Couple dead in apparent murder-suicide in Hampton Bays, police say

A couple fatally shot late Wednesday night inside their Hampton Bays home died in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

Southampton Town and Suffolk police identified the victims as Kelly Lynn Bray, 24, and her boyfriend, Jonathan Fava, 25. Police said the sequence of events leading up to the shootings remains under investigation.

Responding officers found the couple shot inside the home on Ponquogue Avenue and said the two were pronounced dead at hospitals.

The couple have a young child who was found unharmed in the care of a friend who reported the incident at 11:32 p.m. in what police described as a "distraught" 911 call.

“At this point in time we don’t know exactly what transpired,"  said Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki at a news conference Thursday. "We know this was not a home invasion. We know there was no gang involvement. We’re pretty confident, we’re very confident, there is no threat to the public."

Several weapons were found in the home, including long guns, handguns and bow and arrows, Skrynecki said.

"Whatever happened there was in the confines of that house," the police chief said. "We’re not going to speculate at this time on exactly what happened. There is considerable evidence to be gone through.”

Records show police had two previous encounters with Fava involving a long gun, Skrynecki said. In March 2016, police were called and Fava pointed weapons at them and animals, Skrynecki said, adding that he had no arrest record for the Hampton Bays man.

A neighbor on Argonne Road East who identified herself only as Patricia said Bray often pushed the couple's child up the street in a stroller. Patricia never suspected something was amiss with the couple and said her neighborhood of 14 years is otherwise quiet.

“We’re in shock. We can’t believe it,” she said.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com,vera.chinese@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”