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Funeral Mass said for slain family in West Brookfield
Mother and her three children found burned
By Travis Andersen and John R. Ellement
Globe Staff

A funeral Mass was said Tuesday for a mother and her three young children who were recently murdered in their West Brookfield home, a horrific crime that shocked residents of the small Worcester County town of 3,700 people.

The deaths of Sara M. Bermudez and her children — Madison M., 8, James C., 6, and Michael E., 2 — remain under investigation by Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s office, which has asked for the public’s help in locating a yellow gas can that was discovered missing from the Bermudez home. The victims suffered burn injuries.

On Tuesday morning, between 60 and 70 mourners attended the Mass at All Saints Church in Ware, said the Rev. Piotr Calik, administrator of the church.

Most of the attendees, Calik said, were relatives and “people from town who came to support them.’’

The bodies of the victims were discovered March 1 after Moses C. Bermudez, Sara’s husband, called from California, where he was working, and told relatives he could not reach his wife and children.

His father went to the couple’s home at 10 Old Warren Road and found the bodies. No arrests have been made.

Sara Bermudez, 38, was a native of El Salvador, where she and Moses started their family before they moved to California several years ago. The family then moved to West Brookfield, according to an obituary posted to the website of the Varnum Funeral Home.

“They moved to Massachusetts to enjoy the beauty of the country and to be surrounded by their loving family,’’ the obituary said. “Sara was a homemaker with a love for God and Family. Madison enjoyed being the true princess, with a smile always on her face. James was always running around playing and laughing at his own inside jokes. Michael was the joy and reflection of his siblings. The family enjoyed many outings to Chuck E Cheese.’’

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.