One death quickly led to five more in an apparent murder-suicide tragedy in Syosset, New York that police are still trying to piece together.
On August 19, 95-year-old Theresa DeLucia passed away. Then, on Sunday, one of her sons allegedly shot and killed her other three children, as well as a granddaughter — his niece — before turning the gun on himself.
Police on Long Island believe that Joseph DeLucia Jr., 59, may have been “panicked” that he was going to be cut from the will and no longer be able to live in the house he’d spent his entire life in.
According to authorities, Joane Kearns, 69, of Tampa, Florida; Frank Delucia, 64, of Durham, North Carolina; Tina Hammond, 64, of East Patchogue, New York; and her daughter Victoria Hammond, 30, had come together over this past week for Theresa’s funeral and to help take care of her will and the next steps.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, speaking to the press on Monday, called the scene on Wyoming Court one of the most “horrific” he’s ever seen. He then urged family to come forward whenever there is concern about someone’s mental state.
According to Ryder, Joseph had warned neighbors about what might happen. He said they were told, “If you hear gunshots, don’t bother calling 911, it’ll be too late.”
Around 12 p.m. on Sunday, a neighbor did call police, but it was too late. Authorities believe Joseph shot and killed his family members in the back of the house before stepping into the front yard and shooting himself, as detailed by Detective Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick.
Police stated there was a welfare check on the home in 2022, but Joseph “was not displaying any signs of anything that we would take action.”
“The perception of Joseph Jr. is that he was being cut out of the will,” Fitzpatrick said in the press conference, adding that Joseph has been known to have “past mental issues.”
“Because of that perception, he decided that day to get a loaded, Mossberg shotgun, 12 gauge, approached them in the rear area of the house, and from the kitchen, fired 12 shots, striking all four of them multiple times,” Fitzpatrick said.
“He then took the weapon, went out to the front lawn, was shouting indiscriminately about what happened,” he continued. “A neighbor heard him doing this, called 911, and that was our 911 caller. He then fired a self-inflicted shot to the chest.”
A 12-gauge pump action shotgun was found and recovered at the home, according to police, who noted it was legally purchased by the alleged shooter.
Police expressed concern that had they had more awareness of any signs of mental instability, “red flag” laws could have allowed them to keep DeLucia from owning a firearm.
“These are things that are disturbing to us as law enforcement that we open so many avenues to ask us for help,” said Ryder in the press conference. “We are asking our communities to not sit back. Be our eyes, be our ears and let us know what is happening.”
A neighbor who spoke with WNBC after the shooting, and lived across the street, described Joseph as having mental health issues. “I think the mother looked after him,” she told the outlet. “He really needed support, emotional support.”
On the day of the shooting, police said the family had converged on their mother’s home, where Joseph lived, to meet with a realtor to discuss selling the property. It is their belief that this is what triggered Joseph’s alleged response.
One neighbor told WABC that a realtor did arrive at the home later in the day on Sunday to work with the family on the next steps toward listing the house, but it was already a crime scene.
In the press conference, Fitzpatrick described Joseph as “kind of a hoarder.” He went on to explain, “He spent all his money on his tools and stuff. The house was pretty much packed with tools and stuff involved in auto mechanics.”
The detective captain said he’d never lived anywhere else or on his own, “so you can see the mindset where his world was now changing, 59 years old, and he was panicking.”
According to surviving members of the extended family, there was no intention to remove Joseph from the will, but the plan was to move him out of the home as it sold and see him relocated somewhere else.
