Police: Public help sought to ID triple slaying suspects

Investigators have linked the triple slaying at Lorena's Grocery in West Philadelphia last year to two other corner store robberies, and are now asking for the public's help in identifying "three persons of interest" in the murders, police said.

Police believe the same men who executed Lorena's owner, Porfirio Nunez, 50, his wife Juana, 49, and his sister Lina Sanchez, 48, during a September 6 robbery also stuck up a Southwest Philadelphia corner store last summer.

That robbery was captured on security footage and the suspect's faces are more visible than in footage from the Lorena's murders.

On Sept. 6, just minutes before closing time, three men walked into Lorena's, announcing a robbery. The gunmen then opened fire, killing Nunez and his family members in the back of the store.

On August 7, three gunmen entered the Jaquez Grocery Store at 62nd and Reedland with one gunmen shoving a Tec-9 into the face of a woman working the counter, while another suspect trained a handgun on two employees in the back of the bodega.

A third suspect acted as a lookout. The suspects forced the victims into the basement, then emptied the cash register of about $7,500 before fleeing.

Police are asking the public to review the surveillance footage, believing the same men may killed Nunez and his family members.

In the video, the gunmen is about 5'8", thinly built in his late twenties and was wearing an orange baseball cap. Another suspect had a full beard and wore a blue Los Angeles Dodgers cap.

Tipsters should call homicide at 215-686-3334.

There is a $50,000 reward in the Lorena's Grocery killings.

Police also believe the same suspects are connected to a July shooting at a North Philadelphia corner store.

On July 25, three men entered the Norris Mini-Market on the 2000 block of North Gratz. Two of the suspects pushed store employees to the back of the store, while another shot and wounded a man behind the counter.

The development represents the strongest lead in the five-month old Lorena's investigation, said Homicide Sgt. Bob Wilkins, who is in charge of taskforce into the killings.

Homicide Capt. James Clark said he created the taskforce last month to spark fresh leads in the case.

Now, police need someone to identify the three men in the video, he said.

"Someone knows who these guys are," Clark said. "We need them to step forward and tell us so we can get them in prison where they belong."

Contact staff writer Mike Newall at 215-854-2759, mnewall@phillynews.com, or @MikeNewall on Twitter.