MARITAL TROUBLES BELIEVED BEHIND SUSPECTED MURDER-SUICIDE
Newsday
By Zachary R. Dowdy and Jennifer Barrios
January 13, 2009
[Excerpts] Marital troubles were a factor when a New York City police lieutenant stabbed and shot his wife to death in their Centereach home after the couple's daughter tried to stop the attack, police said yesterday. He then shot himself to death. Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the Suffolk homicide squad, said Francis Cole, 48, was off duty at about 12:30 p.m. when he stabbed Elena Cole, 46, in the chest with a kitchen knife and then shot her in the head inside the couple's home on Savoy Court. Fitzpatrick said there was "a general atmosphere of trouble" in the house due to an impending divorce. Fitzpatrick said that before Francis Cole stabbed and shot his wife to death, he struck his daughter in the face when the teenager tried to intervene. The daughter then called 911 and told operators her father had just shot her mother, Fitzpatrick said. Francis Cole then turned the gun on himself. Elena Cole's 81-year-old mother was also in the home at the time of the attack, police said... The NYPD lieutenant joined the department in 1990 and was currently assigned to the 68th Precinct in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn... [Full article here]
COPS: NYPD LIEUTENANT FRANCIS COLE KILLED WIFE, SELF IN FRONT OF DAUGHTER
New York Daily News
By Joe Gould, Alison Gendar and Bill Hutchinson
Monday, January 12th 2009, 10:23 PM
[Excerpts] An NYPD lieutenant gunned down his wife and blew himself away Monday in an explosion of rage at their Long Island home, cops said. Lt. Francis Cole, 48, who worked out of Brooklyn's 68th Precinct, stabbed his wife, Elana, 46, in the chest with a kitchen knife before shooting her in the head at their home in Centereach, police said. He then shot himself in the head. Cole's 18-year-old daughter tried to intervene before her parents' fight turned deadly, but was struck in the face, said Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick of the Suffolk County Police. The daughter called 911 at 12:35 p.m. to report her father had shot her mother, Fitzpatrick said. "The Coles had been going through a divorce and apparently this is related," Fitzpatrick said. He said there had been no prior calls to the couple's Savoy Court home. Cole and his wife were found in the upstairs bedroom of their two-story house. He was still alive when cops found him and rushed him to Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he died... The couple is also survived by three sons, all in their 20s... [Full article here]
Cop in murder-suicide used service weapon, police said
ReplyDeleteNewsday, NY
BY ANDREW STRICKLER | andrew.strickler@newsday.com
7:37 PM EST, January 13, 2009
The New York City police lieutenant who killed his wife and then himself used his service firearm during the violent outburst in front of their daughter, Suffolk police said.
Francis Cole, who joined the New York Police Department in 1990, attacked his wife, Elena, 46, Monday in their upstairs bedroom in Centereach, stabbing her in the chest with a kitchen knife, according to Suffolk Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick.
The couple's teenage daughter tried to intervene during or just after the knife attack, Fitzpatrick said Tuesday. Cole, 48, struck her in the face during the altercation, but it was unclear if the blow was intentional.
Cole then fired two fatal shots from his .38-caliber service revolver into his wife's head.
The teen "definitely witnessed the shooting," Fitzpatrick said.
The daughter then ran outside the house with Elena's 81-year-old mother and called 911, Fitzpatrick said.
A recording of the call reviewed by detectives said "the father shot the mother" but did not say what may have preceded the attack, Fitzpatrick said. The daughter also told police that she heard a third shot.
Cole was alive when he was transported a short time later to Stony Brook University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Family members indicated that "there was talk of divorce" but it was unclear what triggered the attack.
Cole joined the police department in 1990 and was assigned to the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. There were no previous police calls to the house, and police indicated Tuesday that family members were not aware of fights or threats of violence.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-limurd0114a,0,2228339.story
Lou, rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteLou, burn in h___.
ReplyDeleteReading the story again is still so strange. I live across the street from these people. Ive known them since i was little.
ReplyDelete