The day of a family funeral turned into a waking nightmare on Sunday, August 25, in Long Island, New York. A family gathering at the home of deceased matriarch Theresa Martha DeLucia became the scene of a murder suidide when a man killed four of his relatives before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.
Joseph DeLucia Jr., 62, a car mechanic, is believed to have killed his four siblings and himself after becoming distraught about the family’s plans to sell the home he lived in with his mother, Theresa Martha Delucia. Mrs. DeLucia died last week at age 95 and her children gathered at the house to decide how to sell it.
According to police, DeLucia Jr. fired a total of 12 shots, killing his three siblings and one niece. They are Joanne Kearns, 29; Frank DeLucia, 64; Victorian Hammond, 30; and Tina Hammond. DeLucia Jr. then walked onto the front lawn and shot himself, ending his life.
Police say they were dispatched to the home in Syosset on Sunday and found a man on the front lawn dead from what seemed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. When they entered the small blue house, they found four other dead family members.
Prior to the release of the identities of the victims, local real estate agent confirmed that the home belonged to Theresa DeLucia, and said that she was on her way to the home to meet with the family when she saw the entire street closed down by emergency vehicles. Mary Macaluso said “the kids were all here for the funeral,” and they had asked her to come look at the property in anticipation of listing the home for sale.
The family wanted a quick valuation of the home because several of them had to return to their homes in Florida after the funeral of Mrs. DeLucia, Macaluso said.
Neighbors said the suspected gunman had lived in his mother’s house his entire life, and they told local reporters that while they were shocked, they suspected that losing the home was an unbearable thought to the man.
