The brother responsible for killing his three siblings and a niece before turning the gun on himself may have “panicked” that the family was considering selling the Long Island home he had lived in his entire life, police said, a day after all five family members were found shot to death.
Police spent 10 hours Sunday combing the quiet Syosset cul-de-sac where Joseph DeLucia Jr. allegedly killed the four victims in the back of the home before stepping out onto the front lawn and shooting himself in the chest, Detective Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said Monday.
The victims were identified as Joanne 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, also of East Patchogue.
The family’s Wyoming Court home was one of the most “horrific” scenes ever witnessed by Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, who spent a briefing Monday asking the public to come forward if they have concerns about someone’s mental well-being.
Neighbors, he said, reported after Sunday’s murder-suicide that the man warned that a shooting was coming. The commissioner said DeLucia told neighbors, “If you hear gunshots, don’t bother calling 911, it’ll be too late.” Ryder said police have not yet been able to verify those accounts.
A neighbor called 911 around noon after the 59-year-old man had already fired the fatal shots in what police believe was an apparent dispute over the house. DeLucia had lived in the house his entire life and did not want to leave.
“Joseph Jr.’s perception is that he was left out of the will,” said Fitzpatrick, who also confirmed that the man had “mental issues in the past.”
According to police, a welfare check was carried out at the address in 2022, but the man “showed no signs of anything that would require us to take action”. He had also been arrested in 1983 for drink driving.
Neighbors and police confirmed that the siblings’ mother, 95-year-old Theresa DeLucia, died a week ago. Several of her children had traveled from out of state to attend the funeral and take care of her will.
Police said the siblings gathered at the home Sunday to meet with a real estate agent to discuss plans to sell the property. They believe DeLucia Jr., upset about the idea of moving, was pushed to take the deadly action. Ryder said surviving family members assured police the man was not cut out of the will, but would be moved out of the home and relocated.
Police say a man shot four people before turning the gun on himself at a Syosset home, News 4’s Jessica Cunnington reports.
A 12-gauge shotgun was found at the residence, police said. The firearm was legally purchased by the shooter, they said.
Wendy Paisner lives across the street and has seen the woman’s children at the home in recent days, including one who visited from North Carolina.
“I just saw that they arrived and they were there to attend the mother’s funeral, then to pay their respects and then to sell the house,” she told News 4.
Paisner said DeLucia lived at home with one of her adult sons who had mental health issues.
“I think his mother took care of him,” she said. “He really needed support, emotional support.”
