Francois

POUGHKEEPSIE, New York (CNN) -- The family of the man suspected of killing eight prostitutes in Poughkeepsie, New York, is pleading with reporters to respect their privacy.

"We find ourselves plagued by unimaginable circumstances," the family of Kendall Francois said Thursday in a statement released by their attorney, Marco Caviglia.

"Our youngest son is suspected of committing grave offenses from which his life hangs in the balance," the statement said. "We have virtually lost everything, been dispossessed of our home and cast into the street with only the clothes on our backs."

Francois, 27, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of second-degree murder Wednesday during his arraignment.

Police pulled the bodies of eight women from the attic, basement and crawlspace of the Poughkeepsie home where Francois lived with his mother, his father and younger sister.

The dead were identified as women who disappeared over the last two years and had histories of prostitution and drug problems.