‘We were concerned for the girls’: Man recounts finding bodies of girls, father in Renton duplex

It all started out as a wellness check, according to Carlo Papini, co-owner of a Renton duplex.

“We were concerned for the girls,” Carlo said. “The other tenants hadn’t seen any (recent) activity.”

Carlo was checking in on 16-year-old Mariel Gil, 17-year-old Adriana Gil, and Manuel Gil, their father. He found all three dead inside the duplex.

Renton detective found no evidence of trauma, foul play, forced entry, carbon monoxide poisoning, or drug use. An autopsy by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office could not determine a cause of death for any of the three people.

>> Deaths of two teen girls, father in Renton still unclear after autopsy

Nick Papini, who owns and operates the Renton duplex with Carlo (his brother), said he only remembered positive interactions with Manuel Gil.

“Everything was really positive,” Nick said. “That’s the part that is so concerning to us. What could’ve possibly happened?”

The night before he went to the duplex, Carlo got a call from Nick. Nick told him officers stopped by the duplex after receiving a 911 call from Betsy Alvarado.

Alvarado was the ex-wife of Manuel Gil, who lived in the duplex with their two daughters, Mariel Gil and Adriana Gil.

“She hadn’t talked to them for some months,” Renton Police Detective Robert Onishi said on Monday. “I think that was just a family situation. But she had heard through the grapevine that they were in danger of being evicted because nobody had paid the rent for a while. So, she came up concerned about that and called 911.”

Carlo denied any claims that Manuel was not paying rent or was behind on payments.

“Rent has been paid on time. That was not an issue,” Carlo said. He added that even if there were overdue payments, it would not have been spoken to about with anyone outside the household.

Alvarado said she’s been separated from Manuel since 2007. She also said he hadn’t seen her daughters for “about six-to-eight months.”

“After a while, (Adriana and Mariel) stopped answering everybody’s messages,” Alvarado said over the phone on Tuesday. “They were 11 months apart. They’re super close. They did everything together.”

After Alvarado called 911, Renton police officers went to the duplex on Friday, Dec. 10. The doors were locked and there was nothing alarming they could see from the outside, according to Renton Police.

The following morning, Carlo decided to check himself.

“I yelled out his name again and again,” Carlo said. “I yelled out his name again, then I walked in there. I walked into the room and there’s nothing out of place. So I just walked into the kitchen, looked around - nothing out of place. I turned around and I saw some blankets by the couch. I thought it was just blankets the kids left behind.”

Carlo took a closer look at the blankets sitting against the couch.

“I could see two little faces wrapped up in a comforter blanket. That’s when we decided to call 911,” he said.

Carlo never met Mariel or Adriana, but Nick would see them whenever the duplex needed maintenance.

“They would let us in because usually Manual was working,” Nick said. “They were very polite… I’ve got two daughters and I can just relate. It’s just really heart-wrenching. It just kind of hits home.”

“We’re here for them,” Carlo said about the families affected. “We’ll help them get through this the best we can.”

If you have any information that could help detectives, you’re asked to call the Renton Police Department at 425-430-7500 and refer to case 21-12197.

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