A former EMT murdered three of his siblings and a niece at their deceased mother's Long Island home. Authorities said the killer was upset about having to move out of the house after it was sold.
Joseph DeLucia, Jr., 59, was the lifelong resident of the Syosset home his 95-year-old mother, Theresa DeLucia, owned. Theresa passed away earlier last week, according to Nassau County Police Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick.
If the family sold the Wyoming Court house, DeLucia would be forced to relocate. As he had nowhere else to go, his anger escalated.
A Quiet Neighborhood Shattered
DeLucia armed himself with a pump-action Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and fatally shot his three siblings: Joanne Kearns, 69, of Tampa, Florida; Tina Hammond, 64, of East Patchogue; and Frank DeLucia, 63, of Durham, North Carolina. The shootings occurred in the house's den.
DeLucia then murdered his niece, 30-year-old Victoria Hammond of East Patchogue. Afterwards, he ran outside to the front yard and fatally shot himself with the shotgun. "Officers found him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. He was pronounced at the scene," the captain said.
A neighbour called 911 after hearing DeLucia screaming in the yard moments before he took his own life. "We heard a high-pitched scream, it was Joe screaming, then one shot," neighbour Sandy Landsman, 73, told The Post. "I was shocked. I never would have thought beforehand that this would happen," she added.
According to Landsman, DeLucia was quite distressed about the proposed house sale. "He didn't know where to go, he had lived there his whole life," she noted. One of his siblings offered to take him in, but it seemed like he wasn't too keen on that idea.
Fitzpatrick stated that investigators had been informed of DeLucia's past mental health issues, though police have not officially confirmed this. Neighbours corroborated this, suggesting that the former EMT's mental health had deteriorated due to the grief over his elderly mother's passing on August 19.
Neighbours React To The Tragedy
Wendy Paisner, who lives across the street from the crime scene, expressed her sadness and concern, stating, "There were challenges. It's really sad. But his mother passed away, and I think that triggered him. You know, that they were selling the house."
Landsman, another neighbour, noted that DeLucia was notorious on the small cul-de-sac for emitting blood-curdling screams when he became agitated. Landsman observed that DeLucia's emotional troubles were evident and that the banshee-like wail he emitted immediately after the murders was a sign of his distress.
Landsman recalled, "He didn't say anything — just a high-pitched scream." Landsman noted that he had heard him scream like that before when he gets frustrated or upset.
"He'd be out working in front of the house on his car or his mother's car, and he would be trying to fix something, and he'd break something, and he'd scream just like that," the neighbour added. "You never heard anybody else scream like that, though."
Fitzpatrick described DeLucia as a local auto mechanic who tended to hoard items. "He spent all his money on tools and stuff," the captain said. "The house was pretty much hoarded, packed with tools, stuff involved with an auto mechanic."
"He was living there his entire life, never lived on his own," Fitzpatrick continued. "So you could see his mindset, where his world was now changing and he was in a panic." DeLucia's Facebook posts often revealed his frustration with customers, suggesting that he wasn't always satisfied with his interactions.
"Here we go again, another guy who puts his spin-on oil filter back with a cap wrench. This is incorrect. It should be hand-tight only. No one gets this," one post said. DeLucia had recently changed his Facebook cover photo to a New York license plate that read "Depressed."
"If you do not know what a air hose coupler or coupling is then you should not be working in an auto-repair shop," said another post, this one in all capital letters. "You should know all of your equipment by name."
Despite its dated exterior, uneven walkways, and sparse lawn, the small blue-sided house had the potential to sell for around $900,000, according to a Zillow estimate. This meant a significant financial gain for the sellers.
A local real estate agent, Mary Macaluso, told Newsday that the late matriarch's family had contacted her to schedule a visit to the home on Sunday to discuss selling the property. However, when she arrived that afternoon, the street was already cordoned off by police.
According to the captain, DeLucia fired a total of 13 shots, 12 of which were aimed at the victims and one at himself. This indicates that he had to reload multiple times. Fitzpatrick noted that there was only one previous call to the house in 2022, a wellness check that did not result in any police intervention.
DeLucia had a prior arrest for drunk driving in 1983 but no other criminal record. Police sources indicated that there was no suspicion of foul play in the death of Theresa, the matriarch of the family. According to Smokin' Cues, an online obituary described Theresa, affectionately known as "Terry," as a beloved and cherished Syosset, New York community member.
Born and raised in Syosset, Theresa dedicated three decades to working as a nurse in a local hospital. As her obituary mentioned, she also volunteered at various shelters and food banks.
