Matthew Rodrigo Flores was 10 when he and two members of his family were killed in their Pico Rivera home in the early hours of July 21, 2000. Matthew, his father Richard and his brother Richard Jr. were stabbed while the family slept; mother Sylvia Flores survived but suffered severe injuries, including 15 stab wounds and a slashed throat. Two other household members, Monica Diaz’s half-sister Laura Reta and the eldest Flores daughter Esperanza, both 18, also survived.

Authorities say the attack was carried out by Michael Naranjo, then 17, with Monica Diaz, then 16, participating. Monica had been adopted into the Flores household. Prosecutors alleged the pair intended to stage a fake robbery to bring the family closer together, a plan that escalated into deadly violence; Michael carried out most of the stabbings while Monica’s involvement was treated as equal.

Both defendants were arrested and later convicted: Michael pleaded guilty in October 2003 and received life without parole; Monica was convicted in February 2004 and given a 100-year-to-life sentence, a ruling later upheld on appeal. Does anyone have memories of the Flores family or information about the night of July 21, 2000?