Quadruple Murder Suspect May Have Had Help on Run With Autistic Boy

A Florida man who is in custody and suspected of killing four people before disappearing with a 4-year-old autistic boy, believed to be his son, had help while he was on the run, Florida police said Friday. Adam Matos, 28, was attempting to get to the Florida Keys but was apprehended at Floridian Hotel in Tampa early Friday morning, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said. Nocco said investigators have learned that before Matos was located, he was "drunk at a local bar passed out in the bathroom," meaning that "somebody at that time was taking care of that little boy."

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An Amber Alert was issued for 4-year-old Ismael Tristan Santisteban on Thursday after the bodies of two men and two women were found near the boy's home. The victims have not been identified, pending results from the medical examiner. After his arrest, Matos told NBC affiliate WFLA that he didn't kill anybody and just hoped his son " is safe right now." But Nocco said the investigation was pointing toward Matos as the quadruple murderer. "Adam Matos is our suspect," Nocco said during a news conference.

The child, known as Tristan, was in the custody of child protective services on Friday, Nocco said.

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— Elisha Fieldstadt