News

Actions

Mystery still surrounds Iona Lakes killings

Posted at 10:39 PM, Jan 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-27 07:43:42-05

FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Lee County Sheriff's Office has yet to reveal exactly what went on inside Patrick Carlopoli's Iona Lakes apartment, but neighbors are suspecting he could have been honoring a suicide pact.

Patrick Carlopoli is behind bars, facing one charge of second degree murder and two charges of conspiracy to commit murder after he called 911 and led deputies to the bodies of his girlfriend, her 16-year-old daughter, and the couple's 3-year-old daughter.

Seventeen-year-old Mathew Daniels stopped by the memorial of flowers, candles, and stuffed animals outside the family's apartment to say a prayer.

"I'm just going to ask God to be with the family in a time of need. I'm going to pray that that man finds whatever help he needs for himself while he's spending however long he will in prison," Daniels said.

He said people who knew Carlopoli told him he wasn't in his right mind.

The sheriff's office describes the scene inside the apartment as gruesome and unthinkable.

Carol lives next door to Carlopoli's apartment, and said word around the complex points toward a suicide pact. "Someone was here this morning and said that it was like a suicide pact. First they kill the children, then each other. And wow. I can't believe it," Carol said.

Newspaper reports also indicate the killings were part of a suicide pact.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office will not confirm that.

Deputies said 3-year-old Jeanne Carlopoli and the family dog were stabbed to death, while Carlopoli's stepdaughter and girlfriend were shot to death.