ELKHART — A year after tragedy struck, after losing a husband and two sons, Maria Aguilar moved on with her life. After moving from family and friends’ homes, she recently bought a new home and is in the process of moving in with her daughters. But the pain — the loss and unanswered questions — still haunts her.

“It’s definitely been hard for them, learning how to grow up without a father or raising two daughters, when you’re used to having that one person there,” said Anjelica Chavarria, a close friend of the Aguilars, “they are working it day by day.”

On Aug. 22, 2011, Antonio Aguilar and his two sons, Ricardo Aguilar, 13 and Adolfo Aguilar, 6, died when a man threw a lit propane tank through a window of the home, located on 1108 Grant St. According to neighbors, the house was completely ablaze in seconds.

The man accused of throwing the propane tank, Francisco Macias, is also accused of stabbing two women. According to reports from the Elkhart Police Department, Macias had stabbed Maria Miranda at her residence at 1822 Mediterranean Ave. around 1:45 a.m.

After causing the fire on Grant Street, he drove around 3:14 a.m. to Maria Aceituno Sanchez’s residence, at 1113 Whitfield Court, where he stabbed her.

Around 4:50 a.m., after leading police on a slow-speed car chase, he took his life by igniting his own car.

Sgt. Steve Price, with the Elkhart Police Department’s homicide unit, said the case is now closed, after police reached the conclusion that Macias knew someone from the family and they “firmly believed” the two stabbings and the fire were caused by the same person.

“We have good reason, through the information that we have, to believe that’s what occurred, but we were never able to ultimately corroborate that,” Price said.

Maria Aguilar and her two daughters will continue living in Elkhart. Miranda and Aceituno Sanchez have both moved since the incident.

Keeping the good memories

About 50 people gathered at St. Vincent de Paul around 6:30 p.m. for a celebration in honor of Jose Aguilar and his sons, as well as his wife and daughters. After the celebration, many drove to 1108 Grant st. to leave flowers, candles and prayers.

“We just want to keep the good memories alive and not worry about the bad things,” said Chavarria.

Jose Aguilar and his sons were just overall hard workers, and were always involved in their community, “especially with the soccer team, he traveled with his sons and he knew a lot of people of the community from that aspect.

“He was a hard worker, the kids were involved in soccer and they were great students at school,” she said.

Maricruz Aguilar, who lives just a few blocks from the site of the crime, said the incident is not one to forget easily, nor were the family members they lost. Maricruz Aguilar was Jose Aguilar’s sister-in-law.

“We’ll always remember them,” she said. “We miss them every day, but we know now they are with God. We’ll always have them in our hearts, and we know Ricardo and Adolfo will forever be angels.”