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NHFD on Scene at Fishkill House of Horrors
Fire reportedly set to cover up murder of family of five
by Maria Theodore Leiter
In the early morning hours on Friday, January 19, 2007, members of the North Highlands Fire Department's FAST (Firefighter Assist and Search Team) team were called to assist the Rombout Fire Department on a house fire in Fishkill, in what was discovered to be an attempt to cover up the murder of a family of five.
"We all thought it was a very tragic fire," said firefighter John Van Tassel, who was a member of the FAST crew on the scene. "We were all very upset that no fire alarms were going off when we arrived. It was quite an upsetting scene to be at."
According to Rombout Fire Chief John Lucariello, when Dutchess County firefighters first arrived on the scene, the family room at the rear of the structure was ablaze. After knocking the fire back, a search team from the Rombout and Houghsonville Fire Departments entered the building and searched the premises. They found two adult bodies downstairs, and three children in the upper bedrooms.
Firefighters began removing the bodies, believing that they had succumbed to fire. However, when it was heard over the radio that a vehicle, a 2003 Kia Optima, registered in the name of one of the residents of the house was found and also set ablaze on nearby Lomala Lane, it was instantly evident to those present that they were now dealing with the scene of a homicide.
"I've been doing this for twenty six years and this is the worst I have seen," said Lucariello.
According to a press release issued by the New York State Police, the Dutchess County Coroner's Office has tentatively identified a mother and father, Manuel Morey, age 33 and Tina Morey, 30, and their three sons, Antonio, 13, Adam, 10, and Ryan, age 6, as the victims and has ruled their deaths homicides.
An autopsy revealed that the adults were shot to death, two of the children died of multiple stab wounds and the youngest was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to Dr. Kari Reiber, Chief Medical Examiner of Dutchess County.
Asked whether or not this was thought to be a random homicide, Investigator Martino with the New York State Police said on Sunday that they were considering every angle and had not ruled anything out. However, another investigator was quoted later as saying that they did not believe this was a random act and that residents should not live in fear. A team of investigators from the NY State Police Troop K, Forensics ID Unity, the Dutchess County Cause and Origin Team, and the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control remain on the scene. Forensics is being done on the residence and the vehicle.
"Thirty years I've been in the fire service, this is the worst thing I've seen," said Deputy Chief John Noschese. "I'm glad I wasn't there."
Van Tassel, who served for many years as an EMT in Patterson New Jersey, said that he was all too familiar with this kind of horror, but he never expected to see it close to home.
"It's a scary thought to think that whoever did this is out there somewhere," he said.
The FAST team's function is to assist in case any firefighters who enter a burning structure are hurt. It is the FAST team's responsibility to rescue firefighters and to clear entrances to assure that the search team has clear access to entry and exit ways. Thankfully, none of the firefighters at this scene were hurt.
Police are following many leads on this case and are asking residents with information to call the New York State Police at (845) 677-7300.
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