Son Of Slain Former Lehigh Valley Resident Returned To Family

By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff)

The 4-year-old boy who disappeared following a quadruple homicide that claimed three former Lehigh Valley residents as victims - including the boy’s mother - has been safely returned to his family, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Melanie Snow said the office won’t elaborate on the boy’s location or which family member now has Ismael “Tristan” Santisteban custody.

The boy’s father, 28-year-old Adam Matos, appeared in court Sunday after he was identified as the suspect in the murders. Matos, who had attempted to flee with his 4-year-old son, was held in the Pasco County Jail on $200,000 bail.

Pasco County, Fla. sheriff’s deputies found the bodies Thursday of two men and two women: Megan Brown, 27, Matos’s ex-girlfriend and the 4-year-old boy’s mother; her parents, Margaret and Greg Brown, both 52; and another man, Nicholas Leonard, who was currently dating the boy’s mother.

Matos has not yet been charged in the murder; he was instead jailed on an aggravated assault charge in a separate case in which he allegedly held a knife to Megan Brown’s throat on Aug. 28.

The hunt for Ismael “Tristan” Santisteban was launched Thursday after deputies conducted a welfare check at his 7719 Hatteras Drive home in Hudson, Fla. Tristan’s mother, Megan Brown, called deputies out to the address on Aug. 28 following the altercation with her ex-boyfriend, Matos.

Deputies returned to the home Thursday when someone called to say no one from the address had been heard from in several days. When deputies arrived at the home, they were drawn to a foul odor on a hill near the home. There they found four decomposing bodies, but Tristian was not among them.

A search for Tristan and Matos, the boy’s biological father, was launched and an AMBER Alert was issued. Matos and the boy were later found in downtown Tampa’s Floridan hotel. Matos was subsequently charged with the Aug. 28 aggravated assault

Leonard’s family spoke out about their loss on Monday and thanked the sheriff’s office and Pasco residents for their support.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Deputy Michael Shoup, who dates Leonard’s sister, said he was a good man who was caring and goofy, according to The Tampa Tribune.

Leonard was “always with a grin or some kind of goofy face or funny face,” the paper quoted Shoup as saying.

At this time, the sheriff’s office says it is making no additional statements on the case, nor is it granting interviews, pending additional charges.

Photo Credit: Ismael “Tristan” Santisteban and former Brick resident Megan Brown/Photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office