The brother responsible for killing his three siblings and a niece before turning the gun on himself may "panicked" over the family's plan to sell 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., is believed to have killed the four victims in the rear of the home before stepping out into the front lawn and shooting himself in the chest, Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick explained Monday.
DeLucia Jr. fired 12 times to kill his four family members before turning the gun on himself as he sat in a chair in the front yard.
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 home on Wyoming Court was one of the most "horrific" scenes ever seen by Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, who spent a press briefing Monday pleading with the public to come forward when concerned about someone's mental well-being.
Neighbors, he explained, shared accounts after Sunday's murder-suicide of the man allegedly warning of a shooting. The commissioner said DeLucia Jr. had told neighbors, "If you hear gunshots, don't bother calling 911 it'll be too late." Ryder stressed that police had not yet been able to verify those accounts.
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A neighbor called 911 around 12 p.m. after the 59-year-old had already fired the lethal rounds in what police believe was a perceived dispute over the home. DeLucia Jr. had lived in the home all his life and did not want to leave.
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"The perception of Joseph Jr. is that he was being cut out of the will," said Fitzpatrick, who also stated the man had "past mental issues."
According to police, there was a documented welfare check on the address back in 2022, but the man "was not displaying any signs of anything that we would take action." He also had a prior arrest in 1983 for impaired driving.
Neighbors and police have confirmed that a week before the horrific shooting, the siblings' mother, 95-year-old Theresa DeLucia, had passed away. Several of her children had flown in from out of state to attend services and attend to her will.
Police officials said the siblings had gathered Sunday at the home to meet with a realtor to discuss plans to sell the property. They believe DeLucia Jr., upset about the idea of moving, was driven to deadly measures. According to Ryder, surviving family members assured police that the man was not being cut out of the will, but he was going to be moved out of the home and relocated.
A 12-gauge pump action shotgun was recovered at the residence, police said. The firearm was legally purchased by the gunman, they explained.
Wendy Paisner lives across the street and saw the woman's children at the house the past few days, including one that traveled in from North Carolina.
"I just saw that they pulled in and they were there to be there for the mother's funeral, and then to pay respects and then to sell the house," she told News 4.
Paisner said DeLucia lived at the home with one of her adult sons who had mental health issues.
"I think the mother looked after him," she said. "He really needed support, emotional support."
Another neighbor — who has lived across the street for 10 years and was a close family friend — told NBC New York that she heard DeLucia Jr. talking of suicide as recently as Friday.
"He was a disturbed man with a mental illness, that only knew this house since birth...change for him was very difficult," said the neighbor.
And while the police commissioner said the tragedy could have been avoided if someone had alerted police beforehand, the neighbor said that no one — not even DeLucia Jr.'s siblings — thought him capable of such a thing.
"People say things. I didn’t see him as a threat. I never thought he would do that to his family. Such a beautiful family he had, really," the neighbor said.
