The couple and mother who were tragically murdered in their home over the weekend were beloved by family members and their faith community, the victims’ relatives said in a letter to parishioners at Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton sent Monday afternoon.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share that the terrible tragedy that happened yesterday in Newton hit very close to home… impacting our faith community and our own family,” the letter read. “Jill and Bruno D’Amore and Jill’s mother Lucia Arpino lost their lives in a senseless act of violence.”

The three were found dead in their Newton home Sunday morning by a friend who noticed them missing in church Sunday morning. The D’Amores were set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at the Sunday mass.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said there was signs of forced entry at the home and warned community members to keep their doors and windows locked as the search for the killer continues.

Jill and Bruno D’Amore were in their 70s, and Lucia Arpino was in her 90s.

The pastor at Our Lady Help of Christians — the family’s church of many decades — Father Dan Wiley said the three were “salt-of-the-earth, wonderful people” and “full of warmth and hospitality.”

“We’ll all particularly feel the loss of these three people,” Wiley said.

The family’s letter noted how Jill D’Amore spent “endless hours” taking care of the church’s flowers and decorating for the liturgical seasons.

Bruce D’Amore, the letter said, “was known for his big voice and his exuberant personality and as ‘head chef,’ he proudly flipped the burgers at the parish picnic.”

Lucia Arpino never missed a 10 a.m. mass up until the pandemic, attending for over 60 years, and faithfully walking in the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Festa procession each year.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the couple would’ve been blessed and renewed their vows in front of the congregation and celebrated with their family and friends, Wiley said.

In just the last day, the community’s response to the tragedy has been “phenomenal,” Wiley said, with members gathering and offering support to one another and for the family.

“In the midst of horrible evil, there’s been incredible, generous good,” the pastor said.

The church is planning to host a gathering to remember the three parishioners, Wiley said, which they will announce to the community shortly.

“Many in our faith community are grieving this great loss,” the family said in the letter. “We ask for your prayers for them, most especially for their three children and their five grandchildren.”