner and express no remorse shows a remarkable lack of humanity,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release. “I am thankful to the prosecutors in this case who ensured this dangerous individual is never released.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Kids hear dad say ‘I’m going to kill them’ before entering parents’ home, officials say."