A tragic murder-suicide on August 25 claimed five lives at a home in Long Island, New York.
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Home Leads To Suburban Murder-Suicide
A Long Island man killed his three siblings and niece before taking his own life outside their family home.
PEOPLE reports the family was about to meet with a realtor to sell the house when the incident occurred.
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Newsweek reveals that Joseph DeLucia Jr. struggled with losing his lifelong home after his mother’s death.
PEOPLE says that Joseph fired 12 shots from a shotgun, hitting his family members four times while waiting for the realtor. In a statement, the Nassau County Police Medic pronounced all five victims dead at the scene.
NBC News reports that DeLucia shot his siblings — Joanne Kearns, Frank DeLucia, Tina Hammond, and Tina’s daughter Victoria Hammond two days after his mother’s funeral.
Per NBC News Joseph DeLucia Jr. lived with his mother in the Syosset home, while two siblings lived elsewhere.
Joseph’s mother, Theresa DeLucia, died on August 19 at 95, and her funeral took place on August 23.
During the conference, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder called this one of the most “horrific” crime scenes he had ever encountered.
Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick told PEOPLE DeLucia felt distressed by his mother’s death and the sale of his Syosset home.
“The perception of Joseph Jr. was that he was being cut out of the will and was going to be displaced without a place to go,” Fitzpatrick explained.
Officers found DeLucia on the front lawn after responding to gunfire reports at the Wyoming Avenue home, Fitzpatrick stated.
“He then took the weapon, went out to the front lawn, was shouting indiscriminately about what happened. A neighbor heard him doing this and called 911, and that was our 911 caller. He then fired a self-inflicted shot to the chest and killed himself,” Fitzpatrick said.
PEOPLE also reveals that Joseph legally owned the shotgun. Carrying it would have been illegal if he had not been mentally stable.
Surviving family members informed police that Joseph DeLucia was never going to be excluded from the will, per NBC New York. Furthermore, he would have to relocate once the sale was final.
More Details On The Joseph DeLucia
In 2022, police visited Long Island, New York, for a wellness check on Joseph.
Authorities said that during the visit, Joseph DeLucia showed no signs of being a danger to himself or others. However, PEOPLE states that Joseph was never involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation.
