A mother and daughter duo were among those killed in a tragic murder-suicide in Long Islands over the weekend.
Joseph DeLucia Jr., 59, killed three siblings, his niece, and then himself after learning they were planning to sell their mother’s home following her demise.
The victims were identified as Tina Hammond, 64, as well as Victoria Hammond, 30, Joanne Kearns, 69, and Frank DeLucia, 71.
The siblings had lost their mother, Theresa De Lucia recently and were discussing selling her Syosset home where Joseph had been staying with her.
All three other siblings lived elsewhere – Kearns in Tampa, Florida, Frank DeLucia in Durham, North Carolina; and Tina Hammond and her daughter Victoria in East Patchogue on Long Island.
Upset over the impending sale and being told to move out, Joseph carried out his plan when they met on Sunday to discuss the sale.
He shot all four and then himself.
“The gunman’s perception was that he was being cut out of the will and that he would be displaced with nowhere to go,” Nassau County Police Detective Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said at a news conference Monday.
“Because of that perception, he decided that day to get a loaded Mossberg shotgun, 12 gauge, approach them in the rear area of the house and from the kitchen, fired 12 shots, striking all four of them multiple times.”
According to police, members in the community were concerned about the mental state of Joseph DeLucia but law enforcement did not get that information till after the shooting.