Vicosa case: Private criminal complaint withdrawn against police chief, AG's office says
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has ended an investigation into a private criminal complaint filed against York County Regional Police Chief Tim Damon about how his department handled an emergency protection-from-abuse order against Robert Vicosa, who murdered his two daughters and girlfriend before taking his own life last fall.
The complaint has been withdrawn, the attorney general's office said in a statement.
"Our office’s investigation of this matter has now been closed and the criminal history records law precludes our office from speaking publicly about the details of our findings. That being said, our office has provided a detailed letter to the District Attorney to review and outlined our major concerns with certain lapses and decisions leading up to this tragic situation,” the statement says.
The York Daily Record sought a copy of the letter through the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.
The York County District Attorney's Office released a copy of the letter on March 21, and it covered the withdrawl of the private criminal complaint. A timeline of events was redacted because it related to a criminal investigation and cannot be released under the law, according to the county office.
The state Attorney General's Office letter noted that the timeline might be of use to law enforcement in developing policies "to aid in the prevention of such tragedies in the future," the letter states.
Damon could not be reached for comment.
Vicosa's estranged wife sought an emergency protection from abuse order after her husband lured her to his home under the pretense of having a birthday party and assaulted her. A judge granted the order on Nov. 14, but court records show it was not served.
The wife filed a private criminal complaint on Nov. 15, saying that two officers from the department told her that the police chief had "put a stop to this order." She wrote that she was not given an explanation, and her two daughters were still in the custody of their father, "who is a danger to them, me, and himself."
Timeline: Vicosa murder-suicide began with violent weekend assault, girls' kidnapping
More: Private criminal complaint filed against police Chief Tim Damon in regard to Vicosa PFA
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Vicosa, a former Baltimore County police officer, killed his young daughters, 7-year-old Giana and 6-year-old Aaminah, and his girlfriend, Tia Bynum, before taking his own life near Hagerstown, Maryland on Nov. 18. Law enforcement had pleaded with Vicosa and Bynum to return the girls while they were on the run.
The York County District Attorney's Office referred the private criminal complaint to the state Attorney General's Office for further investigation.
The wife was granted a temporary protection from abuse order on the morning Nov. 15. When it was served at the Vicosa residence at 3:28 p.m., he and his daughters were gone.
Staff writer Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Vicosa case: Private criminal complaint against police chief withdrawn
