Personal Trainer Allegedly Shot Parents On Christmas During Argument Over Custody Of His Son
Police say that a Brooklyn personal trainer and bodybuilder who allegedly shot both his parents at their Long Island mansion on Christmas morning did so over his 1-year-old child.
Dino Tomassetti, 29, is currently facing two charges of attempted murder following the shooting of his parents, who both survived, at their multimillion-dollar Hewlett Harbor home. Both parents — Rocco Tomassetti, 65, and Vincenza Marsicano-Tomassetti, 64 — required surgery, New Jersey's The Daily Voice reported. Rocco was shot in the back while Vincenza was shot in the head
While at first police did not disclose a possible motive, they have now determined that it may have had to do with Tomasetti’s child, a son who is close to turning two, the New York Post reports. On Wednesday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said in a press conference that the shooting “had to do with custody and taking the child Christmas morning.”
“The man wanted to take his 1-year-old away from his parents and the natural mother, which he did not have custody to,” Ryder said, CBS New York reports. “That’s when the argument started.”
The shooting occurred in front of is attack happened with both the baby and the baby’s mother present, Assistant District Attorney Tracy Keeton said in court, according to The New York Post.
Following the shooting, Tomassetti allegedly fled the mansion in a Cadillac Escalade before his GPS led investigators to trail him to Mahwah, New Jersey, where he was arrested.
Tomassetti lives in East Williamsburg and worked as a personal trainer at Retro Fitness gyms in Forest Hills and Glendale, Queens. Both locations declined to comment on the case when contacted by Oxygen.com.
He is being held without bond. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.
