Retired
White Plains cop dead after killing two daughters, family dogs: officials
BY TERENCE CULLEN , NICOLE
HENSLEY , THOMAS TRACY , ELI ROSENBERG
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Westchester town shaken by a
former police officer's murder of his two teenage daughters continued to come
to grips with the unspeakable tragedy Sunday and was scheduled to open at noon
to offer counseling to grief-stricken students.
Glen Hochman, a 22-year veteran
who left the White Plains Police Department in January — killed his daughters
Alissa, 17, and Deanna, 13, as well as the family's pets in their Adelphi Ave.
home in Harrison Saturday before killing himself, authorities said.
"No words to describe
it," said Chris Garritano, 17, a senior along with Alissa at Harrison High
School. "We always hung out. It's just unreal to see her gone....She
always seemed happy."
Police did not immediately
reveal how the murders were committed. The retired White Plains cop was
recently honored for saving a man’s life.
An autopsy was scheduled to
determine the facts surrounding the heinous killings of the raven-haired girls.
The family’s German shepherd mix and another animal were also slain, neighbors
said.
White Plains cop Glen Hochman
(left) killed 17-year-old daughter Alissa (right) and another daughter before
killing himself Saturday in their Harrison home, authorities said.
“We believe that there were
pets that were killed,” Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said late
Saturday.
The 52-year-old Hochman’s wife,
Anamarie DiPietro-Hochman, 50, and their eldest daughter, Samantha, 22, were
out of town, Marraccini said.
“I do not believe the wife came
home,” the police chief explained. “My understanding is they were not on the
scene and they did not find the bodies inside the house.”
Harrison police discovered the
carnage after a neighbor called 911 at about 3:30 p.m.
DiPietro-Hochman and her
surviving family were inconsolable late Saturday and would not come to the
phone when reached.
The grieving mom’s Facebook
page was teeming with pics of her three beautiful daughters and husband —
including one with Hochman shaking the hand of the dog he later apparently
killed.
Adelphi Ave. residents were
stunned by the untempered violence.
"As I got closer I heard
basically crying, screaming," said Dante Garritano, 53, a neighbor who
arrived to the crime scene on his block shortly after police. "It's just a
shame...Everyone was very upset."
Retired White Plains officer
Glen Hochman killed two teenage daughters before killing himself, authorities
said. In this exclusive photo, the medical examiner looks over the body of Glen
Hochman inside the garage of his Westchester home late Saturday night.
Other neighbors struggled to
understand the senseless bloodshed.
“Adorable, sweet kids. Terrific
ladies — all of them,” said neighbor Howard Hollander, 52. “I think we’re all
shocked by what’s coming out here tonight. I just can’t say anything that would
lead to this.”
Hollander described Hochman as
a quiet man who would politely say hello when he was out walking the dog.
“He was kind of a to-himself
kind of guy,” he said. “He was quiet.”
The Harrison Community School
District issued a statement Saturday night, calling the slayings an
“incomprehensible tragedy.”
Hochman served with “honor and
integrity” and had an unblemished record, White Plains Public Safety
Commissioner David Chong said.
“The department is shocked and
horrified by the news of this unfathomable tragedy,” Chong said in a statement
provided to the Daily News. “We can only pray for the family.”
Hochman and another officer
were honored with their department’s Life Saving Award in May 2014 for racing
into the home of a dying man and saving his life with CPR.
Neighbors hinted that the
retired cop was having marital problems, News 12 Westchester reported.
