No Answers In Shooting At Church

The 24 names Peter Troy neatly inked inside a spiral

notebook under the heading "Lynbrook Church Death List," were strangers to one

another, to their author, and to the church where Troy gunned down a priest and

a parishioner during Mass this week, Nassau police said.

Their only connection, police said, is that all but one share the same last

name. Police refused to disclose any of those names but said all are Nassau

County residents.

Absent from the list are both victims of Tuesday morning's deadly shooting

at Our Lady of Peace Church, the Rev. Lawrence Penzes, 50, and parish member

Eileen Tosner, 73, police said.

It is unclear when Troy, 34, penned the ominous list, or if it augured

further violence. But investigators reiterated yesterday they consider it an

important find.

"From the mere title, that tells me what it was intended for," said

Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder of Nassau's Major Offense Bureau.

"It was to cause death. And that's what he did."

Troy has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count

of first-degree attempted murder, for allegedly attempting to stab a police

officer as he was being taken into custody. He is being held without bail at

the Nassau County jail in East Meadow until his next appearance in court today.

The list was found among Troy's papers and writings inside the upstairs

bedroom he rented for several months in the rear of a house on Fowler Avenue,

Nassau Homicide Squad Det. Sgt. Herb Daub said. It was written in blue ink on a

single page, buried between numerous school assignments.

Troy had attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan and

C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville and had registered for

classes at Hofstra University in Hempstead. Before his arrest, he was working

as a clerk for a temporary employment agency, Daub said.

Police and prosecutors declined to discuss Troy's documented history of

mental illness. They do acknowledge, however, that in 1998 he violated an order

of protection against his mother several days after it was issued.

Investigators don't know how Troy came to select the names for the list,

and wouldn't rule out that he lifted them from a phone book, Daub said.

The preparations he made for Tuesday's attack have been easier to trace.

On March 8, Troy purchased a semiautomatic rifle from a local gun shop,

Daub said. Several days later, he bought a trench coat, apparently to conceal

the rifle as he passed a crossing guard on his way to the church.

Yesterday, hundreds of mourners, including Gov. George Pataki, attended the

wakes for both Tosner and Father Larry, as Penzes was known. Pataki greeted

Eugene Scarpato, the mayor of Lynbrook, in front of Flinch & Bruns Funeral Home

and, once inside, spoke for several minutes with Tosner's husband, Frank, her

grandchildren and other relatives.

"We are very proud and honored," said Victor Tosner Jr., Eileen Tosner's

nephew who was also in the church during the shooting and who briefly spoke

with Pataki. "She was a very remarkable woman."

The governor then visited Our Lady of Peace Church, where Penzes' family

and other church members held a vigil beside his coffin. Pataki spoke for

several minutes with the Rev. Mark Rowan and sat beside Penzes' father,

chatting with him for some time. The governor took a moment at Penzes' coffin,

crossing himself and meditating briefly.

"It's just so sad after all he did to console this community," Pataki said.

"I just wanted the parishioners to know that the thoughts and prayers of all

New Yorkers are with them."

Around the corner, the house where Troy lived remained quiet. Its owner,

Wilma Hughes, declined to talk with reporters. She and several others were

trapped there for several hours when Troy fled the church and barricaded

himself inside the house.

Throughout most of the standoff, Troy remained in his sparsely furnished

bedroom. The only thing in disarray was his unmade bed, police said.

"There was nothing unusual about the room," said Nassau Lt. Kevin Smith, a

police spokesman. "Certainly nothing to indicate that anything strange was

going on."