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Community Stunned, Saddened By Murder-Suicide Tragedy In Harrison

HARRISON, N.Y., -- The murder-suicide of teenage sisters allegedly committed by their father who then killed himself has shocked the Harrison community.

A portion of Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., is closed to traffic where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

A portion of Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., is closed to traffic where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

Photo Credit: Frank MacEachern
The home on Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

The home on Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

Photo Credit: Frank MacEachern
The home on Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

The home on Adelphia Avenue in Harrison, N.Y., where a recently retired White Plains police officer is alleged to have shot to death his two teenaged daughters and then killed himself Saturday.

Photo Credit: Frank MacEachern

Harrison Police said they believe that Glen Hochman,  52, killed his daughters Alissa, 17, and Deanna, 13, and then killed himself. Police went to the home shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday after a person said that there was no answer at the door. 

Hochman recently retired as a police officer with the White Plains Police Department.

In Harrison, people on Sunday spoke of their sadness about the deaths and were shocked that it happened in their quiet community.

"I can't believe that it happened here. I used to live near there for a few years and it's a nice area," said a man in a Halstead Avenue coffee shop. "Especially that he would kill his own family, his own daughters. I can't understand that."

The man declined to give his name.

Hochman's wife and their eldest daughter, identified in published reports as Anamarie DiPietro-Hochman, 50, and Samantha, 22, were out of town at the time of the shooting, police said.

At the same coffee house, a worker said Hochman's wife was an occasional customer and he said he was shocked to find out about the tragedy.

"She's a really nice person," he said. "I heard about it when I woke up at 4:45 a.m. Then I saw the photographs. I can't believe it happened."

On the Harrison Central School District's website, the superintendent of schools Louis M. Wool wrote of his and the district's sorrow at the death of the two girls.

"With great sadness our District mourns the death of high school senior Alissa Hochman, and her younger sister Deanna both lost to incomprehensible tragedy," he wrote.

"Our high school community has faced life shattering tragedies this year, each time they have risen and demonstrated a depth of character and an ethic of care that is inspiring, we can count on them for no less this time, this is a remarkable, generous and giving group of adults and young adults.  In this awful moment, let us remember how proud we are of our faculty and students, and how much they have helped others, and how much they will help others again."

Hochman spent 22 years at the White Plains police department before retiring recently. He also had received the department's life-saving award for helping to keep an unresponsive man alive.

A woman walking her son's German shepherd dog said she shared the sense of shock at the news. She and her family recently moved to Harrison from Mount Vernon because they were looking for a more peaceful environment.

For more on the latest details that have emerged and questions that still remain in the case, click here.

 

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