UPDATED: Murder-Suicide Linked to Prominent Rhode Island Family
GoLocalProv News Team
UPDATED: Murder-Suicide Linked to Prominent Rhode Island Family
The deaths of a man and woman in Voluntown, Connecticut earlier this week have been ruled a murder-suicide, Connecticut state police said.
The two people who died were husband and wife, according to police.
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The couple lived in a modest home in a rural town. Voluntown has a total population of about 2,500 residents.
The incident is unique. According to a range of research, just 6.6% of homicide-suicides were perpetrated by women. National statistics indicate that the majority of murder-suicide perpetrators are male, with one study estimating that 93.4% of perpetrators are male.
State Police on Alleged Murder-Suicide
Connecticut State Police announced Friday that they “confirmed the nature of the Voluntown investigation, which began on 06/19/24, to be a murder-suicide.”
According to Connecticut State Police:
“Michael J. Zannini, DOB 11/04/54, of 270 Hell Hollow Rd, Voluntown, CT, was positively identified as the deceased male first responding Troopers located in the driveway of the residence.
Per the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), Michael Zannini's manner of death has been ruled a homicide as a result of gunshot wounds.
Jacqueline Zannini, DOB 08/09/58, of the same address, was positively identified as the deceased female later located within the residence.
Per the OCME, Jacqueline Zannini's manner of death has been ruled a suicide as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The decedents were married and resided together at this address by themselves. The firearm used in this incident has been seized as evidence, and the investigation remains active and ongoing at this time."
911 Call
State police responded to Hell Hollow Road after receiving a 911 call just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Law enforcement said a female caller reported an emergency from the address and said she was 'sorry' before the call ended. When the police responded to a 911 call, they used a drone to investigate and warned nearby residents to shelter in place.
RI's DiPrete Family
Mayor James DiPrete was a political powerhouse in Rhode Island for decades.
He served as Mayor of Cranston in the 1960s and was the first cousin to former Mayor and Governor Ed DiPrete.
James DiPrete made national news for denouncing the rhetoric of then Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
The New York Times reported in 1964:
Mayor James V. Diprete Jr. of Cranston, a Republican, called Senator Barry Goldwater today a “fascist who is threatening to take over this country by dividing the American people against one another.”
The Mayor returned last night from the Republican National Convention in San Francisco and immediately called a news conference to “tell the people of Rhode Island exactly how I feel about the Republican candidate for President.”
Mayor Diprete said, “I'm convinced that Mr. Goldwater is a fanatic who is deluded by some sort of a messianic complex that he is the lord and savior of the U.S. and I'm also convinced that he is willing to see the country provoked to any extreme to accomplish his goal.”
The story was first published 6/22/24 5:22 PM UPDATED 7:00 AM on 6/23/2024