U.S. & World News

BOSTON (CBS) ― Four children in a two-state Amber Alert have been found safe in New York. The children were allegedly taken by their father from a murder scene in Lynn early Wednesday morning.

Authorities in New York found the children safely at Union and Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn Wednesday evening where they had been spotted earlier in the day.

The children, all ages 3 and younger, were taken from their home sometime after 1 a.m. where a woman was found stabbed to death in her home. Police later released surveillance video of the family at South Station in Boston where it's believed they took a bus to New York City.

Rodlyn Petitbois, 25, is wanted for the woman's murder. Police say he took his four children and their mother, Louna Eveillard, 26, from the scene against their will. Authorities said Petitbois may have been armed and is dangerous.

"We believe she was not a willing participant," State Trooper Eric Benson said.

Police arrested Petitbois in Brooklyn and have charged him with murder.  He was arrested around 6 p.m. while walking down the street by the Brooklyn Homicide Unit, police said.  Eveillard and the four children were found a short time later in a Brooklyn apartment.

Late Wednesday afternoon, police expanded their search into the New York City metropolitan area where they believe the family traveled to by bus from Boston. Petitbois and Eveillard have last known addresses in Brooklyn and may have been in the vicinity of 534 Flatbush Ave at 1:40 p.m.

Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said investigators received a report of a sighting of the family in Boston's Haymarket Square Wednesday morning, which led investigators to surveillance video of the family at South Station.

In the released surveillance video, the 11-month-old child was seen wearing a red and white striped shirt and white pants. In the images, it doesn't appear any of the four children were wearing shoes. One of the children was wearing a yellow top.

Rodlyn Petitbois was seen wearing flip-flops, what appears to be a football jersey with a No. 3 on it and a backpack. Louna Eveillard was wearing a white T-shirt, blue cropped pants, white flip-flops and a handkerchief in her hair.

Police also released a surveillance image of Rodlyn Petitbois alone at Haymarket Station Wednesday morning.

The children are identified as Ryan Petitbois, a black male, age 3; Lyndsey Petitbois, a black female, age 2; Lauren Petitbois, a black female, age 1; and Roddick Petitbois, a black male, age 11 months.

Rodlyn Petitbois is black with black hair worn in cornrows and/or dreadlocks. When last seen he had a beard. Authorities urge the public not to approach him if he is seen, but rather, to call police immediately with his location.

Eveillard is black with a slender build and short hair. She speaks broken English and is of Haitian descent. She also is believed to have a significant fresh injury to one of her hands and may be in need of medical attention or wearing a bandage around one of her hands. In the surveillance videos, she was wearing a white bandage on her left hand.

Blodgett said an earlier report of a 1992 white Buick Roadmaster being used in the abduction turned out to be unfounded.

It's unclear what led Petitbois to the apartment of the victim, Greenland Etienne, 33, of Lynn.

She was stabbed in the face and died a short time later at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Etienne was a mother of four children.

"She was a good mother, and she was a good sister to me, too," said Etienne's brother, Steven Etienne. "She was a good person. That's what I want to people to know about her."

Steven Etienne said his sister died trying to protect her friend, Louna Eveillard, when she was attacked by Petitbois.

Etienne said he found his sister on the floor in the Lynn house after she had been stabbed.

Blodgett said authorities believe there was a "social" relationship between Greeland Etienne and Petitbois but that link was still being investigated.

According to court documents, Petitbois assaulted Louna Eveillard three weeks ago and that Eveillard feared he would kill her. She then took the children to stay at the High Rock Street residence. According to the documents, Petitbois had since been looking for them.

Police said Petitbois, 25, came to the United States in 1999 through New York, and state and New York City authorities have been put on notice and eventually issued their own Amber Alert when the family was spotted in Brooklyn.

The FBI and immigration authorities also are investigating. Blodgett did not specify Petitbois' home country or immigration status.

Blodgett said Petitbois did not have a local criminal history, and had a government-issued photo identification but not a driver's license.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 immediately or call 866-NYS-AMBER.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)