3rd Familicide In 8 Years Shocks Westchester

PLEASANTVILLE, NY — The crime is called familicide, and it's rare. But as Pleasantville residents are still reeling from the deaths of a well-known young family Thursday, other Westchester residents have had their memories disturbed about two other families murdered by fathers in their homes within the past eight years.

On Oct. 18, 2011 in Lewisboro, Amy Perez and her children Molly and Gregory were murdered by her estranged husband, Sam Friedlander, before he committed suicide. Molly, 10, and Gregory, 8, were both students at Lewisboro Elementary School.

Samuel Friedlander took a 12-gauge shotgun, shot each of his children in their beds and bludgeoned his wife to death with a rolling pin. Then he went down into the basement and shot himself, police said. Friends and neighbors knew that Amy Perez was seeking a divorce. SEE: Husband Kills Wife, 2 Children in Cross River Murder-Suicide.

More recently, 56-year-old Steven Dym of Pound Ridge shot his 50-year-old wife Loretta Dym and their daughter, Caroline Dym, 18, before taking his own life on Aug. 25, 2017. Caroline was a student at Sacred Heart Greenwich; their son was away at college.

Neighbors said the $1.7 million house had been put up for sale. Family members blamed untreated depression. SEE: Husband Kills Wife, Daughter, Then Self.

Now Pleasantville. On Dec. 5, Tom Liu stabbed his wife Dorothy Liu and their children Tennyson Liu, 7, and Adeline Liu, 4 to death before turning the knife on himself.

Tennyson was a student at the Bedford Road School and Adeline was in pre-school. While no motive was discussed, police said Tom Liu was under a "considerable amount of stress." SEE: Police Identify Pleasantville Family Found Dead Thursday.

"Dear lord, that was awful and brought back so many painful memories," said a northern Westchester resident who didn't want to be named.

Here are some facts about murder-suicide from the National Institute of Justice:

• Familicide is rare.
• It is almost always carried out by a white, non-Hispanic man.
• Compared to Canada, the United States has three times more familicide; compared to Britain, eight times more; and compared to Australia, 15 times more.
• More incidents of murder-suicide occur with guns than with any other weapon.
• Economic distress is a factor, but it is only one of several factors that trigger a man to murder his family. In most cases, the couple has a history of disagreement over many issues, most commonly money, sex and child-rearing.

For families who may want information on how to discuss death and grief across childhood and adolescence, Pleasantville schools Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter offered this article from the National Association of School Psychologists.

If you feel compelled to respond in some way, one possibility is the foundation Amy Perez's family and friends set up in her memory to help students in financial need.