2 Siblings and Dad Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide. Hours Earlier, Camera Captured Man Pacing OutsideSamira Asma-SadequeFri, October 9, 2026 at 3:54 PM UTC
Aria Dingwall (left) and Remy Dingwall.Credit: Go Fund Me
Aria Dingwall, 5, and Remy Dingwall, 7, were “best friends and each other’s little world,” family members said in a GoFundMe
Their mother, Olivia Piccolo, went to their father’s residence on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 7, and found the bodies
A neighbor said they heard gunshots the previous night around the same time surveillance footage showed a man leaving the house and pacing outside
Authorities in Florida say a dad and his two young children were found slain in his home in an apparent murder-suicide.
The children, 5-year-old Aria Dingwall and 7-year-old Remy Dingwall, were found in a Cocoa, Fla. home a little after noon on Wednesday, Oct. 7, according to the Cocoa Police Department.
Their father, 37-year-old Joseph Dingwall, was also found dead, police tell PEOPLE in a statement.
Police believe he was “responsible for the children’s deaths” and the evidence at the scene indicates this was a murder-suicide.
Remy and Aria Dingwall.Credit: Give Send Go
The children were found after their mother called 911 upon discovering the bodies, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by the Florida Today.
Their mother had come to the residence to check on the children because they missed school, the outlet reported.
Police said, however, that it was her day to have custody and she tried to reach Joseph when she went to the home, where the door was ajar, WESH reported. She went in to find the bodies.
PEOPLE has reached out to Cocoa police for further clarification.
A neighbor told police they heard gunshots around midnight at the residence, WESH, WFTV and the Florida Today reported.
Surveillance footage obtained by WFTV from a neighbor’s house from around that time shows a man get out of the residence and pace in circles before going back inside.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Joseph was the same person.
Remy and Aria Dingwall.Credit: Give Send Go
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Two separatefundraisers have been set up to assist the children’s mother Olivia Piccolo as she mourns this tragic loss.
In a GoFundMe set up for Piccolo, the family is remembering Remy as a “strong, kind, and intelligent young boy who loved his video games, music, and friends.”
“He was in the gifted program at school and excelled at anything he put his mind to,” read part of the fundraiser. “He was a fierce protector of his little sister and his mother.”
“Aria was a bright, courageous, and compassionate little girl who loved her squishy dumplings, all animals, and everything pink, just like her mama,” loved ones said in the GoFundMe.
“Remy and Aria were siblings, best friends, and each other’s little world,” the family said. “They should have had the chance to grow up together, make each other laugh, annoy each other, protect each other, and one day look back on their childhood with a lifetime of memories.”
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Source: Crime