FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Lee County deputies responded to a tragic scene in the Iona area of Fort Myers early Sunday, and have a man in custody who confessed to the crime.
"From what we speculated something really bad happened inside of there," said neighbor Tiffany Getze.
Major crimes detectives responded to the Iona Lakes Apartments at 15000 Iona Lakes Boulevard around 4:15am Sunday. Crime scene tape surrounded much of Building 39, but the investigation centered around a unit with an American flag draped outside.
Monday, Sheriff Mike Scott announced that 27-year-old Patrick Sean Carlopoli was arrested on Sunday and charged with 2nd degree murder, 2 counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of felony animal cruelty. "It's tragic, it's unthinkable, it's unpreventable and it's very very regrettable. It's a terrible set of circumstances," said Sheriff Scott.
According to the police report Patrick called 911 to report there were three dead bodies inside the apartment. Deputies arrived to find Carlopoli with visible blood splatter on him, pointing at the apartment, saying "they are in there."
Inside, the bodies of three deceased females and a deceased dog were found. Two of the victims, Carlopoli, girfriend Tammi and her 16-year-old daughter, were dead from gunshot wounds.
Elsewhere in the apartment, another gruesome discovery; "Jeannie the daughter of Patrick Carlopoli and Tammy M...soon to be 4 year old daughter, was killed by sharp force trauma, as was the family dog."
The sheriff's office is still working on determining exactly how this crime came to be. "It's a lot to process and we'll continue to do that methodically and in a measured fashion as we always do in these cases to make sure the evidence in this case continues to unfold, and either support or refute what these very talented detectives and others in their crime scene unit and otherwise believe took place," said Scott.
