COCOA, FL - Two little kids, brother and sister, were found dead alongside their father in his home in an apparent murder-suicide. The children, five-year-old Aria Dingwall and seven-year-old Remy Dingwall, were found inside the home shortly after 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7.
The father, 37-year-old Joseph Dingwall, was also found dead, according to the Cocoa Police Department (CPD). Authorities believe he was “responsible for the children’s deaths,” and the evidence at the scene indicates it was a murder-suicide, PEOPLE reported.
Their mother discovered the bodies and called 911. According to the 911 call obtained by Florida Today, their mother had come to the residence to check on the children because they missed school. Police said, however, that it was her day to have custody, and she tried to reach Joseph when she went to the home, where the door was ajar.
Upon walking inside, she found the bodies. A neighbor said they heard gunshots around midnight at the residence. Surveillance footage obtained from a neighbor’s house from around that time shows a man getting out of the residence and pacing in circles before going back inside.
It was not immediately clear if Joseph was the same person as seen on the camera. Two separate fundraisers have been set up to assist the children’s mother, identified as Olivia Piccolo, as she mourns this tragic loss.
In a GoFundMe set up for Piccolo, the family is remembering Remy as a “strong, kind and intelligent young boy who loved his video games, music and friends.”
“He was in the gifted program at school and excelled at anything he put his mind to,” read part of the fundraiser. “He was a fierce protector of his little sister and his mother.”
“Aria was a bright, courageous, and compassionate little girl who loved her squishy dumplings, all animals, and everything pink, just like her mama,” loved ones said in the GoFundMe.
“Remy and Aria were siblings, best friends, and each other’s little world,” the family said. “They should have had the chance to grow up together, make each other laugh, annoy each other, protect each other, and one day look back on their childhood with a lifetime of memories.”
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