Syosset murder suspect killed family after mother's funeral and inheritance dispute, police say

SYOSSET, NY – In Syosset, five people were shot dead in a gruesome murder-suicide over an inheritance dispute, Long Island police said.

Joseph Delucia, Jr. killed his niece and three siblings at his Wyoming Court home, two days after his 95-year-old mother, who also lived there, was buried, police said.

Shooter feared being removed from his mother's will, police say

After Theresa Martha Delucia's funeral Friday at Calverton National Cemetery, her family discussed selling the house. On the day of the murders, they planned to meet with a realtor, but Delucia Jr. refused to move and became violent, police said.

“Joseph Delucia was under the impression that he was being struck out of the will and evicted with no place to go. He has a history of mental health issues, psychological issues that have been reported to us but we have not yet confirmed. Based on that perception, on that day he decided to get a loaded 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, approach them in the back of the house and fire 12 shots from the kitchen, hitting all four,” said Nassau County Police Captain Stephen Fitzpatrick.

Delucia Jr., 59, was provided for in his mother's will despite his own acceptance, police said. But he was known among neighbors as someone who easily became unpredictable.

According to police, the former auto mechanic shot and killed his 69-year-old brother from Florida, his 64-year-old sister from North Carolina, as well as his 30-year-old niece and another 64-year-old sibling from East Patchogue, New York.

Delucia Jr. was found dead on a chair in the front yard from a gunshot wound to the chest.