Who is Joseph DeLucia? Man Who Killed Family in Long Island Murder-Suicide

Joseph DeLucia, Jr. was unable to come to terms with losing the home he had lived in for his entire life after the death of his mother.

Instead, he shot four of his family members and later himself in an apparent murder-suicide on Sunday as they waited for a real estate agent to arrive.

Joseph DeLucia, Jr., 59, lived with his 95-year-old mother, Theresa Martha DeLucia, in Syosset, New York.

The woman died on August 19, so the family had planned to meet to discuss the sale of the house.

Joseph DeLucia, Jr. was worried that he would not have a place to live, Nassau County officials said at a press conference on Monday.

Officials responded to the home for a report of shots fired at around noon. Police found 69-year-old Joann Kearns, 64-year-old Frank DeLucia, 64-year-old Tina Hammond and 30-year-old Victoria Hammond fatally shot in the rear den of the residence. The victims were the siblings and niece of Joseph DeLucia, Jr.

“The perception of Joseph Jr. was he was being cut out of the will and was going to be displaced without a place to go,” Nassau County Police Department Detective Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick said at the press conference. “He had past mental issues, psych issues, that were reported to us. 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.”

Joseph DeLucia, Jr. was found dead on the front lawn of the home. He worked as an auto mechanic at a local dealership.

“He was kind of a hoarder, spent all his money on his tools and stuff,” Fitzpatrick said, “The house was pretty much packed with tools and stuff involved in auto mechanics. He lived there all his life, never lived on his own. So you can see the mindset where his world was now changing, 59 years old, and he was panicking.”

He was also a former EMT, according to the New York Post.

Police had previously responded to the home for a wellness check, but found no signs that Joseph DeLucia, Jr. was in danger at the time. He was arrested in 1983 for driving under the influence.

Officials said some neighbors were aware of Joseph DeLucia, Jr.’s struggles after his mother’s death and were concerned he might harm himself or others, but nobody reported it to police until after the deadly incident.

“These are things that are disturbing to us as law enforcement as we open so many avenues to ask us for help,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. “We are asking our communities to not sit back. Be our eyes, be our ears and let us know what is happening.”

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