Police: Suspect in Irondequoit homicide shot himself at Letchworth State Park

An Irondequoit family lost two members in a murder-suicide that began early Thursday morning at 500 Pinegrove Ave. and ended early this afternoon on a hiking trail in Letchworth State Park 50 miles away.

At 5:38 a.m., the Irondequoit Police Department responded to the home for the report of a hysterical person saying, “there was blood everywhere,” Irondequoit Police Chief Scott Peters said at an early evening news conference.

Once there, officers found Joseph Deponceau, 80, inside the front door.

“He was obviously deceased and appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to the upper torso,” Peters said.

Deponceau’s girlfriend is the person who called 911 and was not hurt.

She told police what happened and identified the suspect as Deponceau’s grandson Andrew Vahey, 24, of 522 Pinegrove Ave.

Her account was backed up by home security video.

Officers surrounded 522 Pinegrove and around 7:20 a.m. were able to contact the only person inside, Vahey’s roommate. He told police he had gotten texts from Vahey saying he had just killed his grandfather and was going to kill himself.

Having identified Vahey’s car, Irondequoit Police issued a “be on the lookout” alert, and New York State Park Police located the vehicle in Letchworth park.

A number of other law enforcement agencies then converged on the park, and around 12:30 p.m. spotted Vahey on Trail 18, armed with what appeared to be a long gun, Peters said.

Officers tried to contact him, but he immediately used the gun to shoot himself, Peters said. Attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.

Peters said that recently Deponceau and Vahey had been arguing over property, and officers responded last week to a family trouble call resulting from an argument about parking on the grass.

“That was it. We never had any issues before,” Peters said.

He said police don’t know why Vahey went to Letchworth. He has no known connections to the area.

In addition to emphasizing what a rare occurrence the incident was for Irondequoit, Peters said: “I just want everybody to know that … people in that family lost a grandfather and also lost a grandson. To add to the tragedy of what normally doesn’t happen in Irondequoit, realize that there’s a family that’s extremely hurting today.”

The park, which was closed during the incident, has since reopened.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Irondequoit homicide suspect Andrew Vahey shot himself at Letchworth