A man was charged with murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon on Monday after his step-daughter was shot dead and his wife, who was shot in the head, was left in a critical condition.
Guerino Annarumma, of Queens, New York, is accused of shooting his wife Olga Annaurmma, 57, and her daughter Valeria Kuzmina, 25, in their apartment just hours before they were due in court to finalize their divorce.
Olga Annarumma had filed for divorce from her husband Guerino Annarumma on June 16, 2011, and the couple were due in court Monday for a hearing.
The couple had been estranged since 2009 and were married for five-and-a-half years.
A witness called police to report shots fired, and the women were taken to Elmhurst Hospital with what were described as life-threatening injuries.
Police officers searched the area and eventually arrested Guerino Annarumma in his apartment.
Neighbours said has a history of violent behaviour, with one describing him as a psycho.
He had openly threatened to kill the women in a blog he had set up to air his grievances earlier this year.
In June he wrote:
‘I don’t have nothing to lose. I am not afraid of nobody anymore.
‘You got me arrested for nothing, ruined my reputation and broke my heart. God will make you pay.
‘Remember Olga, I am going to hurt you the way you hurt me.’
In a chilling posted aimed at his stepdaughter, he ranted: ‘Remember Valeria I’m your step father Guerino what ever you did you and your mother ’till I die I’m never going to stop you destroyed my dream, I will destroy you mentally.’
Billy Saketos, 37, a neighbour of the women, told the New York Daily News: ‘I was walking my daughter to school and I heard two gunshots.
I started running. I was scared for my daughter.’
A woman who saw police officers lead Annarumma away in cuffs told the New York Post: ‘He was quiet, but he looked like a psycho. He looked bugged out, like he was on LSD.’
A former next door neighbour described Annarumma as a vicious thug with a history of domestic violence.
His wife called the police two years ago because of him and had him kicked out of the home.
Despite a series of protection orders, Annarumma continued to lurk around the neighborhood.
‘He still hung around.
It seemed like he wouldn’t let it go,’ the ex-neighbor told the Post.
‘My wife was always nervous that he would do something crazy. That was part of the reason we left.’
Roseanne Dandreade, 30, who lives across the street from Olga Annarumma, said she saw him being physically and verbally abusive to Olga.
‘Once he choked her in the middle of the street.
He picked her up and slammed her to the ground like a wrestler,’ she told the Daily News.
The couple were due in court at 2pm. Lawyers for both parties were in court preparing their papers when they were informed.
Helene Sherman, Olga Annarumma’s lawyer, said: ‘I was in shock. The guy was a difficult guy, but I never thought this would happen.’
