TOWN OF WALLKILL – The man, who shot and killed his two children before turning his .45 caliber pistol on himself, was identified Friday by State Police as John Casullo, 48, a former Town of Newburgh police officer who retired on a disability.
Troopers said he shot James, 8, and Kathleen, 12, each once in the head before he killed himself.
When police got to their mobile home at 559 Fifth Avenue off Route 211 in the Town of Wallkill around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, they found all three bodies in their bed.
No one else was in the home at the time of the incident. Casullo’s wife apparently found the bodies when she came home.
State Police and Wallkill Town Police investigated the murder/suicide. Troop F Major Joseph Tripodo said on Friday that they do not know the motive for the slaughter.
Casullo’s start date with the Newburgh Town Police was in August 1989 and his official date of retirement was in 2008. But, Town Police Chief Bruce Campbell said Casullo was out on disability for years before he actually left the force.
