Editor’s Note: The content in this article mentions murder and suicide.
Lawrence Mancuso, assistant dean for human resources at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, killed two family members and committed suicide on Friday in Brighton, New York, according to local authorities.
Mancuso was on a leave of absence since October and had worked at Cornell since February 2022, according to a University spokesperson. Community support meetings took place on Monday and Tuesday this week.
The University declined to give further comment or tell The Sun why Mancuso was on leave.
Brighton police say that Mancuso fatally shot his daughter Anne Mancuso, 11, and her maternal grandmother Mary Lachini, 74, before shooting and killing himself in Anne’s home on Hollyvale Dr.
The two adults’ bodies were found inside the house. Neighbors found Anne bleeding on their porch and alerted the authorities. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she succumbed to her wounds.
Investigators are still piecing together the full picture of what led up to this incident, according to Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi.
“We still have a couple things that we want to find out, but we may never know,” Catholdi told The Sun. “The ‘what’ and the ‘when’ and the ‘where,’ we pretty much can answer those things, but we may never know the ‘why’ — what would drive someone to do something like this?”
Catholdi suggested it may not have been one specific trigger, but a variety of unknown factors that led Mancuso to carry out the killings. “When people get on that pathway to violence, if they’re not interrupted in that cycle, if they don’t have leakage to where someone can intervene, it can be predetermined,” Catholdi said.
According to Catholdi, police responded the day before to a call at the same home, where they had a “benign” interaction with Mancuso over a nonviolent custody dispute. He described the interaction as “nothing that would give us any indication that it would lead to this sort of violence.”
In an interview with RochesterFirst, the police chief said Mancuso “didn’t like the idea” of his daughter staying with her maternal grandmother, which sparked the Thursday custody disagreement. Police do not know if that was part of his motive for the killings on Friday.
Friday morning before the killings took place, Mancuso purchased alcohol and stole three firearms from his relative in Greece, New York, Catholdi told The Sun.
Anne’s mother was out of town at the time of this incident. Lachini’s home is in Avon, New York, about half an hour outside Brighton.
Anne was a sixth grader at Brighton Central Schools. The district released a statement on Saturday calling her a “thoughtful, caring student” and “a gift to her friends, family, and school community.” The district is offering counseling services to students and faculty.
A candlelit memorial was also held on Monday on Hollyvale Dr.
Catholdi explained this incident was abnormal for any community, but especially Brighton. He wanted to reassure the community that resources were available for those who need them.
“We’re ramping up law enforcement resources to make sure that the community is safe,” Catholdi said. “If people are struggling with what’s going on here, reach out. Talk to somebody — talk to a trusted friend, talk to counseling services provided at your college or wherever you may work. I think it’s important to cope with this in a healthy, positive way.”
This is not the first instance in recent months of a Cornell employee being investigated for murder. In November, custodian Ahmed Abed admitted to killing his wife. He was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in December by a grand jury.