Cops: Possible murder-suicide at Calverton trailer park

PATRICK WHITTLE AND JENNIFER MALONEY | patrick.whittle@newsday.com jennifer.maloney@newsday.com

A couple with a history of fighting was found dead Sunday with a rifle near them in their Calverton trailer, in what police describe as a possible murder-suicide.

The two had "a history of incidents of domestic violence," said Suffolk police Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick. "Neighbors have indicated that there has been constant battling."

The man and the woman, who were not identified, were found in Unit 85 of Millbrook Mobile Home Park in Calverton, police said. That trailer had two residents: a man in his late 50s and a woman in her late 40s, said George Buckingham, 45, the trailer park's manager.

Buckingham said the man had lived there for about six years, and the woman moved in about a year and a half ago. They often fought, he said.

Buckingham described the man as a "decent guy" who worked as a barber and owned a barbershop in Port Jefferson. He was a fan of Riverhead Raceway and sometimes traveled to the South for NASCAR races, Buckingham said.

Police arrived at the trailer park at 1:25 p.m. Sunday after a friend found the victims dead and called for help, police said.

The bodies were removed from the trailer in maroon bags Sunday evening. A few neighbors watched as police and medical examiner's office officials went through the crime scene.

Bryan Chamberlin, 23, a park resident, said the commotion of police investigators and swaths of yellow tape were out of the ordinary for the usually calm neighborhood. Neighbors who normally keep to themselves were talking about the deaths by late afternoon, he said.

"It's always really quiet," he said. "People go for walks at night. Kids play across the street. So I was shocked when I heard it happened."

The park, a verdant enclave that abuts a pond, is about 45 years old, Buckingham said. It is located not far from the end of the Long Island Expressway.

Emerson Clarridge and staff writer Laura Rivera contributed to this story.