Put tragedy 'in hands of God,' pastor says after Indianapolis murders

Published: 2006-06-07

INDIANAPOLIS (CNS) -- Father Michael O'Mara can still picture the two Covarrubias boys proudly standing in front of the altar May 21 preparing to receive their first holy Communion while their parents and their extended family beamed with joy. Less than two weeks later, the boys were shot and killed in their Indianapolis home, along with their parents and three other family members. The seven murders June 1 marked the worst mass killing in Indianapolis history. People were shocked and horrified by the killings, which also left their mark on Father O'Mara -- the priest who gave the homilies at funeral Masses for family members June 6 and 7. As he prepared to give the homilies, he relied upon his memories of the family while he tried to make sense of the deaths. He could still see the two brothers -- Alberto, 11, and David, 8 -- sitting at Sunday Mass on either side of their father, Alberto Covarrubias Sr., 56. He could still see the faces of the boys' mother -- 46-year-old Emma Valdez -- and her two children from a previous marriage, Magno Albarran, 29, and Flora Albarran, 22. Then there was the face of Flora's 5-year-old son, Luis Albarran. Each of the seven had been shot in the head and the body during an attempted robbery in their home, according to the Indianapolis Police Department.

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