Five people were killed in a murder-suicide on a quiet cul-de-sac in Nassau County on Sunday, just days after the family’s matriarch passed away and the family was preparing to sell their home, according to authorities and sources.
All victims were shot to death inside the small blue house on Wyoming Court in Syosset. The gunman, believed to be the son who lived there with his deceased mother, took his own life on the front lawn, Newsday reported.
Mary Macaluso, a local real estate agent, explained that she was scheduled to meet the family at the house around noon to discuss the sale but found the street closed when she arrived. She had been contacted by one of the children to help with the sale, as the house, valued at nearly $900,000 on Zillow, needed to be listed quickly due to the impending departure of two family members who had traveled from Florida for the funeral.
The homeowner, identified through public records as Theresa Martha DeLucia, passed away last week at the age of 95, according to her obituary.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder confirmed the incident appeared to be a murder-suicide. “We know that the individual on the front lawn did shoot and kill himself,” Ryder told Newsday. He later informed News12 that investigators believe DeLucia’s adult son, who was upset about the sale of the house, killed four people inside the home before taking his own life.
A neighbor across the street shared with The Post that the man had struggled with mental health issues and was deeply distressed by his mother’s death and the prospect of losing the home where he had lived his entire life.
