BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Police have released new information about the reported murder-suicide that took place in Brighton last Friday. Police say a sixth grader and her grandmother were fatally shot by the girl’s father before he took his own life.

“Even though Lawrence Mancuso is deceased, we still owe it to the family to get all of the answers that we can – the who, the what, the where [and] the why [that] we may never know,” Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi said.

What You Need To Know

  • Brighton police say a man who murdered his 11-year-old daughter and her grandmother before taking his own life purchased alcohol and stole guns hours before the incident

  • Police were called to the home where the incident occurred the day before 

  • Police say that all four firearms that had been stolen have been recovered, including a pistol police say was used in the shootings

Police say Lawrence Mancuso, 53, took his own life after shooting his 11-year-old daughter Anne Mancuso and her grandmother, 74-year-old Mary Liccini. Anne was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital where she died from her injuries. The bodies of her grandmother and father were later found in an adjacent home. 

“You can’t rationalize it and you can’t justify it," Catholdi said.

Anne’s parents live at separate addresses in the town of Brighton. The chief says he believes they are divorced.

The police say they were called to the home that Anne shared with her mother on Hollyvale Drive the day before the crime.

“There was questions about custody," he said. "We responded. It was a pretty benign encounter. [There was] nothing confrontational [and] nothing that was out of the ordinary. [There was] nothing that would lead us to believe that there was going to be violence.”

Catholdi says that was the only time they’ve responded to that house, but they have been called to Mancuso’s home.

“We had been to his residence on Eastbrook Lane a few times," he said. "[We have responded to] medical-related calls, check the welfare type of calls. An example would be there's mail piling up on the front door [or] I haven't seen somebody in a while.”

The investigation has now revealed Mancuso’s whereabouts Friday morning leading up to the incident.

“We know that Lawrence had stopped at a store and purchased alcohol that morning," Catholdi said. "We know after that he went to a home in a relative's home in Greece and stole several firearms.”

The chief says Lawrence Mancuso then drove to the neighborhood where Liccini lived.

“We have witnesses that state they saw somebody get out of the vehicle and walk towards the house,” said Catholdi, who added that K-9 units tracked Mancuso’s path from the car to the house.

“I owe it to the community," the chief said. "I certainly owe it to the family to make sure that we know everything that we know. Could something have been done different?”

Police say that all four firearms that had been stolen have been recovered, including a pistol police say was used in the shootings.